Senate Bill No. 205
(By Senators Kessler, Edgell, Craigo, Jackson, Deem, Minard,
Dittmar and Ross)
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[Introduced January 26, 2000; referred to the Committee
on Government Organization.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section two, chapter two hundred
sixty-one, acts of the Legislature, regular session, one
thousand nine hundred ninety-six, relating to providing that
participating municipalities and the Hughes River water board
may enter into certain agreements extending more than one year
without having the agreements ratified by voter approval of
participating jurisdictions.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section two, chapter two hundred sixty-one, acts of the
Legislature, regular session, one thousand nine hundred ninety-six,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
HUGHES RIVER WATER BOARD.
§2. Board of directors; appointment; powers and duties
generally; officers; bylaws; rules.
There shall be a board of directors, consisting of one member
representing each of the participating municipalities. The
municipalities shall make appointments to the board through their
duly constituted government authorities as provided herein. No
later than the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-six, the municipality of Cairo shall appoint one member of
the board of directors for the term of three years. The
municipality of Harrisville shall appoint one member for the term
of four years. The municipality of Pennsboro shall appoint one
member for the term of five years. Although members shall serve
from date of appointment, terms of office shall expire as if said
terms had commenced on the first day of July, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-six. Each successor member of the board of
directors shall be appointed by the respective municipality that
appointed the predecessor member and each successor member shall be
appointed for a term of three years, except that any person
appointed to fill a vacancy occurring before the expiration of the
term shall serve only for the unexpired portion thereof. Any
member of the board shall be eligible for reappointment and the appointing municipality which appointed the member may remove that
member at any time for any reason. There shall be an annual
meeting of the board of directors on the second Monday in July of
each year and a monthly meeting on the day in each month which the
board may designate in its bylaws. A special meeting may be called
by the president or any two members of the board and shall be held
only after all of the directors are given notice thereof in
writing. At all meetings two members shall constitute a quorum and
at each annual meeting of the board of directors it shall elect,
from its membership, a president, a vice president, a secretary and
a treasurer: Provided, That a member may be elected both secretary
and treasurer. The board of directors shall adopt those bylaws and
rules which it deems necessary for its own guidance and for the
administration, supervision and protection of the water board and
all of the property belonging to the water board. The board of
directors shall have all the powers necessary, convenient and
advisable for the proper operation, equipment and management of the
water board; and except as otherwise especially provided in this
act, shall have the powers and be subject to the duties which are
conferred and imposed, upon the cooperating municipalities by
article twenty-three, chapter eight of the code of West Virginia,
one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended: Provided,
however, That the municipalities and the board may enter into agreements in furtherance of the Hughes River water project which
extend for a period in excess of one fiscal year without voter
approval as would otherwise be required pursuant to section eight
of said article twenty-three. The qualifications of the directors
shall be determined by each participating municipality.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide that Hughes River
Water Board may enter into agreements extending more than one year
without having the agreements ratified by voter approval as would
otherwise be required by §8-23-8.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.