PHOENIX — ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ lawmakers don’t want to share their power with 18-year-olds. But they might agree to let those who are at least 21 join their ranks.
On a 7-6 margin Monday the House Appropriations Committee agreed to ask voters in November to repeal constitutional requirements that candidates for statewide and legislative office be at least 25 years old. The measure would allow someone as young as 18 to run for legislative office or for governor.
Rep. Anthony Kern, R-Glendale, who wrote the measure, said that’s fine with him.
“In my philosophy, if you allow them to drive a tank and give them a gun to go fight overseas, they should be eligible to run for office,†he said. “I think they’re mature enough.â€
But the version of his House Concurrent Resolution 2036 that the committee approved is unlikely to be the final version. Several lawmakers went along only after Kern agreed to offer an amendment to change the minimum age to 21 when the measure goes to the full House.
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Rep. Ken Clark, D-Phoenix, said he has seen research that the frontal lobes of the brain do not fully develop until at least the early 20s — 30 for men. “That’s the part of the brain that handles restraint and forward thinking and all of that,†Clark said.
Kern responded, “I’ve seen 18-year-olds mature, very mature. I’ve seen 50-year-olds very immature.â€
HCR 2036 could take effect only if the constitutional amendment clears not only the full House, where it heads next, but also the Senate. Then it has to be approved by voters.
But the possibility of 18-year-olds in the Legislature, and even possibly a teen-aged governor, proved too much for some like Rep. Vince Leach, R-ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥. He told Kern he was voting for the measure only if the final version has the age at no younger than 21.
Ditto Rep. Mark Cardenas, D-Phoenix, who was 25 when first elected.
“I didn’t screw up too badly,†Cardenas quipped, saying that “young people have good ideas.†But he said he could support the measure only if the minimum age were set at 21.
Even that change will generate opposition. Rep. Rusty Bowers, R-Mesa, said he presumes those who crafted the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Constitution a century ago had a good reason to decide that lawmakers and elected officials should be at least 25. And Bowers said that was back in the days when 14-year-olds might have been providing for their families.
“I could talk about protests and all the kinds of fun things that in the exuberance and intoxication of youth we carry out,†said the 65-year-old Bowers. “But I think there is some sobriety that comes with age.â€
There also is a question of how different state government and state laws would look if younger people were in the Legislature or running the state.
Kern, who is 56, acknowledged that, at least on social issues, younger voters tend to be more liberal than many older voters — himself included. But he said he’s not bothered by the kinds of legislation they might support.
“I do know some 18-year-olds that are on the conservative realm, too,†he added. “They wouldn’t all just be kind of left. Not all of them. Probably most of them.â€
Kern’s proposal does not stop with the executive and legislative branches of government. His measure also would eliminate the mandate that judges of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals and all Superior Courts be at least 30, if voters agree.
That change, however, would be unlikely to put teens into black robes.
Another provision in state law requires judges to have been admitted to the practice of law, meaning they need at least a law degree.
