Senate Bill No. 784
(By Senators Tomblin, Mr. President, Bowman, Chafin, Helmick,
Kessler, Prezioso, Caruth, Boley and McKenzie)
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[Originating in the Committee on Rules;
reported February 22, 2007.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §7-1-1 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended; and to amend said code by adding thereto a
new section, designated §7-1-1a, all relating to reforming,
altering or modifying county government as authorized in
section thirteen, article IX of the West Virginia
Constitution; establishing requirements for reforming,
altering or modifying county commission; and providing for
alternative forms of county government.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §7-1-1 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted; and that said code be amended by adding
thereto a new section, designated §7-1-1a, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. COUNTY COMMISSIONS GENERALLY.
§7-1-1. County commissions corporations; how constituted; election of president.
(a) The county commission, formerly the county court, or
tribunal or county council in lieu thereof, of every county within
the State of West Virginia shall be a corporation by the name of
"The County court Commission of ..................... County", or
"The County Council of .................. County" by which name it
may sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded and contract and be
contracted with.
(b) Every A county court commission shall consist of three
commissioners as provided in section twenty-two nine, article eight
IX of the Constitution of the State of West Virginia, any two of
whom shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
except in the case of any county which, in accordance with section
twenty-nine, article eight of the constitution of the state of West
Virginia or any earlier counterpart thereof, has applied to the
Legislature of West Virginia for it to reform, alter or modify its
county court and the Legislature by its act, in accordance
therewith, and with the assent of the voters of the county voting
at an election, has effected the requested reformation, alteration
or modification, in which case the provisions of the act of the
Legislature creating a tribunal in lieu of the county court shall
apply concerning the number of county court commissioners and the
number of commissioners required to constitute a quorum.
(c) A county council, created as an alternative to a county commission pursuant to section thirteen, article IX of the
Constitution of West Virginia, shall consist of four or more
members, a majority of whom shall constitute a quorum for the
transaction of business.
(d) Unless provided otherwise in an alternative form of
government, each county court commission or council shall annually,
at its first session in each year, or as soon thereafter as
practicable, elect one of its commissioners or council members as
president of the county court commission or council.
(e) Throughout this chapter and the code, the term "county
court commission" or any reference to a county court commission
shall include all tribunals county councils created in lieu of the
county court commission.
§7-1-1a. Requirements for reforming, altering or modifying a
county commission; alternative forms of county government.
(a) A county government may be reformed, altered or modified
as follows:
(1) The county commission or county council of the county may
pass a resolution making application to the Legislature to reform,
alter or modify an existing form of county government in accordance
with the requirements of the West Virginia Constitution and this
section; or
(2) Ten percent of the registered voters of the county may
sign a petition requesting reformation, alteration or modification of the existing form of county government in accordance with the
requirements of the West Virginia Constitution and this section.
(b) A county commission or county council seeking to make
application to reform, alter or modify its county government
pursuant to the provisions of section thirteen, article IX of the
West Virginia Constitution shall adopt a resolution containing the
following information:
(1) The reasons for the reformation, alteration or
modification of the county commission or county government;
(2) The form of the proposed county government selected from
the alternatives authorized by this section;
(3) The proposed name of the county government;
(4) When the question of reformation, alteration or
modification of the county government will be on the ballot;
(5) How and when the officers of the proposed county
government will be elected or appointed, taking into consideration
the following:
(A) When the election on the question of reformation,
alteration or modification of the county government will be held;
(B) The normal election cycles for county officials; and
(C) The time frames for early and absentee voting provided in
article three, chapter three of this code; and
(6) When the new county government will become effective.
(c) Prior to the adoption of a resolution seeking to reform, alter or modify a county commission or county council, the
governing body of the county shall publish by a Class II legal
advertisement in one or more newspapers of general circulation
throughout the county, in compliance with the provisions of article
three, chapter fifty-nine of this code, notice of the proposed
changes to the current form of county government. The publication
area shall be the entire county. The notice shall summarize the
proposed changes to the county government and include the date,
time and place for the meeting or meetings in which the resolution
will be considered.
(d) After the publication and adoption of the resolution, the
following information shall be submitted by the county to the Clerk
of the Senate and to the Clerk of the House of Delegates no later
than the tenth day of a regular legislative session in which the
request for reforming, altering or modifying a county commission or
county government is to be considered by the Legislature:
(1) A certified copy of the adopted resolution;
(2) A copy of the required public notice;
(3) The vote on the adoption of the resolution; and
(4) The date the resolution was adopted.
(e) Registered voters of a county seeking to reform, alter or
modify the county commission or county council pursuant to section
thirteen, article IX of the West Virginia Constitution shall submit
a petition, signed by ten percent of the registered voters in the county, to the county commission or county council, setting forth
the information required in subsection (b) of this section. Upon
receipt of the petition, the county commission or county council
shall verify that the signatures on the petition are: (1) Legally
registered voters of the county; and (2) equal to ten percent of
the registered voters of the county.
