AUGUSTA – Parting ways with the House of Representatives, the Maine Senate on Friday rejected any change in Maine’s term limits for state lawmakers.

Senate President Pro Tem Richard Bennett, R-Norway, said the Senate’s 20-12 vote indicated majority sentiment for leaving any proposed alterations to the general public.

One day earlier, the House endorsed a proposal for a statewide vote this fall on whether to keep or repeal term limits, which restrict lawmakers to four consecutive terms in any one office.

The House vote on LD 901 was 83-50.

When the Senate took up the issue, it moved immediately to the question of whether any change should be considered. The vote to drop the matter came without debate.

Voting against any proposal to alter current law were 16 Republicans and four Democrats. Eleven Democrats and the Senate’s lone independent voted to keep the measure alive.

“The way that it came down from the House was particularly cynical,” Bennett said, linking the referendum plan to a desire by incumbents to extend their time in office. “I think that really betrayed the real purpose behind this, which is to keep people in power.”

The Senate’s action had the effect of sending the measure back to the House for another vote. The likelihood of the House being able to revive the measure next week appeared slim.

Thursday’s House endorsement of the referendum proposal put forth by Rep. Robert Daigle, R-Arundel, came after weeks of discussion about extending the limit on consecutive service in office from four to six terms.

Daigle argued that a straight up or down referendum on retaining or repealing current term limits would effectively settle a long-standing controversy.

A limit of four terms for Maine legislators, setting an eight-year cap on consecutive service in office, was approved by referendum in 1993 and took effect in 1996.

Daigle said Thursday he believed the restrictions on eligibility for office were “a terrible idea” but that he had drafted his referendum proposal to offer voters a straightforward way to render a judgment.

The proposed ballot question would ask: “Do you favor repealing term limits for Maine legislators and constitutional officers?”

Gov. Angus King has said he would support extending the limit on consecutive service in office to 12 years if voters ratified the change.