Senate Bill No. 547
(By Senators Tomblin (Mr. President) and Stollings)
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[Introduced February 11, 2010; referred to the Committee on
Government Organization.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §11-8-12 and §11-8-12a of the Code of
West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to correcting an
inconsistency in the code regarding school board levies.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §11-8-12 and §11-8-12a of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 8. LEVIES.
§11-8-12. Levy estimate by board of education; certification and
publication.
Each board of education shall, at the session provided
for in
section nine of this article, if the laying of a levy has been
authorized by the voters of the district under article nine,
chapter eighteen of the code, ascertain the condition of the fiscal
affairs of the district, and make a statement setting forth:
(1) The amount due, and the amount that will become due and collectible during the current fiscal year except from the levy of
taxes to be made for the year;
(2) The interest, sinking fund and amortization requirements
for the fiscal year of bonded indebtedness legally incurred upon a
vote of the people, as provided by law, by any school district
existing prior to May 22, 1933,
prior to before the adoption of the
Tax Limitation Amendment;
(3) Other contractual indebtedness not bonded, legally
incurred by any such school district existing prior to May 22,
1933,
prior to before the adoption of the Tax Limitation Amendment,
owing by such district;
(4) The amount to be levied for the permanent improvement
fund;
(5) The total of all other expenditures to be paid out of the
receipts for the current fiscal year, with proper allowance for
delinquent taxes, exonerations and contingencies;
(6) The amount of such total to be raised by the levy of taxes
for the current fiscal year;
(7) The proposed rate of levy in cents on each $100 assessed
valuation of each class of property;
(8) The separate and aggregate amounts of the assessed
valuation of real, personal and public utility property within each
class.
The secretary of the board shall forward immediately a
certified copy of the statement to the
Tax Commissioner Auditor and shall publish the statement
forthwith immediately. The session
shall then stand adjourned until the third Tuesday in April, at
which time it shall reconvene:
Provided, That in those years when
a levy is placed on the ballot for consideration during a primary
election, the session shall stand adjourned until the last day of
May that is not a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, at which time
it shall reconvene.
§11-8-12a. Adjourned session of board of education to hear
objections to proposed levies; approval of estimate
and levy by Tax Commissioner; first levy for bonded
and other indebtedness and indebtedness not bonded,
second for Permanent Improvement Fund, then for
current expenses.
Each board of education when it reconvenes shall proceed in a
manner similar in all respects to that provided
for in section ten-
a of this article. The board
shall may not finally enter any levy
until it has been approved in writing by the
Tax Commissioner
Auditor. After receiving the approval, the board shall enter the
statement as approved in its record of proceedings, together with
the written approval:
Provided, That for the fiscal year 1993 only,
each Board of Education may delay its final entry of the levy until
no later than the first Thursday in May, by which time each board
shall have entered the statement as approved in its record of
proceedings, together with the written approval: Provided, however, That any delay by a county board of education in the entry
of its final levy pursuant to the provisions of this section in the
fiscal year 1993 and Provided, That in those years when a levy is
placed on the ballot for consideration during a primary election,
the board shall reconvene and take the action herein required on
the last day in May that is not a Saturday, Sunday or legal
holiday.
Any action taken
prior to before the effective date of
the
2010 amendments to this section that is not inconsistent with
the
provisions of this section or other applicable levy rate sections
of this code are
hereby ratified and confirmed as having full force
and effect.
The board shall levy as many cents per $100 assessed valuation
on each class of property in the county or in the area of a
preexisting school district, as the case may be, as will produce
the amounts, according to the last assessment, shown to be
necessary by the statement in the following order:
First, for the bonded debt and for the contractual debt not
bonded, if any, of any school district of the county existing
prior
to before May 22, 1933, and incurred
prior to before the adoption
of the Tax Limitation Amendment;
Second, for the Permanent Improvement Fund;
Third, for general current expenses.
The rates of levy for each purpose
shall may not exceed the
amounts fixed by section six-c unless another rate is authorized by the Tax Commissioner or set by the Legislature in accordance with
this article. When less than the maximum levies are imposed, the
levies on each class of property shall be in the same proportions
as the maximums authorized.
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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to correct an
inconsistency between the two sections to be amended and the 2007
amendments to §11-8-9.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
)