Senate Bill No. 384
(By Senators Deem and Buckalew)
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[Introduced March 20, 1997; referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section three, article thirteen-a,
chapter sixteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to public
service district board members being elected; requiring
board members to be users of the water and sewerage systems
for which they are responsible; providing that no single
member can represent more than one district; limiting the
elections of board members to two consecutive terms; and
providing times for elections.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section three, article thirteen-a, chapter sixteen of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one,
as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 13A. PUBLIC SERVICE DISTRICTS FOR WATER, SEWERAGE AND
GAS SERVICES.
§16-13A-3. District to be a public corporation and political
subdivision; powers thereof; public service
boards.
From and after the date of the adoption of the order
creating any public service district, it is a public corporation
and political subdivision of the state, but without any power to
levy or collect ad valorem taxes. Each district may acquire, own
and hold property, both real and personal, in its corporate name,
and may sue, may be sued, may adopt an official seal and may
enter into contracts necessary or incidental to its purposes,
including contracts with any city, incorporated town or other
municipal corporation located within or without its boundaries
for furnishing wholesale supply of water for the distribution
system of the city, town or other municipal corporation, and
contract for the operation, maintenance, servicing, repair and
extension of any properties owned by it or for the operation and
improvement or extension by the district of all or any part of
the existing municipally owned public service properties of any
city, incorporated town or other municipal corporation included
within the district: Provided, That no contract shall extend
beyond a maximum of forty years, but provisions may be included
therein for a renewal or successive renewals thereof and shall
conform to and comply with the rights of the holders of any
outstanding bonds issued by the municipalities for the public service properties.
The powers of each public service district shall be vested
in and exercised by a public service board consisting of not less
than three members, who shall be persons residing within the
district who possess certain educational, business or work
experience which will be conducive to operating a public service
district. Each board member shall, within six months of taking
office, successfully complete the training program to be
established and administered by the public service commission in
conjunction with the division of environmental protection and the
bureau division of public health. Board members shall may not be
or become pecuniarily interested, directly or indirectly, in the
proceeds of any contract or service, or in furnishing any
supplies or materials to the district, nor shall a former board
member be hired by the district in any capacity within a minimum
of twelve months after such the board member's term has expired
or such board member has resigned from the district board. The
members shall be appointed elected in the following manner:
Each city, incorporated town or other municipal corporation
having a population of more than three thousand but less than
eighteen thousand is entitled to appoint elect one member of the
board, and each such city, incorporated town or other municipal
corporation having a population in excess of eighteen thousand
shall be entitled to appoint elect one additional member of the board for each additional eighteen thousand population. The
members of the board representing such the cities, incorporated
towns or other municipal corporations shall be residents thereof
and shall be users of the particular water systems and sewerage
systems for which they are responsible. appointed by a resolution
of the governing bodies thereof and upon the filing of a
certified copy or copies of the resolution or resolutions in the
office of the clerk of the county commission which entered the
order creating the district, the persons so appointed become
members of the board without any further act or proceedings.
If the number of members of the board so appointed by the
governing bodies of cities, incorporated towns or other municipal
corporations included in the district equals or exceeds three,
then no further members shall be appointed to the board and the
members so appointed are the board of the district.
If no city, incorporated town or other municipal corporation
having a population of more than three thousand is included
within the district, then the county commission which entered the
order creating the district shall appoint three persons shall be
elected as members of the board, who are persons residing within
the district. which three members become members of the board of
the district without any further act or proceedings
If the number of members of the board appointed by the
governing bodies of elected in the cities, incorporated towns or other municipal corporations included within the district is less
than three, then the county commission which entered the order
creating the district shall appoint designate a time for a
special election to seat such the additional member or members of
the board, who are persons residing within the district, as is
necessary to make the number of members of the board equal three;
and the member or members appointed by the governing bodies of
elected in the cities, incorporated towns or other municipal
corporations included within the district and the additional
member or members appointed by the county commission elected as
aforesaid, are the board of the district. A No person may serve
as a member of the board in one or more public service districts.
Nor may any person serve more than two consecutive terms on any
public service district board: Provided, That regardless of the
length of any initial term, the initial term shall be counted as
one full term.
The population of any city, incorporated town or other
municipal corporation, for the purpose of determining the number
of members of the board, if any, to be appointed by the governing
body or bodies elected by the citizens thereof, is the population
stated for such the city, incorporated town or other municipal
corporation in the last official federal census.
Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary,
whenever a district is consolidated or merged pursuant to section two of this article, the terms of office of the existing board
members shall end on the effective date of the merger or
consolidation. The county commission shall appoint a new board
according to rules promulgated by the public service commission.
The respective terms of office of the members of the first
board shall be fixed by the county commission determined by
drawing lots among those elected and shall be as equally divided
as may be, that is approximately one third of the members for a
term of two years, a like number for a term of four, and the term
of the remaining member or members for six years, from the first
day of the month that the members assume office after being
elected: Provided, That in no event shall the members of the
board assume office later than the commencement of the third
month after which the election was held. during which the
appointments are made. The first elected members of the board
appointed as aforesaid shall meet at the office of the clerk of
the county commission which entered the order creating the
district as soon as practicable after the appointments election
and shall qualify by taking an oath of office: Provided, That
any member or members of the board may be removed from their
respective office as provided in section three-a of this article.
Any vacancy shall be filled for the unexpired term within
thirty days, otherwise successor members of the board shall be
appointed elected for terms of six years and the terms of office shall continue until successors have been appointed and qualified
elected. All successor members shall be appointed elected in the
same manner as the member succeeded was appointed elected.
Except for special elections provided for hereunder, all
elections shall occur, during general elections, at the times
normally fixed therefor.
The board shall organize within thirty days following the
first appointments elections and annually thereafter at its first
meeting after the first day of January of each year by selecting
one of its members to serve as chair and by appointing a
secretary and a treasurer who need not be members of the board.
The secretary shall keep a record of all proceedings of the board
which shall be available for inspection as other public records.
Duplicate records shall be filed with the county commission and
shall include the minutes of all board meetings. The treasurer
is lawful custodian of all funds of the public service district
and shall pay same out on orders authorized or approved by the
board. The secretary and treasurer shall perform other duties
appertaining to the affairs of the district and shall receive
salaries as shall be prescribed by the board. The treasurer
shall furnish bond in an amount to be fixed by the board for the
use and benefit of the district.
The members of the board, and the chair, secretary and
treasurer thereof, shall make available to the county commission, at all times, all of its books and records pertaining to the
district's operation, finances and affairs, for inspection and
audit. The board shall meet at least monthly.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require that Public
Service District board members run for election as opposed to
being appointed. The bill also requires that they be users of
the water and sewerage systems for which they are
responsible. Finally, the bill would prohibit one person serving
two or more districts at one time as a board member. The bill
also limits a board member to two consecutive terms of
office, regardless of the length of the initial term, while
establishing the times elections are to be held.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.