HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 104
(By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss, and
Delegates Martin, Michael, Mezzatesta,
Ashley, Pino and Fleischauer)
Introduced February 2, 1998; referred to the Committee
on Constitutional Revision.
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the State of West
Virginia, amending article ten thereof by adding thereto a
new section, designated section eight-a, relating to the
authority of the Legislature to authorize the issuance by
counties or municipalities of bonds to be payable from
revenues derived from increased real or personal property
taxes in the county or municipality upon the approval of a
majority of the voters in the county or the counties in
which the municipality is located; numbering and
designating the proposed amendment; and providing a
summarized statement of the purpose of the proposed
amendment.
Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia, two thirds of
the members elected to each house agreeing thereto:
That the question of ratification or rejection of an
amendment to the Constitution of the State of West Virginia be
submitted to the voters of the State at the next general election to be held in the year one thousand nine hundred ninety-eight, which proposed amendment is that article ten
thereof be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated
section eight-a, to read as follows:
ARTICLE X. TAXATION AND FINANCE.
§8a. Issuance of bonds payable from incremental increases in property taxes: voter approval required.
Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Constitution,
the Legislature by statute may authorize the issuance by
counties or municipalities of bonds to be payable from all, or
any part, of the revenues derived from taxation of real and
personal property in any issuing county or municipality listed
by the name or names of one or more current taxpayers, or
otherwise, to the extent of the excess in the current and
subsequent tax years of such revenues over the amount of the
revenues derived from the taxation of real and personal property
in the tax year immediately preceding the year in which the
bonds are authorized by the issuing county or municipality:
Provided, That except for excess revenues, no tax revenues of
the county or municipality issuing bonds pursuant to the
statutory authorization by the Legislature under this section
may be pledged to, or used for, the payment of bonds issued
pursuant to such statutory authorization: Provided, however,
That no bonds may be issued pursuant to statutory authorization by the Legislature under this section unless all questions in
connection with the bond issuance have been first submitted to
a vote of the people of the county issuing the bonds, or, in the
case of a municipality issuing bonds, the people of the county
or counties in which such municipality is located, and have
received a majority of all votes cast for and against the same
in each county in which such election is held.
Resolved further, That in accordance with the provisions of
article eleven, chapter three of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, this proposed
amendment is hereby numbered "Amendment No. 1" and designated as
the "Local Option Economic Development Amendment", and the
purpose of the proposed amendment is summarized as follows: "To
amend the State Constitution to permit the Legislature to
authorize the issuance by counties or municipalities of bonds
payable from real and personal property taxes in excess of the
current tax years' tax revenues from one or more current
taxpayers upon approval of a majority of the voters in the
county or counties in the case of a municipality located in more
than one county, provided that, except for the excess, no tax
revenues of the county or municipality issuing the bonds may be
used for the payment of the bonds."
NOTE: The purpose of this proposed constitutional
amendment is to allow counties and municipalities to issue bonds
based upon excess tax revenues. Approval by a vote of the
people is required.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.