Senate Bill No. 661
(By Senators Fanning and Ross)
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[Introduced March 26, 2001; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section one, article eleven-a, chapter
four of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended; and to further amend said article by
adding thereto two new sections, designated sections four and
five, all relating to providing a limit on the maximum appeal
bond that can be required in litigation in which an appellant
is a signatory to a tobacco settlement; and providing for
applicability.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section one, article eleven-a, chapter four of the code
of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended,
be amended and reenacted; and that said article be further amended by adding thereto two new sections, designated sections four and
five, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 11A. LEGISLATIVE APPROPRIATION OF TOBACCO SETTLEMENT FUNDS
§4-11A-1. Legislative findings and purpose.
(a) On the twenty-third day of November, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-eight, tobacco product manufacturers entered into a
settlement agreement with the state. This "master settlement
agreement" releases those manufacturers from past, present and
specific future claims against them in return for payment of annual
sums of money to the state, obligates the manufacturers to change
their advertising and marketing practices, and requires the
establishment by the manufacturers of a national foundation for the
interests of public health.
(b) The revenues received pursuant to the master settlement
agreement are directly related to the past, present and future
costs incurred by the state for the treatment of tobacco related
illnesses. The purpose of this article is to preserve the revenues
received from the settlement.
(c) The receipt of funds in accordance with the master
settlement agreement shall be deposited only in accordance with the
provisions of this article.
(d) West Virginia receives approximately seventy million dollars in revenue each year under the terms of the master
settlement agreement with the tobacco manufacturers. This revenue
is used to fund programs of vital importance to the people of West
Virginia, and the Legislature finds that it is in the best interest
of the people of this state to protect these revenues.
§4-11A-4. Limitation on appeal bond.
The bond an appellant, that is a signatory or a successor to
a signatory of the master settlement agreement, may be required to
post to stay execution on a judgment during an appeal in any cause
of action shall be determined in accordance with section fourteen,
article five, chapter fifty-eight of this code and the West
Virginia rules of civil procedure: Provided, That an appeal bond
may not exceed twenty-five million dollars.
§4-11A-5.Applicability.
The provisions of this article apply to any action which is
pending in the courts of this state on the effective date of this
article, and to any action which is filed in this state on or after
the effective date.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to protect the State's
stream of revenue from tobacco companies under the master settlement agreement and related settlement agreements by placing
a limit on the maximum appeal bond that must be posted by the
tobacco companies to stay execution on a judgment during the
pendency of an appeal.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
§§4-11A-4 & 5 are new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.