ENROLLED
Senate Bill No. 2003
(By Senators Tomblin, Mr. President, and Sprouse,
By Request of the Executive)
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(Passed June 11, 2002; in effect from passage.)
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AN ACT to amend and reenact section four, article seven, chapter
twenty-four of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to the powers of the
public service commission concerning property acquisitions.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section four, article seven, chapter twenty-four of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 7. HEADQUARTERS.
§24-7-4. Legislative findings; authority to acquire further
properties.
(a) The Legislature hereby finds that the public service
commission should be authorized to acquire and manage further
properties contiguous with its existing property at 201 Brooks
street in Charleston, West Virginia, and to make improvements on the property necessary to ensure the efficient operations of the
commission's business. Furthermore, the Legislature finds that the
public service commission should be given the necessary authority
to enter into agreements with other entities concerning financing
and use of the acquisitions. The Legislature further finds that
the commission should be allowed to pay for the acquisitions using
excess funds from the special revenues received by the commission
pursuant to section six, article three of this chapter and from
funds received by the use of the properties.
(b) The public service commission may contract to acquire,
lease, rent, purchase, own, hold, construct, equip, maintain,
operate, sell, encumber and assign rights of any property, real or
personal, contiguous with its existing property at 201 Brooks
street in Charleston, West Virginia, consistent with the objectives
of the commission as set forth in this chapter.
(c) The public service commission may enter into contracts,
agreements or other undertakings with other appropriate entities
concerning the financing and use of property acquisitions.
(d) The public service commission may pay for property
acquisitions and related activities from excess funds obtained from
the commission's assessments upon utility gross revenue and
property as provided for in section six, article three of this
chapter. Furthermore, the commission may receive funds from other
entities through the use and management of its properties and use those funds for the payment of the property acquisitions. Any
contracts, agreements or other undertakings relating to property
acquisitions pursuant to provisions of this section shall be
entered into prior to the thirty-first day of December, two
thousand four.
(e) Expenditures for any purpose set forth in this section may
be made only pursuant to legislative appropriation expressly
authorizing by line item expenditure for the specific purpose.
Notwithstanding any provision of section eighteen, article two,
chapter five-a of this code to the contrary, no increase in the
amount of the appropriation may be authorized.