HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 111

              (By Delegates Rodighiero and Reynolds)

[Introduced February 7, 2012; referred to the Committee on Constitutional Revision then the Judiciary.]

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the State of West Virginia, amending article IV thereof by adding thereto a new section, designated section thirteen, relating to limiting all elected officeholders to serve no more than twelve years; excepting previous years in office by current officeholders; and providing that those offices that currently have a maximum time of less than twelve years, the lesser period shall control; numbering and designating such proposed amendment; and providing a summarized statement of the purpose of such proposed amendment.

    Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia, two thirds of the members elected to each house agreeing thereto:

    That the question of ratification or rejection of an amendment to the Constitution of the State of West Virginia be submitted to the voters of the state at the next general election to be held in the year 2012, or at any special election held subsequent thereto, which proposed amendment is that article X thereof be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section thirteen, to read as follows:

ARTICLE IV. ELECTIONS AND OFFICERS.

§13. Term limits.

    Notwithstanding any other provision of this Constitution to the contrary, all holders of elected offices of the state and its political subdivisions may serve no more than twelve years. Any years in office prior to November 6, 2012 shall not count against the maximum time permitted by this section. However, if any elected office is currently limited to less than twelve years, then that current limitation shall control.

    Resolved further, That in accordance with the provisions of article eleven, chapter three of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, such proposed amendment is hereby numbered "Amendment No. 1" and designated as the “Term Limitation Amendment" and the purpose of the proposed amendment is summarized as follows: "To amend the State Constitution to limit the time a person may serve in an elected state or local office to twelve years, not counting the years in office of all current officeholders, and if the amount of time permitted to serve in an office is by law less than twelve years then that lesser number of years shall control.”

    NOTE: The purpose of this resolution is to amend the State Constitution to limit the time a person may serve in an elected state or local office to twelve years. The resolution exempts those who currently have a lesser amount of time that may be served in that office, such as county sheriffs. The resolution does not count the number of years served by all current officeholders against the twelve year maximum.

    This section is new; therefore, it has been completely underscored.