ENROLLED
H. B. 2637
(By Delegates Staton, Amores, Hunt,
Linch, Stemple, Schadler and Faircloth)
[Passed March 9, 1999; in effect ninety days from passage.]
AN ACT to amend article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
eighteen, relating to establishing a severability clause for
legislative rules.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section
eighteen, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. RULE MAKING.
29A-3-18. Severability of legislative rules.
Unless there is a provision in a legislative rule specifying
that the provisions thereof shall not be severable, the provisions of every legislative rule, whether enacted before or subsequent to
the effective date of this section, shall be severable so that if
any provision of any rule section or amendment thereto is held to
be unconstitutional or void, the remaining provisions of the rule
shall remain valid, unless the court finds the valid provisions are
so essentially and inseparably connected with, and so dependent
upon, the unconstitutional or void provision that the court cannot
presume the Legislature would have enacted the remaining valid
provisions without the unconstitutional or void one, or unless the
court finds the remaining valid provisions, standing alone, are
incomplete and are incapable of being executed in accordance with
the legislative intent: Provided, That if any legislative rule has
its own severability clause, then that severability clause shall
govern and control with respect to that section, in lieu of the
provisions of this section. The provisions of this section shall
be fully applicable to all future amendments to legislative rules,
with like effect as if the provisions of this section were set
forth in extenso and every such amendment were reenacted as a part
thereof, unless such amendment to the legislative rule contains its
own severability clause.