COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 2723
(By Delegates Morgan, Martin, Argento, Beach,
Caputo, Eldridge, Andes and C. Miller)
(Originating in the House Committee on the Judiciary)
[March 27, 2009]
A BILL to amend and reenact §8-13-13 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to authorizing municipalities to
file liens for delinquent service fees; requiring municipal
ordinances to have assessment and collection procedures for
the service fees; requiring administrative procedures by
municipalities for imposition of liens; and requiring the
right to appeal to circuit court.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §8-13-13 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 13. TAXATION AND FINANCE.
PART III. SPECIAL CHARGES FOR MUNICIPAL SERVICES.
§8-13-13. Special charges for municipal services.
(a) Notwithstanding any charter provisions to the contrary,
every a municipality which furnishes any essential or special
municipal service, including, but not limited to, police and fire
protection, parking facilities on the streets or otherwise, parks
and recreational facilities, street cleaning, street lighting, street maintenance and improvement, sewerage and sewage disposal,
and the collection and disposal of garbage, refuse, waste, ashes,
trash and any other similar matter,
shall have has plenary power
and authority to provide by ordinance for the installation,
continuance, maintenance or improvement of
such the service, to
make reasonable regulations
with respect thereto of the service,
and to impose by ordinance upon the users of
such the service
reasonable rates, fees and charges to be collected in the manner
specified in the ordinance.
(b) Provided, That Any sewerage and sewage disposal service
and any service incident to the collection and disposal of garbage,
refuse, waste, ashes, trash and any other similar matter
shall be
is subject to the provisions of chapter twenty-four of this code.
(c) The A municipality shall not
however, have a lien on any
property as security for payments due under
such subsection (a) of
this section ordinance except as provided in subsection (d) of this
section.
(d) A municipality has authority to enact an ordinance
permitting it to file a lien pursuant to this section for unpaid
fire, police or street fees
on real property located within the
municipal corporate limits as to which such fees are delinquent.
The ordinance must provide an administrative procedure for the
municipality's assessment and collection of the fees. The
administrative procedure must require that, before any lien is
filed, the municipality will give
notice to the property owner, by
certified mail, return receipt requested, that the municipality will file the lien unless the delinquency is paid
by a date stated
in the notice, which must be no less than ninety days from the date
the notice is mailed
.
The administrative procedure must
include
the right to appeal to the circuit court of the county in which the
real property is located. The circuit court shall consider the
appeal under its general authority, including but not limited to
subsection (f), section two, article two of chapter fifty-one of
this code.
(e) Notwithstanding the provisions of section four, article
eleven of this chapter, any ordinance enacted or substantially
amended under the provisions of this section shall be published as
a Class II legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of
article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code. and The publication
area for such the publication shall be such is the
municipality.
(f) In the event thirty percent of the qualified voters of the
municipality, by petition duly signed by them in their own
handwriting and filed with the recorder of the municipality within
fifteen forty-five
days after the expiration of such the
publication, protest against such the ordinance as enacted or
amended, the ordinance shall not become effective until it shall be
is ratified by a majority of the legal votes cast thereon by the
qualified voters of such the municipality at a regular municipal
election or special municipal election, as the governing body shall
direct directs. Voting thereon shall not take place until after
notice of such the submission shall have been is given by
publication as above provided in subsection (d) of this section, for the publication of the ordinance after it is adopted or
substantially amended.
(g) The powers and authority hereby granted to municipalities
and to the governing bodies thereof of municipalities in this
section are in addition and supplemental to the powers and
authority named in any charters thereof of the municipalities.
(h) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section, in
the event if rates, fees and charges herein provided for shall be
in this section are imposed by the governing body of any a
municipality for the purpose of replacing, and in amounts
approximately sufficient to replace in its general fund such
amounts as shall be appropriated to be paid out of from ad valorem
taxes upon property within the municipality, pursuant to an
election duly called and held under the Constitution and laws of
the state to authorize the issuance and sale of the municipality's
general obligation bonds of the municipality for public improvement
purposes, in the call for which the election it shall be stated
state that the governing body of the municipality proposes to
impose rates, fees and charges in specified amounts under this
section for the use of one or more of the services above specified
in subsection (a) of this section, which shall be related to the
public improvement proposed to be made with the proceeds of the
bonds, no notice, publication of notice, or referendum or election
or other condition or prerequisite to the imposition of such the
rates, fees and charges shall be required or necessary other than
the legal requirements for issuance and sale of such the general obligation bonds.
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