Senate Bill No. 607
(By Senators McKenzie, Oliverio, Prezioso,
Anderson, Buckalew, Kimble, Boley, Kessler,
Dugan, Fanning, Bowman and Sprouse)
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[Introduced February 19, 1998; referred to the
Committee on Government Organization.]
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A BILL to amend article one, chapter seven of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended,
by adding thereto a new section, designated section three- gg, relating to authorizing counties to lease equipment or
materials.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article one, chapter seven of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section
three-gg, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. COUNTY COMMISSIONS GENERALLY.
§7-1-3gg. Lease agreements for equipment or materials with
option to cancel or renew for one year authorized.
In addition to all other powers and duties now conferred by
law upon county commissions, county commissions are hereby authorized and empowered to
enter into and execute a lease
agreement for the obtaining of equipment or material. Any such
lease agreement may not be void or voidable because it also
provides: (a) That title to the equipment or material shall vest
in the county commission at or before the expiration of the
leasehold term upon fulfillment of the terms and conditions
stipulated in such lease agreement; (b) for application of the
annual rental payments made thereunder toward the purchase price
of the equipment or material, although the total rental payments
under an agreement are in excess of the cash price of the
equipment or material described therein, whether the excess is by
way of interest or a time-price differential; and (c) that the
risk of loss of the equipment or material shall be borne by the
county commission. A lease agreement shall be void, however,
unless the agreement provides that the county commission has the
following options, under the lease agreement, during each fiscal
year of the agreement: (1) The option to terminate the agreement
and return the equipment or material without any further
obligation on the part of the county commission; (2) the option
to continue the agreement for an additional rental period not to
exceed one year in length; and, when the agreement contains the
provisions described in (a), (b) and (c) above; (3) the option to
pay in advance at any time during any fiscal year the balance due under the agreement, with an appropriate rebate of the unearned
interest or time-price differential.
The funds for the initial rental payment under a lease
agreement must be legally at the disposal of the county
commission for expenditure in the fiscal year in which the
agreement is executed, and if the county commission elects during
any subsequent fiscal year to continue the agreement for any
additional rental period or to pay in advance the balance due,
the funds for the additional rental period or the funds to be
used to pay the balance in advance must be legally at the
disposal of the county commission for expenditure in the fiscal
year in which the county commission elects to continue the
agreement or to pay in advance the balance due, as the case may
be.
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(NOTE: This bill authorizes counties to lease equipment.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.)