Senate Bill No. 520
(By Senators Bowman, Minard, Foster, Kessler, McCabe,
White, Yoder and Deem)
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[Introduced January 31, 2008; referred to the Committee on
Government Organization; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §8-13-13 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to authorizing municipalities to
file liens for delinquent service fees; and requiring
municipal ordinances to have assessment and collection
procedures for the service fees.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §8-13-13 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 13. TAXATION AND FINANCE.
PART III. SPECIAL CHARGES FOR MUNICIPAL SERVICES.
§8-13-13. Special charges for municipal services.
(a) Notwithstanding any charter provisions to the contrary,
every municipality which furnishes any essential or special
municipal service, including, but not limited to, police and fire
protection, parking facilities on the streets or otherwise, parks and recreational facilities, street cleaning, street lighting,
street maintenance and improvement, sewerage and sewage disposal,
and the collection and disposal of garbage, refuse, waste, ashes,
trash and any other similar matter
shall have has plenary power and
authority to provide by ordinance for the installation,
continuance, maintenance or improvement of
such the service, to
make reasonable regulations
with respect thereto of the service and
to impose by ordinance upon the users of
such the service
reasonable rates, fees and charges to be collected in the manner
specified in the ordinance:
Provided, That any sewerage and sewage
disposal service and any service incident to the collection and
disposal of garbage, refuse, waste, ashes, trash and any other
similar matter
shall be is subject to the provisions of chapter
twenty-four of this code.
(b) The municipality
shall not, however, have may file a lien
on any property as security for payments due under
such the
ordinance
authorizing the service set out in this section. The
ordinance of the municipality authorizing the service set out in
this section shall provide administrative procedures for assessment
and collection of the fees at the municipal level with a right of
appeal to the circuit court.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of section four, article
eleven of this chapter, any ordinance enacted or substantially
amended under the provisions of this section shall be published as
a Class II legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code and the publication
area for
such the publication
shall be such is the
municipality.
(d) In the event thirty percent of the qualified voters of the
municipality, by petition duly signed by them in their own
handwriting and filed with the recorder of the municipality within
fifteen days after the expiration of such the publication, protest
against such the ordinance as enacted or amended, the ordinance
shall does not become effective until it shall be is ratified by a
majority of the legal votes cast thereon by the qualified voters of
such the municipality at a regular municipal election or special
municipal election, as the governing body shall direct. Voting
thereon shall not take place until after notice of such the
submission shall have been is given by publication as above
provided in subsection (c) of this section for the publication of
the ordinance after it is adopted or substantially amended.
(e) The powers and authority hereby granted to municipalities
and to the governing bodies thereof of municipalities in this
section are in addition and supplemental to the powers and
authority named in any charters thereof of the municipalities.
(f) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section, in
the event rates, fees and charges herein provided for shall be in
this section are imposed by the governing body of any municipality
for the purpose of replacing and in amounts approximately
sufficient to replace in its general fund such amounts as shall be
appropriated to be paid out of ad valorem taxes upon property within the municipality pursuant to an election duly called and
held under the constitution and laws of the state to authorize the
issuance and sale of general obligation bonds of the municipality
for public improvement purposes, in the call for which the election
it shall be stated that the governing body of the municipality
proposes to impose rates, fees and charges in specified amounts
under this section for the use of one or more of the services above
specified in subsection (a) of this section which shall be related
to the public improvement proposed to be made with the proceeds of
the bonds, no notice, publication of notice or referendum or
election or other condition or prerequisite to the imposition of
such the rates, fees and charges shall be required or necessary
other than the legal requirements for issuance and sale of such the
general obligation bonds.
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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize
municipalities to provide administrative procedures for the
assessment and collection of delinquent municipal fees, with the
right to appeal to circuit court.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.)
This bill is recommended by the Joint Standing Committee on
Government Organization for passage during the 2008 Regular
Session.
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