H. B. 2814
(By Delegates Proudfoot, Douglas and Staton)
[Introduced February 17, 1999; referred to the
Committee on Political Subdivisions then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section two, article three, chapter
seven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to requiring
county offices to offer extended hours in the evenings or on
weekends to make county offices more accessible to the
public.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section two, article three, chapter seven of the code
of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. COUNTY PROPERTY.
§7-3-2. Courthouse, jail and offices.
The county commission of every county, at the expense of the
county, shall provide at the county seat thereof a suitable courthouse and jail, together with suitable offices for the judge
of the circuit court and judges of courts of limited
jurisdiction, clerks of circuit courts, courts of limited
jurisdiction and of the county commission, assessor, sheriff,
prosecuting attorney, county superintendent of schools and
surveyor, and all other offices as are or may be required by
law: Provided, That the courthouse, including any annex or
other facility housing the courts and offices herein set out
(excepting all facilities that are on a twenty-four-hour basis),
shall be open to the public Monday through Friday during the
hours prescribed by the county commission by an order duly
recorded in the order book of the commission. The county
commission in such order may, in its discretion, provide that
the courthouse, including any annex or other facility housing the
courts and offices herein set out, be open on Saturday or during
one evening per week and prescribe the hours during which it
shall be open. Such order, if made, shall set forth that each
county courthouse, and all offices covered by this section, shall
be open for three and one-half hours on one evening or Saturday
per week. In no case may the county commission provide that the
courthouse, including any annex or other facility housing the
courts and offices herein set out, be open for business on
Sundays or national or state holidays: Provided, however, That the county commission of every county having a population in
excess of two hundred thousand may provide at the county seat or
elsewhere in the county, as the county commission shall
determine, a suitable jail or jails: Provided further, That the
county commission of any county, regardless of population, may,
as provided in article twenty-three, chapter eight of the code of
West Virginia, contract with the county commissions of one or
more other counties within this state for the erection,
construction, equipment, leasing and renting of a regional
correctional center for either adult or youth offenders, at a
location mutually agreeable to the contracting parties and not
necessarily at the county seat, which will serve each county
entering into the contract. The county commission shall keep the
courthouse, jail and other offices in constant and adequate
repair and supplied with the necessary heat, light, furniture,
record books and janitor service and, except as to the office for
the judge of the circuit court, with the necessary stationery
and postage, and other things as shall be necessary; but all of
the public records, books and papers belonging or appertaining to
the county surveyor's office shall be delivered to the clerk of
the county commission and retained by him or her in his or her
official possession and under his or her control and shall
constitute a part of the public records, books and papers of his
or her office. All courthouses, jails and offices hereafter erected shall be built of stone and brick, or stone or brick, or
other equally fireproof materials and the offices shall be
fireproof or be furnished with fireproof vaults or safes. The
jails shall be well secured, and sufficient for the convenient
accommodation of those who may be confined therein. The county
commission may also provide other necessary offices and
buildings, and may, by purchase or otherwise, acquire as much
land as may be requisite or desirable for county purposes, and
may suitably enclose, improve and embellish the lands so
acquired.
Subject to the conditions hereinabove set forth with respect
to the site of the courthouse, jail and other offices, the
commission may, from time to time, as may seem to it proper,
provide, at the expense of the county, a new or other building or
buildings to be used for the courthouse and jail, or for either,
together with suitable offices, as aforesaid, and for that
purpose may acquire, by purchase or otherwise, and hold any
lands, or lands and buildings, which may be necessary, and may
enclose, improve and embellish the same. When any new or other
building or buildings shall be ready for occupancy, the county
commission shall make an order declaring that, on a day to be
therein named, the new or other building or buildings shall
become the courthouse, or jail, or both the courthouse and jail
of the county, and shall cause copies of the order to be posted at the front door of the new as well as of the old courthouse, at
least twenty days before the day named in the order; and on and
after the day named the new or other building or buildings shall
become, respectively, the courthouse, or jail or both the
courthouse and jail of the county in all respects and for all
purposes. After the change shall have been made the county
commission may sell or otherwise dispose of, as may seem to it
proper, the building or buildings previously used as a courthouse
and jail, or either, and the land on which they are, or either
is, situated, and of the interest of the county therein.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the
contrary, any county commission providing and maintaining a jail
on the effective date of this article shall not be required to
provide and maintain a jail after a regional jail becomes
available pursuant to the provisions of article twenty, chapter
thirty-one of this code, unless the county commission determines
that such a facility is necessary: Provided, That such county
commission may provide and maintain a holding facility which
complies with the standards set forth for such holding facilities
in legislative rules promulgated by the jail and correctional
facility standards commission or its predecessor, the jail and
prison standards commission.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to make all county offices more accessible to the public.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.