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.