H. B. 2645
(By Delegates Kuhn and Collins)
[Introduced March 20, 1997; referred to the
Committee on Political Subdivisions.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section five-a, article one, chapter seven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to conflicts of
interest of county commissioners; appointment of family
member to board, commission or other government office
prohibited; penalties.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section five-a, article one, chapter seven of the code
of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. COUNTY COMMISSIONS GENERALLY.
§7-1-5a. Conflicts of interest; excusal of commissioner from
voting where conflict of interest involved; commission prohibited from appointing family member
to any government office; penalties.
(a) Each county commissioner present during any county
commission meeting when any question is put shall vote unless he
or she is immediately and particularly interested therein.
Before such the question is put, any member having a direct
personal or pecuniary interest therein should announce this fact,
and request to be excused from voting. The disqualifying
interest must be such as affects the member directly, and not as
one of a class.
(b) Notwithstanding any provision in this code to the
contrary, a county commission may not appoint any person to a
board, commission or other government office who is an immediate
family relation of any commissioner on that county commission.
For purposes of this subsection, "immediate family relation"
means any child, parent or grandparent of a county commissioner.
Any county commissioner voting to so appoint an immediate
family relation of any commissioner on that county commission is
guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
fined not less than three thousand dollars nor more than five
thousand dollars, or confined in the county or regional jail not
more than sixty days, or both fined and imprisoned.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to prohibit a county
commission from appointing a family member to any board,
commission, or other government office.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.