By authority of an act approved March 25, 1926, Governor Harry Byrd appointed a commission of seven members (Robert R. Prentis, President, Supreme Court of Appeals), R. Gray Williams, of Winchester; William Minor Lile, Dean of the University of Virginia Law School, Robert M. Hughes, of Norfolk; Joseph H. Chitwood, of Roanoke, former Governor Henry C. Stuart, and William Meade Fletcher, of Sperryville, to a commission to suggest changes in the Virginia Constitution. The commission was "charged with the duty of studying the constitution of Virginia and proposing in detail such revisions of the same as in the opinion of the commission will be for the best interests of the commonwealth." The suggested amendments, approved by the General Assembly, reduced the number of statewide elected officials from eight to three (what became known as the short ballot), and "revised the state tax system by implementing a system of tax segregation that gave localities the power to tax real estate and personal property while leaving the income tax available to the state." (Encyclopedia Virginia article on Harry F. Byrd, viewed July 30, 2012.)
The Bureau of Municipal Research was a citizens committee headed by William T. Reed, friend and mentor of Harry F. Byrd. The General Assembly authorized the bureau to survey Virginia government and recommend reductions.
From the guide to the Records of the Commission to Suggest Changes in the Virginia Constitution, 1922-1936 (bulk 1926-1927), (Supreme Court of Virginia Archives, Virginia State Law Library)
