After a two-week delay, Republicans in the N.C. House barely cobbled together enough Democratic support to pass a constitutional amendment Thursday that would term-limit top legislative leaders.

The final vote, 72-46, was the slimmest margin needed to approve a proposed change to the constitution. Four Democrats joined all 68 members of the Republican caucus in the House in voting for the bill. If approved by the Senate, the amendment would appear on the ballot in 2012 for voters’ final OK.

The new law would restrict the House speaker and Senate leader from serving for more than two regular sessions of the General Assembly. Sponsors say the move is needed to reduce the amount of power vested in one lawmaker.

During debate on the House floor Wednesday, Republicans successfully staved off an attempt by Democratic opponents to convert the proposed amendment to a statute. A statute could be more easily changed by future sessions of the legislature, and it wouldn’t carry as much force as amending the constitution.

“To be of force and effect, it has to be a constitutional amendment,” said Rep. John Blust, R-Guilford, the primary sponsor of the measure, along with House Speaker Thom Tillis, R-Mecklenburg.

Not so, Democrats argued.

“This can be handled another way other than in the state constitution,” said House Minority Leader Joe Hackney, D-Orange. “You can put it in [the House] rules, you can put it in the statute, and you can have the power of persuasion and the vote.”

Hackney, a former House speaker, and his Democratic colleague, Rep. Timothy Spear of Washington County, offered two amendments to make the bill a statute. Both failed on party-line votes.

Hackney said the speaker doesn’t derive his power from the constitution, but from the rules adopted by the House on opening day of session. He suggested that future legislators could get around the requirement by giving more power to committee chairs or majority leaders.

Republicans portrayed the amendment as a needed step to create better state government.

“The people want things like this. The people like turnover among their public officials,” said Rep. Johnathan Rhyne, R-Lincoln. “They don’t like entrenchment. They don’t like one person amassing power substantially greater than the other members in this body.”

David N. Bass is an associate editor of Carolina Journal.