H. B. 2532
(By Delegates Oliverio, Evans, S. Cook,
Beach and Gallagher)
[Introduced March 10, 1993; referred to the
Committee on Political Subdivisions then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section sixteen, article five,
chapter seven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to fiscal
affairs of counties; establishing form and content
requirements for the annual financial statement to be
published by a county commission; and requiring the county
commission to transmit a copy of such financial statement to
a county resident upon request.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section sixteen, article five, chapter seven of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5. FISCAL AFFAIRS.
§7-5-16. Preparation, publication and disposition of financial
statements.
The county commission of every county, within sixty days
after the first session held after the beginning of each fiscalyear, shall prepare on a form to be prescribed by the state tax
commissioner, and cause to be published a statement revealing:
(a) The receipts
and expenditures of the county during the
previous fiscal year arranged under descriptive headings; (b)
the
name of each firm, corporation, and person who received more than
fifty dollars from any fund during the previous fiscal year,
together with the amount received and the purpose for which paid
the expenditures of the county by account, with each account
listing expenditures by the following categories: Personal
services, contractual services, commodities, capital outlay and
contributions: Provided, That the state department of tax and
revenue may add to or modify these categories; and (c) all debts
of the county, the purpose for which each debt was contracted,
its due date, and to what date the interest thereon has been
paid.
The published statement shall include a notice that a
financial statement containing all receipts, expenditures and
debts of the county is available for public inspection in the
county clerk's office during normal business hours. Such
statement shall be published as a Class I-0 legal advertisement
in compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter
fifty-nine of this code, and the publication area for such
publication shall be the county.
The county commission shall transmit to any resident of the
county requesting the same a copy of the
published financial
statement
containing all receipts, expenditures and debts of the
county for the fiscal year designated, supplemented by a list ofthe names of each firm, corporation, and person who received
less
than fifty dollars moneys from any fund during such fiscal year
showing the amount paid to each and the purpose for which paid.
If a county commission
wilfully fail or refuse willfully
fails or refuses to perform the duties hereinbefore named, every
member of such commission, concurring in such failure or refusal,
shall be is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be fined not less than fifty nor more than one
hundred dollars; and the prosecuting attorney of any such county
shall, when such failure or refusal
shall come comes to his
or
her knowledge, immediately present the evidence thereof to the
grand jury if in session, and if not in session, he
or she shall
institute proper criminal proceedings before a
justice magistrate
against any such offender, and cause such failure or refusal to
be investigated by the next succeeding grand jury.
NOTE: This bill establishes form and content requirements
for the annual financial statement to be published by a county
commission. The bill also requires the county commission to send
a copy of that financial statement to a county resident upon
request.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.