HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 5
(By Delegate Smirl)
(Introduced January 14, 1999; referred to the Committee on
Constitutional Revision; then the Judiciary.]
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 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 two thousand, 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 or her
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 or she
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 becomes 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.