ENROLLED
H. B. 3119
(By Delegates Hartman, Pethtel, Perry, Williams
and Evans)
[Passed March 11, 2011; in effect ninety days from passage.]
AN ACT to amend and reenact §16-13A-7 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to increasing the expenditure limit
from $15,000 to $25,000 on public service district
construction and purchase contracts before competitive bids
are required.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §16-13A-7 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 13A. PUBLIC SERVICE DISTRICTS.
§16-13A-7. Acquisition and operation of district properties.
The board of these districts shall have the supervision and
control of all public service properties acquired or constructed by
the district, and shall have the power, and it shall be its duty,
to maintain, operate, extend and improve the same, including, but
not limited to, those activities necessary to comply with all
federal and state requirements, including water quality improvement activities. All contracts involving the expenditure by the
district of more than $25,000 for construction work or for the
purchase of equipment and improvements, extensions or replacements,
shall be entered into only after notice inviting bids shall have
been published as a Class I legal advertisement in compliance with
the provision of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code,
and the publication area for such publication shall be as specified
in section two of this article in the county or counties in which
the district is located. The publication shall not be less than
ten days prior to the making of any such contract. To the extent
allowed by law, in-state contractors shall be given first priority
in awarding public service district contracts. It shall be the
duty of the board to ensure that local in-state labor shall be
utilized to the greatest extent possible when hiring laborers for
public service district construction or maintenance repair jobs.
It shall further be the duty of the board to encourage contractors
to use American made products in their construction to the extent
possible. Any obligations incurred of any kind or character shall
not in any event constitute or be deemed an indebtedness within the
meaning of any of the provisions or limitations of the
Constitution, but all such obligations shall be payable solely and
only out of revenues derived from the operation of the public
service properties of the district or from proceeds of bonds issued
as hereinafter provided. No continuing contract for the purchase
of materials or supplies or for furnishing the district with electrical energy or power shall be entered into for a longer
period than fifteen years.