HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 106
(By Delegate Smirl)
[Introduced February 12, 1998; referred to
the Committee on Constitutional Revision.]
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the State of West
Virginia, amending sections one, two, four and sixteen,
article seven, relating to the executive department;
providing for a lieutenant governor; election at general
election; eligibility; how a vacancy in governship filled;
numbering and designating such proposed amendment; and
providing a summarized statement of the purpose of such
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 sections one, two, four and
sixteen, article seven thereof be amended, to read as follows:
ARTICLE VII. EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT
§1. Executive department.
The executive department shall consist of a governor,
lieutenant governor, secretary of state, auditor, treasurer,
commissioner of agriculture and attorney general, who shall be ex
officio reporter of the court of appeals. Their terms of office
shall be four years, and shall commence on the first Monday after
the second Wednesday of January next after their election. They
shall reside at the seat of government during their terms of
office, keep there the public records, books and papers
pertaining to their respective offices, and shall perform such
duties as may be prescribed by law.
§2. Election.
An election for governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of
state, auditor, treasurer, commissioner of agriculture and
attorney general shall be held at such times and places as may be
prescribed by law. In the case of an election for governor and
lieutenant governor, the candidates for governor shall be elected
in the primary election and the winners of the respective
elections for the office of governor shall designate a person of the same party affiliation as lieutenant governor to run on the
ticket for governor and lieutenant governor in the general
election.
§4. Eligibility.
None of the executive officers mentioned in this article
shall hold any other office during the term of his service. A
person who has been elected or who has served as governor during
all or any part of two consecutive terms shall be ineligible for
the office of governor during any part of the term immediately
following the second of the two consecutive terms. The person
holding the office of governor when this section is ratified
shall not be prevented from holding the office of governor during
the term immediately following the term he is then serving. The
provisions of this section do not apply to a person who has
served as lieutenant governor.
§16. Vacancy in governorship, how filled.
In case of the death, conviction on impeachment, failure to
qualify, resignation, or other disability of the governor, the
lieutenant governor shall act as governor until the vacancy is
filled, or the disability removed; and if the lieutenant governor, for any of the above named causes shall become
incapable of performing the duties of governor, the president of
the Senate shall act as governor until the vacancy is filled, or
the disability removed; and if the president of the Senate, for
any of the above named causes, shall become incapable of
performing the duties of governor, the same shall devolve upon
the speaker of the House of Delegates; and in all other cases
where there is no one to act as governor, one shall be chosen by
joint vote of the Legislature. Whenever a vacancy shall occur in
the office of governor before the first three years of the term
shall have expired, a new election for governor shall take place
to fill the vacancy.
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, such proposed
amendment is hereby numbered "Amendment No. 1" and designated as
the "Lieutenant Governor Amendment," and the purpose of the
proposed amendment is summarized as follows: "To amend the State
Constitution to provide for the election of a Lieutenant Governor
and to describe the duties of that office."
NOTE: The purpose of this resolution is to provide for the
election of a lieutenant governor, to be selected by the winner
of the primary election for governor, and to run on the ticket
for governor at the general election.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the Constitution, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.