By the summer of 2001, how had the eleven legislatures in which term limits forced a significant number of members to retire coped with this change? Interviews at the time with staff and legislators in these bodies revealed the following ten lessons, described in greater depth below.

1. Although all term limits states have expanded new member orientations, they have taken different approaches to teaching their trade.

2. There is a conscious effort to give new members on-the-job training.

3. The new generation of legislators brought in by term limits asks for and uses computerized information.

4. Staffs – especially centralized, nonpartisan organizations – have changed the way they perform their duties.

5. The committee structure and the level of deference granted to committees have changed in many states, though the changes have not been uniform.

6. Most senates have been less affected by – and thus have done less in reaction to – term limits than lower houses.

7. The number of bill introductions has changed dramatically, but in different directions.

8. As traditions erode, the letter of the law becomes more important.

9. The institutional amnesia brought by term limits enables leaders to make unrelated changes with less resistance.

10. Adaptations to term limits may themselves change the balance of power in legislatures.