COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Joint Resolution No. 5
(By Senators Bailey, Snyder, Bowman,
Helmick, Fanning, Edgell, Kessler, Deem and Anderson)
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[Originating in the Committee on Finance;
reported February 24, 1999]
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Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the State of West
Virginia, amending section thirty-three, article VI thereof,
relating to legislative pay raise reform; numbering and
designating the proposed amendment; and providing a
summarized statement of the purpose of the proposed
amendment.
Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia, two thirds of
the members elected to each house agreeing thereto:
That the question of ratification or rejection of an
amendment to the Constitution of the State of West Virginia be
submitted to the voters of the State at the next general election
to be held in the year two thousand, which proposed amendment is
that section thirty-three, article VI thereof, be amended to read as follows:
ARTICLE VI. THE LEGISLATURE.
§33. Compensation and expenses of members.
Members of the Legislature shall receive such increases in
compensation in connection with the performance of their
respective duties as members of the Legislature and such
increases in
allowances for travel and other expenses in
connection therewith as shall be(1) established in a resolution
submitted to the Legislature with the performance of their duties
or additional days for which they shall be compensated as is
determined by the citizens legislative compensation commission.
hereinafter created and (2) thereafter enacted into general law
by the Legislature at a regular session thereof, subject to such
requirements and conditions as shall be prescribed in such
general law. The Legislature may in any such by enactment
general law reduce but shall not increase any item of
compensation or expense allowance established in such resolution
Commission. All voting on the floor of both houses on the
question of passage of any such general law shall be by yeas and nays to be entered on the journals
The citizens legislative compensation commission is hereby
created continued. It shall be composed of seven members who
have been residents of this state for at least ten years prior to
the date of appointment, to be appointed by the governor, within
twenty days after ratification of this amendment, no more than
four of whom shall be members of the same political party. The
members shall be broadly representative of the public at large.
Members of the Legislature and officers and employees of the
state or of any county, municipality or other governmental unit
of the state shall are not be eligible for appointment to or to
serve as members of the commission. Each member of the
commission shall serve for a term of seven years except of the
members first appointed, one member shall be appointed for a term
of one year, and one each for terms ending two, three, four,
five, six and seven years after the date of appointment. As the
term of each member first appointed expires, a successor shall be
appointed for a seven-year term. Any member may be reappointed
for any number of terms and any vacancy shall be filled by the
governor for the unexpired term. Any member of the commission may be removed by the governor prior to the expiration of such
the member's term for official misconduct, incompetency or
neglect of duty. The governor shall designate one member of the
commission as chairman chairperson. The members of the
commission shall serve without compensation, but shall be are
entitled to be reimbursed for all reasonable and necessary
expenses actually incurred in the performance of their duties as
such members.
The commission shall may meet as often as may be is
determined necessary by the chairperson and shall within fifteen
days after the beginning of the regular session of the
Legislature in the year one thousand nine hundred seventy-one and
within fifteen days after the beginning of the regular session in
each fourth year thereafter submit by resolution to the
Legislature its determination of compensation and expense
allowances, which resolution must be concurred in by at least
four members of the commission meet on the second Tuesday of
January in the year two thousand one and on the second Tuesday of
January every fourth year thereafter. Within ten days of
determining any increase in the compensation, increase in allowances for travel and other expenses, or additional days for
which members of the Legislature shall be compensated, the
commission shall file the determination with the office of the
secretary of state and shall forward copies to the governor, the
speaker of the House of Delegates and the president of the
Senate. The commission may provide for an increase in the
compensation or allowance for expenses of members of the
Legislature to become effective annually over a number of not
more than four consecutive years.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this constitution,
such compensation and expense allowances as may be provided for
by any such general law the Commission shall be paid on and after
the effective date of such general law the Commission's
determination the increased compensation, increased allowance
for expenses or increased days for which members of the
Legislature are to be compensated become effective on the first
day of the month following the month in which the determination
of increase is filed with the secretary of state: Provided, That
increases to be made over a period of years become effective on
the dates authorized in the determination filed with the office of the secretary of state.
Until the first such general law
determination becomes effective, the provisions of this section
in effect immediately prior to the ratification of this amendment
shall continue continue to govern.
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Resolved further, That in accordance with the provisions of
article eleven, chapter three of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, such the proposed
amendment is hereby numbered "Amendment No. 1" and designated as
the "Legislative Pay Raise Reform Amendment" and the purpose of
the proposed amendment is summarized as follows: "The purpose of
this amendment is to provide that the Citizen's Legislative
Compensation Commission determines increases in pay and
allowances for travel and other expenses and any additional days
compensation will be paid for members of the Legislature, and
removes authority of the Legislature to vote to increase or
decrease the compensation and allowance for expenses of the
members."