Senate Bill No. 391

(By Senators Wooton, Bowman, Snyder, Unger, Kessler, Sprouse, Hunter, Minear, Caldwell, Ross, McCabe, Minard, Anderson, Prezioso and Sharpe)

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[Introduced March 5, 2001; referred to the Committee on Government Organization.]

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A BILL to amend and reenact section three-k, article one, chapter seven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to amend and reenact section eighteen, article twelve, chapter eight of said code, all relating to authorizing county commissions and municipalities to sell and lease property to both the state and federal governments.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section three-k, article one, chapter seven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted; and that section eighteen, article twelve, chapter eight of said code be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. COUNTY COMMISSIONS GENERALLY.
§7-1-3k. Authority to lease, rent or permit the use of county property.

The county commission of each county is authorized to lease, rent or to permit the use of county-owned buildings, lands and other properties or any portion thereof by nonprofit organizations. Authorized uses pursuant to this section shall include the granting of meeting places, service outlets and operational headquarters for organizations established within the county.
Each county commission is authorized to charge and collect fees for uses of county properties pursuant to this section. In addition, each county commission is empowered to promulgate rules and regulations in order to carry out the provisions of this section within the county.
The allocation of county properties for use by organizations shall be controlled either by the county commission or, optionally, by a panel which may be appointed by the commission for this purpose. Any panel appointed pursuant to this section shall consist of not less than three nor more that five members who shall serve at the will and pleasure of the commission. All decisions of a panel, if one is appointed, shall be subject to review by the county commission.
If a panel is appointed pursuant to this section, each member shall be a resident of the county in which the panel sits. A majority of the panel shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, and all matters shall be decided by the majority vote of those members present at a meeting. Each panel is authorized to select from among its members one secretary, who shall keep a record of all proceedings, and one chairman. A member may be entitled to reimbursement for all reasonable and necessary expenses actually incurred in the performance of his or her duties.
(b) The county commission of each county, any county building commission created pursuant to chapter eight, article thirty-three, section one, et seq. of this code and any county development authority created pursuant to chapter seven, article twelve, section one, et seq. of this code are further authorized to sell, lease as lessor or dispose of any of their real or personal property or any interest therein or any part thereof, as authorized in article five, chapter one of this code, or to the United States of America or any agency or instrumentality thereof or to the state or any agency or instrumentality thereof for a public purpose for an inadequate consideration, without considering alone the commercial or market value of such property.
 ARTICLE 12. GENERAL AND SPECIFIC POWERS, DUTIES AND ALLIED RELATIONS OF MUNICIPALITIES, GOVERNING BODIES AND MUNICIPAL OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES; SUITS AGAINST MUNICIPALITIES.
 PART VI. SALE, LEASE OR DISPOSITION OF OTHER MUNICIPAL PROPERTY.
§8-12-18. Sale, lease or disposition of other municipal property.
(a) Every municipality, any municipal building commission created pursuant to chapter eight, article thirty-three, section one, et seq. of this code and any municipal development authority created under chapter seven, article twelve, section one, et seq. of this code may sell, lease as lessor or dispose of any of its real or personal property or any interest therein or any part thereof (other than a public utility which shall be sold or leased in accordance with the provisions of section seventeen of this article), as authorized in article five, chapter one of this code, or to the United States of America or any agency or instrumentality thereof, or to the state or any agency or instrumentality thereof, for a public purpose for an adequate consideration, without considering alone the present commercial or market value of such property.
(b) In all other cases involving a sale, any municipality is hereby empowered and authorized to sell any of its real or personal property or any interest therein or any part thereof for a fair and adequate consideration, such the property to be sold at public auction at a place designated by the governing body, but before making any such sale, notice of the time, terms and place of sale, together with a brief description of the property to be sold, shall be published as a Class II legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code, and the publication area for such the publication shall be the municipality. The requirements of notice and public auction shall not apply to the sale of any one item or piece of property of less value than one thousand dollars, and under no circumstances shall the provisions of this section be construed as being applicable to any transaction involving the trading in of municipally-owned property on the purchase of new or other property for the municipality, and every municipality shall have plenary power and authority to enter into and consummate any such trade-in transaction.
(c) In all other cases involving a lease, any municipality is hereby empowered and authorized to lease as lessor any of its real or personal property or any interest therein or any part thereof for a fair and adequate consideration and for a term not exceeding fifty years. Every such lease shall be authorized by resolution of the governing body of such the municipality, which resolution may specify terms and conditions which must be contained in such lease: Provided, That before any such proposed lease is authorized by resolution of the governing body, a public hearing on such the proposed lease shall be held by such the governing body after notice of the date, time, place and purpose of such the public hearing has been published as a Class I legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code, and the publication area for such the publication shall be the municipality. The power and authority granted in this subsection shall be in addition to and not in derogation of any power and authority vested in any municipality under any constitutional or other statutory provision now or hereafter in effect.



NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize cities and counties to sell or lease property to the state or federal governments.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.