Senate Bill No. 583
(By Senators Oliverio and Prezioso)
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[Introduced February 15, 2006; referred to the Committee
on Education; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §8-27-3, §8-27-4, §8-27-5 and §8-27-26
of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating
to including the governing boards of state-funded colleges and
universities as entities eligible to participate in urban mass
transit authorities.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §8-27-3, §8-27-4, §8-27-5 and §8-27-26 of the Code of
West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to
read as follows:
ARTICLE 27. INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS -- URBAN MASS
TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS.
§8-27-3. Definitions.
As used in this article, unless a different meaning appears
from the context:
(a) "Authority" means any urban mass transportation authority
created pursuant to the provisions of this article;
(b) "Board" means the board of any urban mass transportation authority;
(c) "Contiguous counties" means two or more counties which
constitute a compact territorial unit within an unbroken boundary
wherein one county touches at least one other county, but does not
require that each county touch all of the other counties so
combining;
(d) "Facilities and equipment" means all real and personal
property of every kind and character owned or held by any urban
mass transportation system for the purpose of providing
transportation by bus or rail or other conveyance serving the
public;
(e) "Participating government" means any municipality,
governing board of any state supported college or university or
county establishing or participating in an urban mass
transportation authority;
(f) "Project" means any undertaking of an authority;
(g) "Revenues" means the gross receipts derived directly or
indirectly from or in connection with the operation by an authority
of any urban mass transportation system or systems and shall
include, without limitation, all fees, rates, fares, rentals or
other income actually received or receivable by or for the account
of an authority from the operation of the system, and any other
receipts from whatever source derived;
(h) "Service area of the authority" means and includes an area
commensurate with the area served by an existing system or systems
acquired or to be acquired by an authority, or if there be no existing system, the area shall extend to and include an area to be
defined by the authority;
(i) "System" means any urban mass transportation system;
(j) "Trust indenture" means a security instrument entered into
by an authority pursuant to which bonds or notes are issued;
(k) "Urban area" means any area that includes a municipality
or other built-up place which is appropriate for a system to serve
commuters or others in the locality taking into consideration the
local patterns and trends of growth;
(l) "Urban mass transportation system" means any common
carrier of passengers for hire which operates equipment over
regular routes within the service area of the authority; and
(m) The singular shall include the plural and the plural shall
include the singular.
§8-27-4. Urban mass transportation authorities authorized;
authorities to be public corporations.
Any municipality,
governing board of any state supported
college or university or county, or
both, or any
combination of two
or more governing boards of state supported colleges or
universities, two or more municipalities within any county or
contiguous counties, or any two or more contiguous counties, or any
combination thereof, may create an urban mass transportation
authority.
Such The authority shall be created upon the adoption,
by the governing body of each participating government, acting
individually, of an appropriate ordinance or order. Each authority
shall constitute a public corporation, and as such, shall have perpetual existence.
PART II. ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTION OF
AUTHORITIES AND BOARDS.
§8-27-5. Management of authority vested in board; eligibility,
appointment, number and term of members; vote of
members; vacancies.
The management and control of any authority, its operations,
business and affairs shall be lodged in a board of not less than
five nor more than fifteen individuals who shall be known as
members of the board and who shall be appointed for terms of three
years each by the governing bodies of the participating
governments.
For the purpose of this article, a participating
government shall include a governing board of any state supported
college or university participating in the authority. Prior to
making the initial appointments to the board, the governing bodies
of the participating governments shall agree to make such initial
appointments so that approximately one third of the total number of
the members to be so appointed shall be appointed for a term of one
year, approximately one third of such total number of the members
shall be appointed for a term of two years and approximately one
third of such total number of the members shall be appointed for a
term of three years. As the term of each such initial appointee
expires, the successor to fill the vacancy created by such expired
term shall be appointed for a term of three years. The number of
members representing each participating government shall be as
agreed upon from time to time by the governing bodies of the said participating governments. When a participating government is
represented by more than one member on the board of an authority,
such members shall be entitled to cast the votes of that
participating government in such manner as that participating
government may direct in the order or ordinance appointing its
members.
Each participating government shall have one vote for each
five hundred dollars it has contributed to the authority in the
form of moneys or property. When property is contributed, the
contributing participating government and the authority shall agree
in writing at the time the contribution is made as to the fair
market value of such property, which valuation shall determine the
number of votes to be allocated to the participating government on
the basis thereof. For the fiscal year during which any authority
is formed, the number of votes to which any participating
government shall be entitled shall be determined as of the time of
formation of the authority and shall govern until the end of that
fiscal year, even though additional moneys or property are
contributed during that fiscal year. Thereafter, the number of
votes shall be determined at the end of each fiscal year and such
determination shall govern for the ensuing fiscal year, even though
additional moneys or property are contributed during that fiscal
year. Subsequent to its formation, any authority may permit any
municipality,
governing board of any state supported college or
university or county within or without this state to participate in
the affairs of the authority, to appoint members of the authority in the same manner, and to have such vote or votes beginning as of
the next ensuing fiscal year, as prescribed by law with respect to
the original participating municipalities or counties or any
combination thereof.
Any individual who is a resident of, or member of the
governing body, of, any participating government is eligible to
serve as a member of the board. The governing body of each
participating government shall inform the authority of its
appointments or reappointments to the board by delivering to the
authority a certified copy of the ordinance or order making the
appointment or reappointment. If any member of the board dies,
resigns or for any other reason ceases to be a member of the board,
the governing body of the participating government which such
member represented shall appoint another individual to fill the
unexpired portion of the term of such member.
PART XI. DISSOLUTION OF AUTHORITY; WORKERS' COMPENSATION.
§8-27-26. Dissolution of authority; disposition of assets after
payment of debts.
In the event full and adequate provision is made for the
payment of all of the debts of an authority, the participating
municipalities,
governing boards of any state supported college or
university or counties or any combination thereof which have
contributed at least sixty percent of the total value of all moneys
and property (the value of which property is determined as
specified in section five of this article) contributed to the
authority by the participating municipalities,
governing boards of any state supported college or university and counties may by
resolution provide for the dissolution of the authority and for (1)
the conveyance of the real and tangible personal property
contributed to it to those participating municipalities,
governing
boards of any state supported college or university and counties
which contributed the same, (2) equitable distribution among the
contributing municipalities,
governing boards of any state
supported college or university and counties of any real and
tangible personal property purchased or condemned by the authority
or of the proceeds of sale thereof, or the fair value thereof, and
(3) the equitable distribution of all moneys on hand to the
participating municipalities,
governing boards of any state
supported college or university and counties in direct proportion
to the contribution of moneys by them.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to include the governing
boards of state funded colleges and universities as entities
eligible to participate in urban mass transit authorities.
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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