H. B. 4067
(By Delegate Kelley)
[Introduced January 23, 1998; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section six, article two-a, chapter
four of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended; to amend and reenact section three,
article one, chapter seven of said code; and to amend and
reenact section eleven, article three, chapter twelve of
said code, all relating to prohibiting any state or county
elected official, except the governor, from being reimbursed
for travel outside the state in his or her last year of
office when the official is not seeking reelection, either
as the result of losing the primary election or choosing not
to seek reelection.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section six, article two-a, chapter four of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted; that section three, article one,
chapter seven of said code be amended and reenacted; and that
section eleven, article three, chapter twelve of said code be
amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 4. THE LEGISLATURE.
ARTICLE 2A. COMPENSATION FOR AND EXPENSES OF MEMBERS OF THE
LEGISLATURE.
PART III. EXPENSES.
§4-2A-6. Travel expenses.
Each member of the Legislature shall be entitled to be
reimbursed, upon submission of an expense voucher, for expenses
incurred incident to travel in the performance of his or her
duties as a member of the Legislature or any committee of the
Legislature, whether such committee is operating under general
law or resolution, including, but not limited to, attendance at
party caucuses held in advance of the date of the assembly of the
Legislature in regular session in odd-numbered years for the
purpose of selecting candidates for officers of the two houses,
at a rate equal to that paid by the travel management office of
the department of administration for the most direct usually
traveled route, if travel is by private automobile, or for actual
transportation costs for direct route travel, if travel is by
public carrier, or for any combination of such means of transportation actually used, plus the cost of necessary taxi or
limousine service, tolls and parking fees in connection
therewith, but during any regular, extension of regular or
extraordinary session, travel expenses shall not be paid to any
member for more than one round trip to and from the seat of
government and to and from his or her place of residence for each
week of any such session:
Provided, That any member in his or
her last year of office who is not seeking reelection by virtue
of losing a primary election or choosing not to run for
reelection is prohibited from being reimbursed for travel outside
of the state.
In addition to the above travel expense, the president of
the Senate and the speaker of the House of Delegates shall be
entitled to be reimbursed as provided above, upon submission of
an expense voucher, for expenses incurred incident to travel for
up to a maximum of eighty days per calendar year in connection
with their visits to the capitol building for business which is
related to their duties as presiding officers of the respective
houses of the Legislature, but which takes place when the
Legislature is not in regular, extension of regular or
extraordinary session and interim committees are not meeting.
The rate paid for mileage pursuant to this section may
change from time to time in accordance with changes in the reimbursement rates established by the travel management office,
or its successor agency.
CHAPTER 7. COUNTY COMMISSIONS AND OFFICERS.
ARTICLE 1. COUNTY COMMISSIONS GENERALLY.
§7-1-3. Jurisdiction, powers and duties; prohibition to provide payment for travel expenditures in last year of elected service.
(a) The county commissions, through their clerks, shall have
the custody of all deeds and other papers presented for record in
their counties and the same shall be preserved therein, or
otherwise disposed of as now is, or may be prescribed by law.
