Senate Bill No. 125
(By Senators McKenzie, Mitchell, Bowman, Oliverio, Snyder and
Kessler)
____________
[Introduced January 18, 2000; referred to the Committee
on Government Organization.]
A BILL to amend article one, chapter seven of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended,
by adding thereto a new section, designated section
three-gg, relating to empowering county commissions to
execute lease agreements to obtain equipment or materials.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article one, chapter seven of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section
three-gg, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. COUNTY COMMISSIONS GENERALLY.
§7-1-3gg. Lease agreements for equipment or materials with
option to cancel or renew.
(a) In addition to all other powers and duties now conferred
by law upon county commissions, county commissions are hereby
authorized and empowered to enter into and execute lease
agreements to obtain equipment or material.
(b) A lease agreement may not be voided because it provides:
(1) That title to the equipment or material shall vest in the
county commission at or before the expiration of the leasehold
term upon fulfillment of the terms and conditions stipulated in
the lease agreement; (2) for application of the annual rental
payments made thereunder toward the purchase price of the
equipment or material, although the total rental payments under
an agreement are in excess of the cash price of the equipment or
material described therein, whether the excess is by way of
interest or a time-price differential; or (3) that the risk of
loss of the equipment or material shall be borne by the county
commission.
(c) A lease agreement shall be void, unless the lease
agreement provides that the county commission has the following
options, during each fiscal year of the lease agreement: (1) The option to terminate the agreement and return the equipment or
material without any further obligation on the part of the county
commission; and (2) the option to continue the agreement for an
additional rental period not to exceed one year in length.
When the lease agreement contains the provisions described
in subdivisions (1), (2) and (3), subsection (b) of this section,
then the following option must be included: The option to pay in
advance at any time during any fiscal year the balance due under
the lease agreement, with an appropriate rebate of the unearned
interest or time-price differential.
(d) The funds for the initial rental payment under a lease
agreement must be legally at the disposal of the county
commission for expenditure in the fiscal year in which the lease
agreement is executed. If the county commission elects during any
subsequent fiscal year to continue the lease agreement for any
additional rental period or to pay in advance the balance due,
the funds for the additional rental period or the funds to be
used to pay the balance in advance must be legally at the
disposal of the county commission for expenditure in the fiscal
year in which the county commission elects to continue the lease
agreement or to pay in advance the balance due.
NOTE: The purpose of the bill is to authorize county
commissions to enter into lease agreements for equipment or
materials.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.