H. B. 4667
(By Delegates Michael, Doyle, Campbell,
Keener, Anderson and Ashley)
(Originating in the Committee on Finance)
[February 27, 2002]
A BILL to amend and reenact sections two and four, article six,
chapter eight of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, all relating to annexation by
municipalities generally; requiring municipalities to petition
county commissions for authority to annex territory in the
county where the area to be annexed includes certain
commercial businesses; to provide that the question of whether
the territory proposed to be annexed conforms with certain
criteria is reviewable by a circuit court; and to require a
majority vote on certain questions of annexation in the
municipality and in the territory to be annexed.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections two and four, article six, chapter eight of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 6. ANNEXATION.
PART II. ANNEXATION BY ELECTION.
§8-6-2. Petition for annexation.
(a) Five percent or more of the freeholders of a municipality
desiring to have territory annexed thereto may file a petition in
writing with the governing body thereof setting forth the change
proposed in the metes and bounds of the municipality and asking
that a vote be taken upon the proposed change. The petition shall
be verified and shall be accompanied by an accurate survey map
showing the territory to be annexed to the corporate limits by the
proposed change.
(b) The petitioners shall obtain a surety bond in an amount
set by the governing body sufficient to cover the cost of the
election. The bond shall be forfeited if a majority of the votes
cast are against the proposed annexation.
(c) The governing body shall, upon receipt of the bond, order
a vote of the qualified voters of the municipality to be taken upon
the proposed annexation on a date and at a time and place to be
named in the order, not less than twenty nor more than thirty days
from the date thereof
: Provided, That if the area proposed to be
annexed includes a commercial business entity employing more than
five hundred employees, then the governing body shall petition the
county commission of every county in which the territory proposed
to be annexed is located for authority to annex the territory in
that county by election
, and no such election shall be held unless
it has been approved by the county commission of each county in
which the territory proposed to be annexed is located.
(d) The governing body shall, at the same time, order a vote of all of the qualified voters of the additional territory and of
all of the freeholders of such additional territory whether they
reside or have a place of business therein or not, to be taken upon
the question on the same day at some convenient place in or near
the additional territory: Provided, That the additional territory
to be included shall conform to the requirements of section one,
article two of this chapter:
Provided, however, the population
density requirements of subdivision (3), subsection (a), section
one, article two of this chapter shall not apply, and the
population density requirements of subdivision (2), subsection (a),
section one of this article shall be applied on a pro-rata basis to
the territory proposed to be annexed regardless of the size of the
territory to be annexed: Provided further, That the determination
that the additional territory does so conform shall be reviewable
by the circuit court of the county in which the municipality or the
major portion of the territory thereof, including the area proposed
to be annexed, is located upon certiorari to the governing body, in
accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-
three of this code.
(e) The governing body shall cause the order for the election
to be published, at the cost of the municipality, as a Class II-0
legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article
three, chapter fifty-nine of this code. The publication area is the
municipality and the additional territory. The first publication
must be at least fourteen days prior to the date upon which the
vote is to be taken. The order for the election shall contain an accurate description by metes and bounds of the additional
territory proposed to be annexed to the corporate limits by the
proposed change, a summary of the municipality's plan for providing
services to the additional territory and, if practicable, shall
also contain a popular description of the additional territory.
(f) The election shall be held, superintended and conducted
and the results thereof ascertained, certified, returned and
canvassed in the same manner by the same individuals as elections
for municipal officers. The election is reviewable by the circuit
court of the county in which the municipality or the major portion
thereof, including the area proposed to be annexed, is located.
The order may be reviewed by the circuit court as an order of a
county commission ordering an election may be reviewed under
section sixteen, article five of this chapter.
(g) The ballots, or ballot labels where voting machines are
used, shall have written or printed on them the words:
/ / For Annexation
/ / Against Annexation
(h) Any freeholder which is a firm or corporation may vote by
its manager, president or executive officer duly designated in
writing by such firm or corporation.
