ENGROSSED
Senate Bill No. 416
(By Senators Tomblin, Mr. President, Helmick and Jackson)
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[Introduced February 16, 1996; referred to the
Committee on Government Organization.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact sections one and two, article twenty-
three, chapter eight of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to
further amend said article by adding thereto two new
sections, designated sections three-a and six-a, all
relating to the authority of local governmental units to
cooperate with each other, contract and engage in joint
enterprises; authorizing local governmental units to
cooperate with both public and private agencies;
providing for agreements with other agencies for joint
or cooperative actions; and authorizing local
governmental units to expend funds derived from the operation of the subject public works, transfer assets
and furnish personnel or services from such public works
for the joint or cooperative undertaking and to expend
other funds and furnish other personnel or services as
may be within its legal bounds.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections one and two, article twenty-three, chapter
eight of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted; and that said
article be further amended by adding thereto two new sections,
designated sections three-a and six-a, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 23. CONTRACTING AND JOINT ENTERPRISES.
§8-23-1. Statement of purpose.
It is the purpose of this article to permit local
governmental units to make the most efficient use of their power
and authority by enabling them to cooperate with each other
and
with other agencies on a basis of mutual advantage,
and to
consolidate functions and thereby to provide services and
facilities in a manner and pursuant to forms of governmental
organization which will result in economies in the operation of
local government and which will accord best with the geographic, economic, population and other factors influencing the needs and
development of local governmental services and facilities, and
to
provide joint services and facilities with other agencies and to
cooperate in other ways of mutual advantage, all thus to promote
the public health, safety and welfare.
§8-23-2. Definitions.
For the purposes of this article:
(1) The term "public agency" shall mean any municipality,
county or other political subdivision of this state, or any
county board of education of this state; and
(2) The term "public works" shall mean any improvement or
project involving an outlay of a capital nature which may be
required by or convenient for the purposes of any public agency,
including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the
construction, reconstruction, establishment, acquisition,
improvement, renovation, extension, enlargement, increase,
equipment, maintenance, repair (including replacements) and
operation of jails, jail facilities, municipal buildings, police
stations, fire stations, libraries, museums, other public
buildings, incinerator plants, land fill or other garbage
disposal systems, hospitals
and appurtenant facilities, piers, docks, terminals, airports, drainage systems, flood control
systems, floodwalls, sewers, culverts, bridges (including
approaches, causeways, viaducts, underpasses and connecting
roadways), public markets, cemeteries, motor vehicle parking
facilities (including parking lots, buildings, ramps, curb-line
parking, meters and other facilities deemed necessary,
appropriate, useful, convenient or incidental to the regulation,
control and parking of motor vehicles), stadiums, gymnasiums,
sports arenas, auditoriums, public recreation centers, public
recreation parks, swimming pools, roller skating rinks, ice
skating rinks, tennis courts, golf courses, polo grounds or other
public improvements, or the grading, regrading, paving, repaving,
surfacing, resurfacing, curbing, recurbing, widening or otherwise
improving of any street, avenue, road, alley or way; and
(3) The term "private agency" shall mean an individual or
any form of business organization authorized under the laws of
this or any other state; and
(4) The term "agency" shall mean either a public agency or
a private agency, and the term "agencies" shall mean two or more
of either or both public agencies and private agencies.
§8-23-3a. Agreements with other agencies.
Any public agency of this state may enter into an agreement
with one or more public or private agencies for joint or
cooperative action pursuant to the provisions of this article,
including the creation of a separate entity to carry out the
purpose of the agreement and, if appropriate in connection with
the undertaking, ownership or control of all or a portion of such
separate entity. Appropriate action by ordinance, resolution or
otherwise pursuant to the law applicable to the governing bodies
involved shall be necessary before any such agreement may take
effect. An agreement entered into by a public agency pursuant to
this section shall contain substantially the same provisions as
set forth in section three of this article. No agreement made
pursuant to the provisions of this section shall relieve any
public agency of any obligation or responsibility imposed upon it
by law, except that to the extent of actual and timely
performance thereof by a joint board or other legal or
administrative entity created by an agreement made hereunder,
said performance may be offered in satisfaction of the obligation
or responsibility.
§8-23-6a. Furnishing of funds, property, personnel and services.
Any public agency entering into an agreement pursuant to the provisions of section three-a of this article is hereby empowered
and authorized to expend funds derived from the operation of the
subject public works and to sell, lease, transfer or otherwise
supply real or personal property acquired with funds derived from
the operation or otherwise received on account of the public
works, and to furnish personnel and services paid for with funds
derived from the operation or otherwise received on account of
the public works to the administrative joint board or other legal
or administrative entity created to operate the joint or
cooperative undertaking. The public agency is hereby empowered
and authorized to appropriate and expend other funds and to sell,
lease, transfer or otherwise supply real or personal property
acquired with such other funds and to furnish personnel and
services paid for with such other funds to the administrative
joint board or other legal or administrative entity created to
operate the joint or cooperative undertaking, all as may be
within its legal bounds to furnish.