Senate Bill No. 551
(By Senator Deem)
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[Introduced March 21, 2001; referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section three, article ten, chapter three of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to requiring that the governor's appointment to fill a vacancy for the office of United States senator be subject to the advice and consent of the state Senate.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section three, article ten, chapter three of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 10. FILLING VACANCIES.
§3-10-3. Vacancies in offices of state officials, United States senators and judges.
Any vacancy occurring in the office of secretary of state, auditor, treasurer, attorney general, commissioner of agriculture, United States senator, judge of the supreme court of appeals or in any office created or made elective, to be filled by the voters of the entire state or judge of a circuit court, shall be filled by the governor of the state by appointment: Provided, That any appointment by the governor to fill a vacancy in the office of United States senator shall be subject to the advice and consent of the Senate. If the unexpired term of a judge of the supreme court of appeals, or a judge of the circuit court, be for less than two years, or if the unexpired term of any other office named in this section be for a period of less than two years and six months, the appointment to fill the vacancy shall be for the unexpired term. If the unexpired term of any office be for a longer period than above specified, the appointment shall be until a successor to the office has timely filed a certificate of candidacy, has been nominated at the primary election next following such a timely filing and has thereafter been elected and qualified to fill the unexpired term. Proclamation of any election to fill an unexpired term shall be made by the governor of the state and, in the case of an office to be filled by the voters of the entire state, shall be published prior to such the election as a Class II-0 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 each county of the state. If the election be to fill a vacancy in the office of judge of a circuit court, the proclamation shall be published prior to such the election as a Class II-0 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 each county in the judicial circuit.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require that the governor's appointment to fill a vacancy for the office of United States senator be subject to the advice and consent of the state Senate.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.