ENGROSSED
H. B. 4018
(By Delegates Beane, Fleischauer, C. White,
Azinger, Fletcher, Shelton and Marshall)
[Introduced January 12, 2000; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section two, article one, chapter
fifty of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to increasing the
maximum number of magistrates allowed; and prohibiting the
reduction of the number of magistrates allocated to each
county as of the thirty-first day of July, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-nine, for magistrates which are to be elected
for the term of office commencing on the first day of
January, two thousand one.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section two, article one, chapter fifty of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. COURTS AND OFFICERS.
§50-1-2. Number of magistrates.
(a) The number of magistrates to be elected in each county
of this state shall be determined in accordance with the
provisions of this section.
(b) On or before the thirty-first day of January, one
thousand nine hundred ninety-six, and on or before the first day
of January in every fourth year thereafter, the supreme court of
appeals shall certify to the board of ballot commissioners of
each county the number of magistrates to be elected in that
county for the term of office commencing on the first day of
January of the succeeding year. The number of magistrates so
certified shall be determined in accordance with the following:
(1) The court may not provide:
(A) For the total number of magistrates in the state to
exceed one hundred fifty-six fifty-nine in number; Provided,
That, effective the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-seven, the total number of magistrates in the state may
not exceed one hundred fifty-seven in number. An appointment
shall be made on the effective date of this subsection to fill
the additional magistrate position created herein;
(B) For the number of magistrates in any one county to
exceed ten in number; or
(C) For the number of magistrates in any one county to be
less than two in number.
(2) The court shall determine the number of magistrates that
would be apportioned for each county by the application of an
equal proportions formula, as follows:
(A) Two magistrates shall be allocated to each county;
(B) The population of the county shall be divided by a
mathematical factor, as established by the equal proportion
method, to establish each county's priority claim to additional
magistrates above the two magistrates provided for by paragraph
(A) of this subdivision; and
(C) Additional numbers of magistrates shall be allocated to
the several counties in order of priority claims, beginning with
the largest claim, until magistrates have been assigned within
the limits of this section.
For purposes of this article, a determination made in
accordance with the provisions of this subdivision is the "equal
proportion number".
(3) The court shall determine the number of magistrates
elected in each county at the last general election in which
magistrates were regularly elected next prior to the preceding
census taken under the authority of the United States government.
For purposes of this article, that number shall be referred to as
the "election number".
(4) The court shall determine the number of case filings per
magistrate in each magistrate court for the most recent fiscal year preceding the date of certification, and shall rank the
magistrate courts from one through fifty-five, in the order of
their case filings per magistrate, with the court having the most
filings per magistrate being ranked number one, and the court
with the least filings per magistrate being ranked number
fifty-five.
(5) If the court determines that the equal proportion number
for a county is the same as the election number for that county,
the court shall certify that number as the number of magistrates
to be elected in that county at the next election.
(6) If the court determines that the equal proportion number
for a county is different from the election number for that
county, the court shall apply the ranking established by
subdivision (4) of this subsection and determine the number of
magistrates for the county, as follows:
(A) If the equal proportion number exceeds the election
number, the number of magistrates to be elected in that county at
the next election shall be the election number: Provided, That,
if the county is ranked as one through ten, inclusive, in
accordance with subdivision (4) of this subsection, the court
shall certify the equal proportion number as the number of
magistrates to be elected in that county at the next election;
(B) If the equal proportion number is less than the election
number, the number of magistrates to be elected in that county at the next election shall be the equal proportion number:
Provided, That if the county is ranked as one through ten,
inclusive, in accordance with subdivision (4) of this subsection,
the court shall certify the election number as the number of
magistrates to be elected in that county at the next election.
(c) Any magistrate in office at the time of the effective
date of this section shall continue as a magistrate, unless
sooner removed or retired as provided by law, until the first day
of January, one thousand nine hundred ninety-three.
Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (a) and (b) of this
section, for magistrates which are to be elected for the term of
office commencing on the first day of January, two thousand one,
the number of magistrates allocated to each county may not be
reduced below the number allocated to each county as of the
thirty-first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-nine.
(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (a), (b)
and (c) of this section, for magistrates which are to be elected
for the term of office commencing on the first day of January,
two thousand one, there shall be a total of one hundred sixty
magistrates, and while the first one hundred fifty-nine shall be
allocated in accordance with the foregoing subsections, the one
hundred sixtieth magistrate shall be allocated to any county
which ranks in the top two counties in case filings per
magistrate for fiscal year one thousand nine hundred ninety-eight--ninety-nine, and which county has also had population
growth of more than ten thousand people since the decennial
census of one thousand nine hundred ninety according to the most
recent available population projections from the United States
Bureau of Census.