HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 12
(By Delegates Overington, Frich,
Sumner, Sobonya, Wakim and Armstead)
[Introduced March 7, 2005; referred to the Committee on
Constitutional Revision then the Judiciary.]
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the State of West Virginia, amending article ten
thereof by adding thereto a new section, designated section five-a, relating to taxes and fees;
providing that bills imposing a tax or license fee and bills increasing the effective rate of any
tax levied or fee imposed may not be enacted unless two thirds of the members of each
house, present and voting, vote in the affirmative for passage; 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 eight, which proposed amendment is that article ten be amended by adding thereto
a new section, designated section five-a, to read as follows:
ARTICLE X. TAXATION AND FINANCE.
§5a. Two-thirds majority required for passage of bills containing tax and fee increases.
(a) Bills imposing a tax or license fee and bills increasing the effective rate of any tax levied
or fee imposed may not be enacted unless two thirds of the members of each house, present and
voting, vote in the affirmative for passage.
(b) Prior to the beginning of each fiscal year, the Legislature shall appropriate revenues to
pay interest on any debt for which it has pledged the State's faith and credit and which interest is
payable in the year for which the appropriation is made and to pay the principal of the debt, payable
in that year, whether at maturity or otherwise. If state revenues are not sufficient to pay the principal
and interest on the debt when due and payable, any revenues received by the State shall be applied
first to the payment of the principal and interest on the debt. The Legislature may, by a simple
majority vote of the members of both houses present and voting in the affirmative, enact a bill to
impose or increase a tax or fee as necessary to ensure that funds are available to pay the principal and
interest on state debts when due and payable but it may not enact any other bill to increase taxes or
fees by simple majority vote.
The provisions of this section do not apply to any tax or license fee authorized by an act of
the Legislature enacted prior to the ratification of this section by the voters.
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 proposed
amendment is hereby numbered "Amendment No. 1" and designated as the "Super-Majority
Required for Passage of Tax Bill Amendment" and the purpose of the proposed amendment is
summarized as follows: "To provide that bills imposing a tax or license fee or increasing a tax or
license fee may not be enacted unless two thirds of the members of each house present vote in the
affirmative for passage."
NOTE: The purpose of this joint resolution is to propose an amendment to the Constitution
to require that bills imposing a tax or license fee and bills increasing the effective rate of any tax
levied or fee imposed may not be enacted unless two thirds of the members of each House, present
and voting, vote in the affirmative for passage.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.