NEW YORK, NY October 07, 2008 —City lawmakers get their first look today at the language in Mayor Bloomberg's bill to extend term limits. WNYC's Bob Hennelly reports on what's next.

City Council members have yet to see the Bloomberg bill itself, but were told it seeks to extend the current two term limits for municipal officials to three "permanently." There will be two public hearings on the measure, and that would set the stage for a full vote on the repeal of term limits as early as the end of this month.

Today, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn is expected to take a position on the proposal before the Council's full meeting.

At a closed-door Democratic caucus last night, 30 members debated the issue for two hours and could not reach consensus on how best to go about overturning term limits, which voters supported twice. There was disagreement over whether there's sufficient time for voters to weigh in for a third time in a special election before the 2009 general election. For WNYC, I am Bob Hennelly.