FISCAL
NOTE
WEST virginia Legislature
2017 regular session
By
[
to the Committee on Government Organization then the Judiciary
A BILL to amend and
reenact §8-1-5a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to
terminating the Municipal Home Rule Pilot Program and Municipal Home Rule
Board; allowing municipalities throughout the state an opportunity to enact any
ordinance, act, resolution, rule or regulation resulting from the Municipal
Home Rule Pilot Program.
Be it enacted by the
Legislature of West Virginia:
That §8-1-5a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. PURPOSE AND SHORT TITLE; DEFINITIONS; GENERAL
PROVISIONS; CONSTRUCTION.
§8-1-5a. Municipal Home Rule Pilot Program.
(a) Legislative
findings. -- The Legislature finds and declares that:
(1) The initial Municipal Home Rule Pilot Program brought
innovative results, including novel municipal ideas that became municipal
ordinances which later resulted in new statewide statutes;
(2) The initial Municipal Home Rule Pilot Program also
brought novel municipal ideas that resulted in court challenges against some of
the participating municipalities;
(3) The Municipal Home Rule Pilot Program, although having
produced some novel municipal ideas, has also created disparity between
municipalities by allowing powers for some that are not available to others;
(4) In order to correct these disparate results,
municipalities should be afforded the opportunity to adopt ordinances enacted
pursuant to the Municipal Home Rule Pilot Program;
(5) The Municipal Home Rule Pilot Program should be
terminated;
(6) The Municipal Home Rule Board, having served its
function, should be terminated.
(b)Termination of
pilot program. -- The Municipal Home Rule Pilot Program is terminated
effective July 1, 2017. The ordinances
enacted by the four participating municipalities pursuant to the initial
Municipal Home Rule Pilot Program are hereby authorized and may remain in
effect until the ordinances are repealed.
(c) Extension of ordinances to municipalities - As of
the date of passage of this amendment during the 2017 Legislative Session, any
ordinance, act, resolution, rule or regulation enacted pursuant to the
Municipal Home Rule Pilot Program shall be made available for adoption by any
other municipality. Each municipality
wishing to adopt the ordinance, act, resolution, rule or regulation must:
(1) Hold a public hearing on the proposed ordinance, act,
resolution, rule or regulation;
(2) Provide notice at least thirty days prior to the public
hearing by a Class II legal advertisement;
(3) Make a copy of the proposed ordinance, act, resolution,
rule or regulation available for public inspection at least thirty days prior
to the public hearing;
(4) After obtaining approval from the city council, read the
proposed ordinance, act, resolution, rule or regulation at least two times.
(d) Municipal Home
Rule Board. -- The Municipal Home Rule Board is hereby terminated.
(e) Powers and duties of municipalities. -- The
municipalities participating in the Municipal Home Rule Pilot Program have the
authority to pass an ordinance, act, resolution, rule or regulation, under the provisions
of this section, that is not contrary to:
(1) Environmental law;
(2) Bidding on government construction and other contracts;
(3) The Freedom of Information Act;
(4) The Open Governmental Proceedings Act;
(5) Wages for construction of public improvements;
(6) The provisions of this section;
(7) The provisions of section five-a, article twelve of this
chapter; and
(8) The municipality's written
plan.
(f) Prohibited acts. -- The municipalities
participating in the Municipal Home Rule Pilot Program do not have the
authority to pass an ordinance, act, resolution, rule or regulation, under the
provisions of this section, pertaining to:
(1) The Constitution of the United States or West Virginia;
(2) Federal law or crimes and punishment;
(3) Chapters sixty-a, sixty-one and sixty-two of this code or
state crimes and punishment;
(4) Pensions or retirement plans;
(5) Annexation;
(6) Taxation: Provided, That a participating
municipality may enact a municipal sales tax up to one percent if it reduces or
eliminates its municipal business and occupation tax: Provided, however,
That if a municipality subsequently reinstates or raises the municipal business
and occupation tax it previously reduced or eliminated under the Municipal Home
Rule Pilot Program, it shall eliminate the municipal sales tax enacted under
the Municipal Home Rule Pilot Program: Provided further, That any municipality that imposes a municipal sales tax
pursuant to this section shall use the services of the Tax Commissioner to
administer, enforce and collect the tax in the same manner as the State Consumers
Sales and Service Tax and Use Tax under the provisions of articles fifteen,
fifteen-a and fifteen-b, chapter eleven of this code and all applicable
provisions of the streamlined sales and use tax agreement: And provided further, That the tax will
not apply to the sale of motor fuel or motor vehicles;
(7) Tax increment financing;
(8) Extraction of natural resources;
(9) Persons or property outside the boundaries of the
municipality: Provided: That this prohibition under the Municipal Home
Rule Pilot Program does not affect a municipality's powers outside its boundary lines under other sections of
this chapter, other chapters of this code or court decisions;
(10) Marriage and divorce laws; and
(11) An occupation tax, fee or
assessment payable by a nonresident of a municipality.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to terminate the
Municipal Home Rule Pilot Program and the Municipal Home Rule Board, but allow
municipalities the option to adopt any ordinance already enacted in another
municipality through the Municipal Home Rule Pilot Program.
This section has been completely
rewritten; therefore, it has been completely underscored.