ENROLLED

H. B. 2727


(By Delegates Flanigan, Osborne,

Frederick and Staton)


[Passed April 12, 1997; in effect from passage.]


AN ACT to establish the Mercer County Governmental Council to provide a forum for elected and appointed leaders of Mercer County to use in building consensus about issues facing the county, in order to present a unified voice to government at state and federal levels.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
MERCER COUNTY GOVERNMENTAL COUNCIL.
§1. Mercer County Governmental Council created.
There is hereby created the Mercer County Governmental Council as a cooperative endeavor of the various governmental units and officials of Mercer County, West Virginia, and its municipalities.
§2. Purpose.
The purpose of the council created herein is to foster and promote cooperation and understanding among the various governing bodies and officials of Mercer County, West Virginia and the Mercer County legislative delegation. The desired effect of this organization is for Mercer County to present a unified voice and vision to the state and federal governments for the betterment of Mercer County and to ensure that the citizens of Mercer County are heard by their state and federal representatives and receive a fair and equitable proportion of resources available from these levels of government.
§3. Membership.
The Mercer County Governmental Council shall be composed three distinct groups of members: Full members; affiliate members; and associate members.
The full members shall be the elected members of the governing bodies of the municipalities located within Mercer County, the members of the Mercer County Commission, and those members of the state Senate and the House of Delegates elected to represent Mercer County, or a portion thereof, in the Legislature. The terms of office for these members shall be coextensive with the terms of their respective elected offices.
The affiliate members shall be those individuals elected to the following Mercer County public offices: Sheriff, county clerk, circuit clerk, assessor, prosecuting attorney, circuit judge, and magistrate. The terms of office of these members shall be coextensive with the terms of their respective elected offices.
The associate members shall be those individuals who are elected or appointed to the following offices or positions: Mercer County Economic Development Authority; Bluefield city manager; Princeton city manager; Region I Planning and Development Council; West Virginia Division of Highways district office; Chambers of Commerce; Mercer County Board of Education; Mercer County Health Board; Bluestone Convention and Tourism Board; Mercer County Emergency Services; and hospital administrators of hospitals located in Mercer County. The terms of office of these members shall be coextensive with the terms of their elected or appointed offices or positions.
§4. Officers.
The Mercer County Governmental cCouncil shall, at its first meeting in July, one thousand nineteen hundred ninety-seven, elect from among its membership a president and vice president, who shall serve in their respective capacities for terms of two years. The president shall appoint an individual to serve as secretary/treasurer, who shall serve until a successor is appointed.
§5. Meetings.
The Mercer County Governmental cCouncil shall hold an annual meeting each year on a day in July, to be chosen by a majority vote of the members. Thereafter, the council shall conduct monthly meetings to discuss problems of mutual concern and opportunities for common good; to provide a forum for discourse and discussion among the elected and appointed leaders of Mercer County; and, where possible, to reach consensus on issues of common concern so that Mercer County's governmental leaders may be unified in their efforts to improve the county.
Notice of all meetings shall be provided to members at least one week in advance. The president, or, in the president's absence, the vice president, shall preside. All meetings shall be governed by Roberts Rules of Order and be open to the public, in accordance with the Open Governmental Meetings Act. A simple majority of members constitutes a quorum for conducting business.
§6. Voting.
The council as a whole may take up for consideration any matter brought before it by any member but only full members of the council are entitled to vote on a matter. A simple majority of the full members present voting in the affirmative shall be sufficient for the measure to carry. However, no vote of the council may have a binding effect upon any member in the performance of his or her duties as an elected or appointed official and such votes of the council shall be advisory only.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to establish the Mercer County Governmental Council, for the elected and appointed leaders of Mercer County to build consensus on issues of common concern and to present a unified voice to government at the state and federal level.

This local act is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.