They shall have jurisdiction in all matters of probate, the
appointment and qualification of personal representatives,
guardians, committees, curators and the settlement of their
accounts and in all matters relating to apprentices. They shall
also, under such regulations as now are or may be prescribed by
law, have the superintendence and administration of the internal
police and fiscal affairs of their counties, including the
establishment and regulation of roads, ways, streets, avenues,
drives and the like, and the naming or renaming thereof, in
cooperation with local postal authorities, the division of
highways and the directors of county emergency communications
centers, to assure uniform, nonduplicative conversion of all rural routes to city-type addressing on a permanent basis,
bridges, public landings, ferries and mills, with authority to
lay and disburse the county levies. They shall, in all cases of
contest, judge of the election, qualification and returns of
their own members, and of all county and district officers,
subject to appeal as prescribed by law. Such tribunals as have
been heretofore established by the Legislature under and by
virtue of section thirty-four, article VIII of the constitution
of one thousand eight hundred seventy-two, for police and fiscal
purposes, shall, until otherwise provided by law, remain and
continue as at present constituted in the counties in which they
have been respectively established, and shall be and act as to
police and fiscal matters in lieu of the county commission herein
mentioned, until otherwise provided by law. And until otherwise
provided by law, such clerk as is mentioned in section twenty- six, article VIII of the constitution, as amended, shall exercise
any powers and discharge any duties heretofore conferred on, or
required of, any court or tribunal established for judicial
purposes under said section of the constitution of one thousand
eight hundred seventy-two, or the clerk of such court or
tribunal, respectively, respecting the recording and preservation
of deeds and other papers presented for record, matters of
probate, the appointment and qualification of personal representatives, guardians, committees, curators and the
settlement of their accounts and in all matters relating to
apprentices.
(b) Under no circumstances may a county commission authorize
reimbursement for travel outside the state for any county elected
official who is in his or her last year of office and is not
seeking reelection by virtue of losing a primary election or
otherwise choosing not to seek reelection.
CHAPTER 12. PUBLIC MONEYS AND SECURITIES.
ARTICLE 3. APPROPRIATIONS, EXPENDITURES AND DEDUCTIONS.
§12-3-11. Travel expenses; rules to be promulgated concerning
same; dues to voluntary organizations; recruitment expenses for West Virginia higher education
governing boards; moving expenses of employees of
West Virginia higher education governing boards.
The governor shall promulgate rules and regulations
concerning out-of-state travel by state officials and employees,
except those in the legislative and judicial branches of the
state government and except for the attorney general, auditor,
secretary of state, treasurer, board of investments, commissioner
of agriculture and their employees, and the higher education
governing boards and institutions under their jurisdiction. The
Legislature, the supreme court of appeals and the attorney general, auditor, secretary of state, treasurer, board of
investments, commissioner of agriculture and the higher education
governing boards shall promulgate rules concerning out-of-state
travel for their respective branches and departments of state
government:
Provided, however, That no state elected official in
his or her last year of office, who is not seeking reelection by
virtue of losing a primary election or choosing not to run for
reelection, may be reimbursed for travel outside of the state.
Copies of such rules and regulations shall be filed with the
auditor, and the secretary of state. It shall be unlawful for
the auditor to issue a warrant in payment of any claim for out- of-state travel expenses incurred by a state officer or employee
unless such claim meets all the requirements of the rules and
regulations so filed.
Payment for dues or membership in annual or other voluntary
organizations shall be made from the proper item or appropriation
after an itemized schedule of such organizations, together with
the amount of such dues or membership, has been submitted to the
budget director and approved by the governor.
It shall be lawful for a higher education governing board to
authorize the payment of traveling expenses incurred by any
person invited to visit the campus of any state institution of
higher education or any other facility under control of the board to be interviewed concerning his or her possible employment by
the board or agent thereof.
It shall be lawful for a higher education governing board to
authorize payment of: (1) All or part of the reasonable expense
incurred by a person newly employed by the board in moving his or
her household furniture, effects and immediate family to his or
her place of employment; and (2) all or part of the reasonable
expense incurred by an employee of the board in moving his or her
household furniture, effects and immediate family as a result of
a reassignment of the employee which is considered desirable,
advantageous to and in the best interest of the state: Provided,
That no part of the moving expenses of any one such employee
shall be paid more frequently than once in twelve months.
Provisions of this section relating to the governing boards
of higher education and the institutions under their control
shall expire on the first day of July, two thousand one, unless
the continuation thereof is authorized by the legislative
oversight commission on education accountability.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to prohibit any state or
county elected official from being reimbursed for travel outside
the state in his or her last year of office when the official is
not seeking reelection, either as the result of losing the
primary election or choosing not to seek reelection.
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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