H. B. 2556
(By Delegates Anderson, Kime, Azinger and Border)
[Introduced February 17, 1995; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section nine, article one, chapter
three of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to political party
committees; and official actions.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section nine, article one, chapter three of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS AND DEFINITIONS.
§3-1-9. Political party committees; how composed; organization.
At the primary election in the year one thousand nine
hundred ninety-four, and in every fourth year thereafter, the voters of each political party in each senatorial district shall
elect two male and two female members of the state executive
committee of the party. In senatorial districts containing two
or more counties, not more than two such elected committee
members shall be residents of the same county. The committee,
when convened and organized as herein provided, shall appoint
three additional members of the committee from the state at
large. When senatorial districts are realigned following a
decennial census, members of the state executive committee
previously elected or appointed shall continue in office until
the expiration of their terms, and appointments made to fill
vacancies on the committee until the next election of executive
committee members shall be selected from the previously
established districts. At the first election of executive
committee members following the realignment of senatorial
districts, members shall be elected from the newly established
districts.
At such primary election, the voters of each political party
in each county shall elect one male and one female member of the
party's executive committee of the congressional district, of the senatorial district and of the delegate district in which such
county is situated, if such county be situated in a multi-county
senatorial or delegate district. When districts are realigned
following a decennial census, members of an executive committee
previously elected in a county to represent that county to a
congressional or multi-county senatorial or delegate district
executive committee shall continue to represent that county in
the appropriate newly constituted multi-county district until the
expiration of their terms: Provided, That the county executive
committee of the political party shall determine which previously
elected members shall represent the county if the number of
multi-county senatorial or delegate districts in the county is
decreased; and shall appoint members to complete the remainder of
the term if the number of such districts is increased.
At the same time such voters of the county in each
magisterial district or executive committee district, as the case
may be, shall elect one male and one female member of the party's
county executive committee, except that in counties having three
executive committee districts there shall be elected two male and
two female members of the party's executive committee from each magisterial or executive committee district.
For the purpose of complying with the provisions of this
section, the county commission shall create such executive
committee districts as they shall determine, which such districts
shall not be fewer than the number of magisterial districts in
such counties, nor shall they exceed in number the following:
Forty for counties having a population of one hundred thousand
persons or more; thirty for counties having a population of fifty
thousand to one hundred thousand; twenty for counties having a
population of twenty thousand to fifty thousand; and such
districts in counties having a population of less than twenty
thousand persons shall be coextensive with the magisterial
districts.
The executive committee districts shall be as nearly equal
in population as practicable, and shall each be composed of
compact, contiguous territory. The county commissions shall
change the territorial boundaries of such districts as required
by the increase or decrease in the population of such districts
as determined by a decennial census. Such changes must be made
within two years following such census.
All members of executive committees, selected for each
political division as herein provided, shall reside within the
county or district from which chosen. The term of office of all
members of executive committees elected at the primary election
in the year one thousand nine hundred ninety-four shall begin on
the first day of July, following said primary, and shall continue
for four years thereafter and until their successors are elected
and qualified. Vacancies in the state executive committee shall
be filled by the members of the committee for the unexpired term.
Vacancies in the party's executive committee of a congressional
district, senatorial district, delegate district or county shall
be filled by the party's executive committee of the county in
which such vacancy exists, and shall be for the unexpired term.
As soon as possible after the certification of the election
of the new executive committees, as herein provided, they shall
convene an organizational meeting within their respective
political divisions, on the call of the chairman of corresponding
outgoing executive committees, or by any member of the new
executive committee in the event there is no corresponding
outgoing executive committee and proceed to select a chairman, a treasurer and a secretary, and such other officers as they may
desire, each of which officers shall for their respective
committees perform the duties that usually appertain to such
offices. The organizational meeting may be conducted prior to
the beginning of the term, but no official action other than the
election of officers and the appointment to fill vacancies on the
committee may be made before the first day of July.
Any meeting of any political party executive committee shall
be held only after public notice and notice to each member is
given according to party rules and shall be open to all members
affiliated with such party. Meetings shall be conducted
according to party rules, all official actions shall be made by
voice vote or, upon motion, by secret ballot, and minutes shall
be maintained and shall be open to inspection by members
affiliated with such party.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to allow political party
executive committees to take official action by voice vote or,
upon motion, by secret ballot.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.