(i) An individual who is a qualified voter and freeholder of
the municipality or the additional territory shall be entitled to
vote only once.
(j) For purposes of this section, the term "qualified voter of
the additional territory" includes a firm or corporation in the
additional territory regardless of whether the firm or corporation
is a freeholder. A firm or corporation may vote by its manager,
president, or executive officer duly designated in writing by the
firm or corporation. In any instance where a freeholder leases or
rents real property to a firm or corporation the freeholder and the
firm or corporation shall determine which entity will be entitled
to vote in the annexation election.
(k) When an election is held in any municipality in accordance
with the provisions of this section, another election relating to
the same proposed change or any part thereof shall not be held for
a period of one year.
(l) If a majority of all of the legal votes cast both in the
municipality and a separate majority of all the legal votes cast
in the territory are each in favor of the proposed annexation, then
the governing body shall proceed as specified in the immediately
succeeding section of this article.
(m) The provisions of this section as enacted in the year two
thousand two shall apply to elections held after the effective date
the enactment.
PART III. ANNEXATION WITHOUT ELECTION.
§8-6-4. Annexation without an election.
(a) The governing body of a municipality may, by ordinance,
provide for the annexation of additional territory without ordering
a vote on the question if: (1) A majority of the qualified voters of the additional territory file with the governing body a petition
to be annexed; and (2) a majority of all freeholders of the
additional territory, whether they reside or have a place of
business therein or not, file with the governing body a petition to
be annexed:
Provided, That the additional territory to be included
shall conform to the requirements of section one, article two of
this chapter:
Provided, however, the population density
requirements of subdivision (3), subsection (a), section one,
article two of this chapter shall not apply, and the population
density requirements of subdivision (2), subsection (a), section
one of this article shall be applied on a pro-rata basis to the
territory proposed to be annexed regardless of the size of the
territory to be annexed: Provided further, That the determination
that the additional territory does so conform shall be reviewable
by the circuit court of the county in which the municipality or the
major portion of the territory thereof, including the area proposed
to be annexed, is located upon certiorari to the governing body, in
accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-
three of this code.
(b) For purposes of this section, the term "qualified voter of
the additional territory" includes firms and corporations in the
additional territory regardless of whether the firm or corporation
is a freeholder. A firm or corporation may sign a petition by its
manager, president or executive officer duly designated in writing
by the firm or corporation. In any instance where a freeholder
leases or rents real property to a firm or corporation the freeholder and the firm or corporation shall determine which entity
will be entitled to sign a petition relating to the proposed
annexation.
(c) The determination that the requisite number of petitioners
have filed the required petitions shall be reviewable by the
circuit court of the county in which the municipality or the major
portion of the territory thereof, including the area proposed to be
annexed is located, upon certiorari to the governing body in
accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter
fifty-three of this code.
(d) A qualified voter of the additional territory who is also
a freeholder of the additional territory may join only one petition
of the additional territory.
(e) It shall be the responsibility of the governing body to
enumerate and verify the total number of eligible petitioners, in
each category, from the additional territory. In determining the
total number of eligible petitioners, in each category, a
freeholder or any other entity that is a freeholder shall be
limited to one signature on a petition as provided in this section.
There shall be allowed only one signature on a petition per parcel
of property and any freehold interest that is held by more than one
individual or entity shall be allowed to sign a petition only upon
the approval by the majority of the individuals or entities that
have an interest in the parcel of property.
(f) If all of the eligible petitioners are qualified voters,
only a voters' petition is required.
(g) If satisfied that the petition is sufficient in every
respect, the governing body shall enter that fact upon its journal
and forward a certificate to that effect to the county commission
of the county wherein the municipality or the major portion of the
territory thereof, including the additional territory, is located.
The county commission shall thereupon enter an order as described
in the immediately preceding section of this article. After the
date of the order, the corporate limits of the municipality shall
be as set forth therein.
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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