H. B. 2657
(By Delegates Laird and Pino)
[Introduced February 4, 1999; referred to the
Committee on Political Subdivisions then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section three-ff, article one,
chapter seven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to amend and
reenact section two, article twenty-two, chapter eleven of
said code, all relating to increasing the tax for the
privilege of transferring property by adding five cents per
five hundred dollars to such tax and to further create the
establishment of a central fund from this tax increase to
provide revenue to counties who incur clean-up costs for
property, and authorizing counties to seek, receive and
accept revenue from the central fund established pursuant to said amendments.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section three-ff, article one, chapter seven of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted; and that section two, article
twenty-two, chapter eleven be amended and reenacted, all to read
as follows:
CHAPTER 7. COUNTY COMMISSIONS AND OFFICERS.
ARTICLE 1. COUNTY COMMISSIONS GENERALLY.
§7-1-3ff. Authority of county commission to enact ordinances
regulating the repair, alteration, improvement,
vacating, closing, removal or demolition of unsafe
or unsanitary structures and the clearance and removal of refuse, debris, overgrown vegetation, toxic spills or toxic seepage on private land; authority to create enforcement agency; procedure for complaints; promulgation of rules governing investigation and hearing of complaints; remedies for failure to comply with commission-ordered repairs or alterations; lien and sale of land to recover costs; entry on land to perform repairs and alterations or to satisfy lien; receipt of grants and subsidies.
(a) Plenary power and authority are hereby conferred upon
every county commission to adopt ordinances regulating the
repair, alteration or improvement or the vacating and closing or
removal or demolition, or any combination thereof, of any
dwellings or other buildings, except for buildings utilized for
farm purposes on land actually being used for farming, unfit for
human habitation due to dilapidation, defects increasing the
hazard of fire, accidents or other calamities, lack of
ventilation, light or sanitary facilities or any other conditions
prevailing in any dwelling or building, whether used for human
habitation or not, which would cause such dwellings or other
buildings to be unsafe, unsanitary, dangerous or detrimental to
the public safety or welfare, whether the result of natural or
manmade force or effect.
(b) Plenary power and authority are hereby conferred upon
every county commission to adopt ordinances regulating the
removal and clean up of any accumulation of refuse or debris,
overgrown vegetation or toxic spillage or toxic seepage located
on private lands which is deemed to be unsafe, unsanitary, dangerous or detrimental to the public safety or welfare whether
the result of natural or manmade force or effect.
(c) The county commission in formally adopting such
ordinances shall designate an enforcement agency, which shall
consist of the county engineer (or other technically qualified
county employee or consulting engineer), county health officer or
his or her designee, a fire chief from a county fire company, and
two members at large selected by the county commission to serve
two-year terms. The county sheriff shall serve as an ex officio
member of such enforcement agency and the county officer charged
with enforcing the orders of the county commission under this
section.
(d) Any ordinance adopted pursuant to the provisions of this
section shall provide fair and equitable rules of procedure and
any other standards deemed necessary to guide the enforcement
agency, or its agents, in the investigation of dwelling or
building conditions, accumulation of refuse or debris, overgrown
vegetation or toxic spillage or toxic seepage, and shall provide
for fair and equitable rules of procedure for instituting and
conducting hearings in such matters before the county commission. Any entrance upon premises for the purpose of making examinations
shall be made in such manner as to cause the least possible
inconvenience to the persons in possession.
(e) Any county commission adopting ordinances authorized by
this section shall hear and determine complaints of the
enforcement agency. Complaints shall be initiated by petition of
the county engineer (or other technically qualified county
employee or consulting engineer) on behalf of and at the
direction of the enforcement agency, but only after that agency
has investigated and determined that any dwelling, building,
accumulation of refuse or debris, overgrown vegetation or toxic
spillage or toxic seepage is unsafe, unsanitary, dangerous or
detrimental to the public safety or welfare and should be
repaired, altered, improved, vacated, removed, closed, cleaned or
demolished. The county commission shall cause the owner or
owners of the private land in question to be served with a copy
of the complaint. Service shall be accomplished in the manner
provided in rule four of the West Virginia rules of civil
procedure. The complaint shall state the findings and
recommendations of the enforcement agency and that unless the owner or owners of the property file with the clerk of the county
commission a written request for a hearing within ten days of
receipt of the complaint, an order will be issued by the county
commission implementing the recommendations of the enforcement
agency. If the owner or owners of the property file a request
for a hearing, the county commission shall issue an order setting
this matter down for hearing within twenty days. Hearings shall
be recorded by electronic device or by court reporter. The West
Virginia rules of evidence do not apply to such proceedings, but
each party has the right to present evidence and examine and
cross examine all witnesses. The enforcement agency has the
burden of proving its allegation by a preponderance of the
evidence and has the duty to go forward with the evidence. At
the conclusion of the hearing the county commission shall make
findings of fact, determinations and conclusions of law as to
whether the dwelling or building: Is unfit for human habitation
due to dilapidation; has defects that increase the hazard of
fire, accidents or other calamities, lacks ventilation, light or
sanitary facilities; or any other conditions prevailing in the
dwelling or building, whether used for human habitation or not, and whether the result of natural or manmade force or effect,
which would cause such dwelling or other building to be unsafe,
unsanitary, dangerous or detrimental to the public safety or
welfare; or whether there is an accumulation of refuse or debris;
overgrown vegetation; toxic spillage or toxic seepage on private
lands which is deemed to be unsafe, unsanitary, dangerous or
detrimental to the public safety or welfare, whether the result
of natural or manmade force or effect. The county commission has
authority to order the owner or owners thereof to repair, alter,
improve, vacate, remove, close, clean up or demolish the dwelling
or building in question or to remove or clean up any accumulation
of refuse or debris, overgrown vegetation or toxic spillage or
toxic seepage within a reasonable time and to impose daily civil
monetary penalties on the owner or owners who fail to obey such
an order. Appeals from the county commission to the circuit
court shall be in accordance with the provisions of article
three, chapter fifty-eight of this code.
