HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 1
(By Delegates Ennis, Hamilton, Romine, Azinger and White)
[Introduced February 11, 2009; referred to the
Committee on Constitutional Revision then the Judiciary.]
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the State of West
Virginia, amending section three, article VI thereof, relating
to increasing the terms of members of the House of Delegates
from two years to four years; and increasing the terms of
members of the state Senate from four to six years; 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 2010, which proposed amendment is that section three,
article VI thereof be amended and reenacted, to read as follows:
ARTICLE VI. THE LEGISLATURE.
§3. Senators and delegates -- Terms of office.
Senators shall be elected for the term of
four six years and
delegates for the term of
two four years,
beginning with the first
general election after the first day of January, two thousand ten.
The senators
first elected, shall
continue to divide themselves
into two classes, one senator from every district being assigned to
each class;
and of these classes, the first to be designated by lot
in such manner as the Senate may determine, shall hold their seats
for two years, and the second for four years, so that after the
first election, one half of the senators shall be elected
biennially with each Senator serving a six-year term commencing
after the regularly scheduled expiration of each four-year term,
after the first day of January, two thousand ten.
Resolved further, That in accordance with the provisions of
article eleven, chapter three of the Code of West Virginia, 1991,
as amended, such proposed amendment is hereby numbered "Amendment
No. 1" and designated as the "Increase of Terms of Members of the
Legislature Amendment," and the purpose of the proposed amendment
is summarized as follows: "To increase the terms of members of the
House of Delegates from two years to four years; and to further
increase the terms of members of the state Senate from four to six
years."
NOTE: The purpose of this Resolution is to propose an
amendment to the State Constitution that would increase the terms
of members of the House of Delegates from two to four years, and
would increase the terms of members of the state Senate from four
to six years.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present Constitution, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.