Senate Bill No. 581
(By Senator Harrison, By Request)
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[Introduced February 20, 2004; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary.]
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A BILL to
amend and reenact §11-8-16
and §11-8-17
of the code of
West Virginia, 1931, as amended;
and to amend and reenact
§13-1-7
of said code, all relating to requiring that levy and
bond elections be held on the same days as primary and general
elections are held.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §11-8-16
and
§11-8-17
of the code of West Virginia, 1931,
as amended, be
amended and reenacted;
and that §13-1-7
of said code
be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 11. TAXATION.
ARTICLE 8. LEVIES.
§11-8-16. What order for election to increase levies to show; vote
required; amount and continuation of additional levy;
issuance of bonds.
A local levying body may provide for an election to increase the levies, by entering on its record of proceedings an order
setting forth:
(1) The purpose for which additional funds are needed;
(2) The amount for each purpose;
(3) The total amount needed;
(4) The separate and aggregate assessed valuation of each
class of taxable property within its jurisdiction;
(5) The proposed additional rate of levy in cents on each
class of property;
(6) The proposed number of years, not to exceed three, to
which the additional levy applies, except that in the case of
county boards of education the proposed number of years shall not
exceed five;
(7) The fact that the local levying body will or will not
issue bonds, as provided by this section, upon approval of the
proposed increased levy.
The local levying body shall submit to the voters within their
political subdivision, the question of the additional levy at
either a
regularly scheduled primary or a regularly scheduled
general or
a special election
if the last levy expires after the
effective date of this section and before the next regularly
scheduled primary or general election. If at least sixty percent
of the voters cast their ballots in favor of the additional levy,
the county commission or municipality may impose the additional levy. If at least a majority of voters cast their ballot in favor
of the additional levy, the county board of education may impose
the additional levy:
Provided, That any additional levy adopted by
the voters, including any additional levy adopted prior to the
effective date of this section, shall be the actual number of cents
per each one hundred dollars of value set forth in the ballot
provision, which number shall not exceed the maximum amounts
prescribed in this section, regardless of the rate of regular levy
then or currently in effect, unless such rate of additional special
levy is reduced in accordance with the provisions of section six-g
of this article or otherwise changed in accordance with the
applicable ballot provisions. For county commissions, this levy
shall may not exceed a rate greater than seven and fifteen
hundredths cents for each one hundred dollars of value for Class I
properties, and for Class II properties a rate greater than twice
the rate for Class I properties, and for Class III and IV
properties a rate greater than twice the rate for Class II
properties. For municipalities, this levy
shall may not exceed a
rate greater than six and twenty-five hundredths cents for each one
hundred dollars of value for Class I properties, and for Class II
properties a rate greater than twice the rate for Class I
properties, and for Class III and IV properties a rate greater than
twice the rate for Class II properties. For county boards of
education, this levy
shall may not exceed a rate greater than twenty-two and ninety-five hundredths cents for each one hundred
dollars of value for Class I properties, and for Class II
properties a rate greater than twice the rate for Class I
properties, and for Class III and IV properties a rate greater than
twice the rate for Class II properties.
Levies authorized by this section
shall may not continue for
more than three years in the case of county commissions and
municipalities and five years in the case of county boards of
education without resubmission to the voters.
If a county or board of education levy expires after the
effective date of this section, but before the next regularly
scheduled primary or general election, the levy may be resubmitted
to the voters at a special election and no special election for a
levy resubmission may be filed thereafter. If a county or board of
education levy expires after the next regularly scheduled primary
or general election held after the effective date of this section,
the levy shall be resubmitted to the voters at the regularly
scheduled election next preceding the expiration of the levy and no
special election for a levy resubmission may be filed thereafter.
Upon approval of an increased levy as provided by this
section, a local levying body may immediately issue bonds in an
amount not exceeding the amount of the increased levy plus the
total interest thereon, but the term of the bonds
shall may not
extend beyond the period of the increased levy.
Insofar as they might concern the issuance of bonds as
provided
for in this section, the provisions of sections three and
four, article one, chapter thirteen of this code shall not apply:
Provided, That nothing contained in this section shall conflict
with the provisions of article X, section 8 of the constitution of
West Virginia.
§11-8-17. Special levy elections; notices; election officers;
conduct of election; supplies; canvass of returns;
form of ballot.
The local levying body shall publish a notice, calling the
election, as a Class II-O legal advertisement in compliance with
the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code,
and the publication area for
such the publication shall be the
territory in which the election is held.
Such The notice shall be
so published within fourteen consecutive days next preceding the
next primary or general election. All the provisions of the law
concerning general elections shall apply so far as they are
practicable, except as follows: Where a special election is held,
the local levying body, having due regard to the minimum expense
involved, shall determine the number of election officials
necessary to properly conduct
said the election, which number
shall
may in no case be less than three commissioners and two clerks, and
shall appoint the same and fix and pay their compensation, but
otherwise the election officials shall be such as are appointed to serve with respect to
the primary or general election held at the
same time. The local levying body, however, shall provide the
election supplies necessary for
such the election and shall canvass
the returns thereof. A separate ballot shall be used at a levy
election held in connection with
any other a primary or general
election. The ballot shall be entitled:"Special election to
authorize additional levies for the year(s) ____________ and for
the purpose of _____________ according to the order of the
__________________ entered on the ______ day of ________________."
The additional levy shall be on Class I property __________
cents; on Class II property ______________ cents; on Class III
property (if any) ______________ cents; on Class IV property (if
any) _____________ cents.
CHAPTER 13. PUBLIC BONDED INDEBTEDNESS.
ARTICLE 1. BOND ISSUES FOR ORIGINAL INDEBTEDNESS.
§13-1-7. When election to be held.
Elections for the purpose of voting upon questions of issuing
bonds may be held at any
regularly scheduled general
or primary or
special election which the fiscal body in its order submitting the
same to a vote may designate, except that, when a petition is filed
asking that bonds be issued, the fiscal body with which the same is
filed, if it be not designated in the petition that the election
shall be held at a general or primary election, shall order a
special election to be held within sixty days from the date of the filing of such petition; or, if it be a petition for bonds for the
construction of county-district roads or bridges thereon, the
election shall be held within sixty days from the filing of the
engineer's report as provided
for in section five of this article.
If a bond issue expires after the effective date of this section,
but before the next regularly scheduled primary or general
election, the bond issue may be resubmitted to the voters at a
special election and no special election for bond reissuance may be
held thereafter. If a bond issue expires after the next regularly
scheduled primary or general election held after the effective date
of this section, the levy shall be resubmitted to the voters at the
regularly scheduled election next preceding the expiration of the
bond issue and no special election for bond reissuance may be held
thereafter.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require levy and bond
elections to be held in conjunction with regularly scheduled
elections.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.