State Sen. Tom Garrett, who represents part of Lynchburg in the General Assembly, is trying again to change Virginia's status as the only state that doesn't allow a governor to serve two consecutive terms.
Garrett, R-Louisa County, is proposing a constitutional amendment for the upcoming assembly session to allow a governor to be elected twice in a row.
The bill is Senate Joint Resolution 4, and would apply to governors chosen in 2017 and afterward.
It is the third consecutive year a similar proposal has been introduced.
Since 1995, the two-term concept has been proposed at least eight times by legislators who argue governors should have two four-year terms to complete their policy platforms.
Two-term governor legislation went farther last year than ever before, when the Senate approved the proposal and two House of Delegates members -- one Democrat and one Republican -- introduced similar bills.
Every attempt has died in the House Privileges and Elections Committee, usually on an unrecorded voice vote in a subcommittee.
Members who bury the bills usually say Virginia's governor already is one of the nation's most powerful because of the office's power to appoint members of policy-making bodies such as the Commonwealth Transportation Board, college boards of visitors, water and game commissions, and dozens of other agencies. ___
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