(f) Upon the failure of the owner or owners of the private
land to perform the ordered duties and obligations as set forth
in the order of the county commission, the county commission may advertise for and seek contractors to make the ordered repairs,
alterations or improvements, or the ordered demolition, removal
or clean up. The county commission may enter into any contract
with any such contractor to accomplish the ordered repairs,
alterations or improvements, or the ordered demolition, removal
or clean up.
(g) A civil proceeding may be brought in circuit court by
the county commission against the owner or owners of the private
land which is the subject matter of the order of the county
commission to subject the private land in question to a lien for
the amount of the contractor's costs in making these ordered
repairs, alterations or improvements, or ordered demolition,
removal or clean up together with any daily civil monetary
penalty imposed and reasonable attorney fees and court costs and
to order and decree the sale of the private land in question to
satisfy the lien, and to order and decree that the contractor may
enter upon the private land in question at any and all times
necessary to make improvements, or ordered repairs, alterations
or improvements, or ordered demolition, removal or clean up. In
addition, the county commission shall have the authority to institute a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction
against the landowner or other responsible party for all costs
incurred by the county with respect to the property and for
reasonable attorney fees and court costs incurred in the
prosecution of the action.
(h) County commissions have the power and authority to
receive and accept grants, subsidies, donations and services in
kind consistent with the objectives of this section.
(i) County commissions have the power to seek, receive and
accept revenue from the county fund for clean-up of dilapidated
and decaying structures established pursuant to section two,
article twenty-two, chapter eleven of this code.
CHAPTER 11. TAXATION.
ARTICLE 22. EXCISE TAX ON PRIVILEGE OF TRANSFERRING REAL
PROPERTY.
§11-22-2. Rate of tax; when and by whom payable; establishment
of fund with part of tax to finance the clean-up
costs for dilapidated buildings; additional county
tax.
Every person who delivers, accepts or presents for recording
any document, or in whose behalf any document is delivered, accepted or presented for recording, shall be subject to pay for
and in respect to the transaction or any part thereof, a state
excise tax upon the privilege of transferring title to real
estate at the rate of one dollar and ten cents one dollar and
fifteen cents for each five hundred dollars' value or fraction
thereof as represented by such document as defined in section one
hereof, which state tax shall be payable at the time of delivery,
acceptance or presenting for recording of such document:
Provided, That there is hereby created in the state treasury a
special revenue account, which shall be an appropriated,
interest-bearing account, designated as the county fund for
clean-up of dilapidated and decaying structures. Provided,
however, That five cents of each one dollar and fifteen cents
that is collected shall be deposited into said fund.
Effective the first day of January, one thousand nine
hundred sixty-eight and thereafter, there is hereby imposed an
additional county excise tax for the privilege of transferring
title to real estate at the rate of fifty-five cents for each
five hundred dollars' value or fraction thereof as represented by
such document as defined in section one hereof, which county tax shall be payable at the time of delivery, acceptance or
presenting for recording of such document: Provided, That
after the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred
eighty-nine, the county may increase said excise tax to an
amount equal to the state excise tax. The additional tax hereby
imposed is declared to be a county tax and to be used for county
purposes: Provided, however, That only one such state tax and
one such county tax shall be paid on any one document and shall
be collected in the county where the document is first admitted
to record, and the same shall be paid by the grantor therein
unless the grantee accepts the same without such tax having been
paid, in which event such tax shall be paid by the grantee:
Provided further, That on any transfer of real property from a
trustee or a county clerk transferring real estate sold for
taxes, such tax shall be paid by the grantee.
The county excise tax imposed under this section may not be
increased in any county unless the increase is approved by a
majority vote of the members of the county commission of such
county. Any county commission intending to increase the excise
tax imposed in its county shall publish a notice of its intention to increase such tax not less than thirty days nor more than
sixty days prior to the meeting at which such increase will be
considered, such notice to be published as a Class I legal
advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three,
chapter fifty-nine of this code, and the publication area shall
be the county in which such county commission is located.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to increase the tax for
the privilege of transferring property by adding five cents per
five hundred dollars to such tax, all in order to create a county
fund for clean-up of dilapidated and decaying structures.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.
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