(f) The county commission or county council shall, within
thirty days of receipt of a constitutionally defective petition,
return it to the petitioners with a written statement as to why the
petition is defective. The petitioners may, within ninety days of
receipt of the written statement from the county commission or
council and after making the necessary changes, resubmit the
petition to the county commission county council.
(g) After verifying that the signatures on the petition meet
the constitutional requirements, the county commission or council
shall forward the petition to the Clerk of the Senate and to the
Clerk of the House of Delegates no later than the tenth day of a
regular legislative session in which the request for reforming,
altering or modifying a county commission or county government is
to be considered by the Legislature
.
(h) After receipt of a certified resolution or verified
petition by the Clerk of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of
Delegates, the Legislature shall determine whether all
constitutional and statutory requirements have been met. If such requirements have not been met, the certified resolution or
verified petition shall be returned with a written statement of the
deficiencies. A certified resolution or verified petition may be
revised following the procedures set forth in this section for an
original submission and then may be resubmitted to the Clerk of the
Senate and the Clerk of the House of Delegates for consideration by
the Legislature. The requirement that the petition be submitted
prior to the tenth day of the legislative session shall not apply
to resubmitted resolutions or petitions.
(i) Following passage of an act by the Legislature authorizing
an election on the question of reforming, altering or modifying a
county commission or council, the question shall be placed on the
ballot of the county at the next general election following such
passage or, at the expense of the county, a special election.
(j) Following approval of the reformation, alteration or
modification of the county commission or council by a majority of
the county's registered voters, nomination of the county commission
or council members and, where authorized, the chief executive,
shall be held in the next primary election or the primary election
set forth in the resolution or petition to reform, alter or modify
the county commission or council. Election of the county
commissioners or council members and, where authorized, the chief
executive
shall be held in the next general election or the general
election set forth in the resolution or petition to change the form of the county commission.
(k) All elections required by this section shall be held in
accordance with the provisions of chapter three of this code.
(l) The following are acceptable forms of county government:
(1) "Chief Executive - county commission plan". -- Under this
plan:
(A) There shall be a chief executive elected by the registered
voters of the county at large and three county commissioners that
shall be elected at large;
(B) The commission shall be the governing body;
(C) The chief executive shall have the exclusive authority to
supervise, direct and control the administration of the county
government. The chief executive shall carry out, execute and
enforce all ordinances, policies, rules and regulations of the
commission;
(D) The salary of the chief executive shall be set by the
Legislature;
(E) Other nonelected officers and employees shall be appointed
by the chief executive subject to the approval of the county
commission; and
(F) The chief executive shall not be a member of the county
commission nor shall he or she hold any other elective office.
(2) "County manager - county commission plan". -- Under this
plan:
(A) There shall be a county manager appointed by the county
commission and three county commissioners that may be elected at
large;
(B) The commission shall be the governing body;
(C) The county manager shall have the exclusive authority to
supervise, direct and control the administration of the county
government. The county manager shall carry out, execute and
enforce all ordinances, policies, rules and regulations of the
commission;
(D) The salary of the county manager shall be set by the
county commission;
(E) Other nonelected officers and employees shall be appointed
by the county manager subject to the approval of the commission;
and
(F) The county manager shall not be a member of the county
commission nor shall he or she hold any other elective office.
(3) "County administrator - county commission plan". --
Under this plan:
(A) There shall be a county administrator appointed by the
county commission and three county commissioners that shall be
elected at large;
(B) The commission shall be the governing body;
(C) The county administrator shall have the authority to
direct the administration of the county government under the supervision of the county commission. The county administrator
shall carry out, execute and enforce all ordinances, policies,
rules and regulations of the commission;
(D) The salary of the county administrator shall be set by the
county commission;
(E) The county administrator shall appoint or employ all
subordinates and employees for whose duties or work he or she is
responsible to the commission; and
(F) The county administrator shall not be a member of the
county commission nor shall he or she hold any other elective
office.
(4) A county council consisting of four or more members that
shall be elected at large.
(5) Any form of county government adopted pursuant to section
thirteen, article IX of the West Virginia Constitution and this
section may, by the methods set forth in this section, return to
the traditional county commission or change to another form of
county government, as set out in this section.
(m) The purpose of this section is to establish the basic
requirements for reforming, altering or modifying a county
commission or county council pursuant to section thirteen, article
IX of the West Virginia Constitution. The structure and
organization of a county government may be specified in greater
detail by resolution or ordinance so long as such provisions do not conflict with the purposes and provisions set forth in this
section, chapter seven-a of this code or the constitution.
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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide requirements
and guidance for reforming, altering or modifying a county
government as authorized in section 13, article IX of the West
Virginia Constitution.)