Citizens in Charge

Voters would be asked to extend legislators’ terms from two years to four years under a bill that nearly 60 members of the House co-sponsored last week.

The measure raises an issue in perennial discussion over the past decade, with backers saying less-frequent elections would mean less time spent raising money to run for office.

“It would take half the money out of it,” said Rep. Hugh Holliman, a Lexington Democrat and the House majority leader. “We start the session, spend our first year here, and then we spend the whole second year campaigning.”

Money raised from special interests for campaigns is often at the heart of questionable legislative practices and scandals at the General Assembly, including the saga that eventually sent House Speaker Jim Black to prison.

Less need to raise money, proponents of the measure argue, would mean fewer opportunities to run afoul of legal or ethical rules.

Rep. Alma Adams, a Greensboro Democrat, points out that county commissioners have four-year terms.

“You need continuity in this job to really get a handle on it,” Adams said. “Two years is really not enough time.”

Supporters also include Republicans, including Rep. Harold Brubaker of Asheboro, who is one of its chief sponsors.

Other co-sponsors include Democratic Reps. Nelson Cole of Reidsivlle and Maggie Jeffus and Earl Jones of Greensboro.

The General Assembly would have to pass two bills to make the change. One would tweak a series of state laws. The other would put a state constitutional amendment on the ballot.

Voters would have to approve the amendment before the other changes to state law could take effect.

A measure with a similar provision passed the Senate in 2001, but the House stripped that bill and used it to help pass an unrelated law…. (READ MORE)