Senate Bill No. 570
(By Senator Caruth)
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[Introduced February 5, 2008; referred to the Committee on
Government Organization; and then to the Committee on Economic
Development.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §7-12-9b of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to county commissions' ability to
coordinate joint development efforts.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §7-12-9b of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 12. COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITIES.
§7-12-9b. Joint development entities.
(a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that the
citizens of this state would benefit from coordinated economic
development efforts and that to encourage cooperation and
coordination,
county commissions, municipalities and county and
municipal development authorities should be authorized to organize
and jointly own all of the partnership, ownership and membership
interests in a partnership, corporation or limited liability
company for the sole purpose of undertaking jointly through their joint ownership of or membership in the partnership, corporation or
limited liability company any project or projects that an authority
established pursuant to this article would be permitted to
undertake.
(b) Any combination of two or more
county commissions,
municipalities, municipal development authorities or county
development authorities may jointly form and hold all of the
partnership, ownership or membership interests in a partnership,
corporation or limited liability company, the sole purpose of which
is to develop and own one or more joint economic development
projects (for purposes of this section, a "joint development
entity"). No person or entity other than a
county commission,
municipality, municipal development authority or county development
authority may own any ownership or membership interest in a joint
development entity. Any existing partnership, corporation or
limited liability company is a joint development entity on and
after the effective date of this section if: (I) It was organized
for the purposes described in this subsection prior to the
effective date of this section; and (ii) the partnership, ownership
or membership interests in it meet the requirements of this
subsection on and after the effective date of this section.
(c) To the extent consistent with and not prohibited by or in
conflict with the restrictions and limitations on, or the rights
and attributes of, a joint development entity set forth in this
section, the applicable general law governing partnerships,
corporations or limited liability companies govern the organization, existence, duration, powers, governance and
dissolution of a joint development entity and the rights and
responsibilities of the partners, owners or members of a joint
development entity.
(d) A joint development entity is a public corporation and a
political subdivision and instrumentality of its partners, owners
or members and has the powers, rights and privileges of an
authority set forth in sections seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven,
twelve and fourteen of this article in addition to those granted to
partnerships, corporations and limited liability companies under
applicable general law.
(e) For West Virginia tax purposes, a joint development entity
is a political subdivision of the State of West Virginia and is
exempt from all state and local taxation and all real and personal
property owned by a joint development entity, or which the joint
development entity may acquire to be leased, sold or otherwise
disposed of, is exempt from taxation by the state or any county,
municipality or other levying body as public property.
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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to allow county
commissions to be involved in joint development efforts.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.)