H. B. 3127

(By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss, and Delegate Staton)

[Introduced March 30, 2001; Referred to the

Committee on the Judiciary.]






A BILL to amend article two, chapter fifty-five of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section nineteen-b, relating to limitation of actions and suits; providing that members of the Legislature and the Legislature may not be named as parties in suits and actions pertaining to funding, legislative enactments, governmental affairs and any other matter involving performance of their official legislative duties; court without jurisdiction to hear or decide action where the Legislature or any member of the Legislature is named as a party under specified circumstances; providing that the speaker is the representative of the house and the president is the representative of the senate with respect to lawsuits; provisions retroactive; specifying time limit to correct style of any cases currently pending; and setting forth an effective date.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article two, chapter fifty-five of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section nineteen-b, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. LIMITATION OF ACTIONS AND SUITS.
§55-2-19b. Members of Legislature and Legislature not to be named as parties in certain suits and actions; retroactivity; court without jurisdiction; savings clause for certain suits; speaker to represent house and president to represent senate; intervention and amicus by Legislature.

(a) Notwithstanding anything in this code to the contrary, no member of the Legislature nor the Legislature may be named as a party in any action, suit or proceeding or made a party to any action, suit or proceeding in any court in this state challenging any law or governmental action or inaction, relating to funding, legislative enactments, governmental affairs or any other matter involving performance of the official legislative duties of the Legislature or any of the members of the Legislature. No court of this state has jurisdiction to hear and decide any action, suit or proceeding challenging any law or governmental action or inaction, relating to funding, legislative enactments, governmental affairs or any other matter involving performance of the official legislative duties of the Legislature or any of the members of the Legislature where a member or members of the state Legislature or the Legislature has been named as a party.
(b) The provisions of this section are retroactive and shall apply to any action, suit or proceeding pending before any court of this state on the effective date of this section. The party or parties having any action, suit or proceeding pending in any court on the effective date of this section shall have ten days from the effective date of this section to bring the appropriate motion before the court in which such action, suit or proceeding to dismiss member or members of the Legislature and the Legislature or any of the preceding from such suit, proceeding or action. If this motion is not made within the specified ten day period, the court where the action, suit or proceeding is pending is wholly without jurisdiction to proceed further with the pending action, suit or proceeding except to immediately dismiss the same with prejudice. Such dismissal shall be deemed a dismissal on the merits of that action for all purposes.
(c) Any action, suit or proceeding filed in any court of this state which violates the provisions of this section is void ab initio, upon appropriate motion to dismiss shall be dismissed with prejudice.
(d) Nothing contained herein may be read to prohibit any person from being sued personally for any other purpose where he or she may have personal liability wholly unrelated to his or her official position.
(e) The senate or the house of delegates, or the Legislature has the absolute right at all times to intervene in any action or suit in this state, and has the absolute right to file an amicus curiae brief at any time in any suit or action in this state.
(f) In any action or suit where the Legislature has intervened or where the Legislature has chosen to file an amicus brief, the speaker of the house shall be the lead spokesperson and decision maker for the house of delegates in all respects and as to all matters relating to the suit or action, and the president of the senate shall be lead spokesperson and decision maker for the senate in all respects and as to all matters relating to the suit or action.
(g) The provisions of this section shall take effect upon passage.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide that members of the Legislature and the Legislature may not be named as parties in suits and actions in this State. The bill provides that the courts are without jurisdiction to hear or decide any action or case improperly styled. The provisions of the bill are retroactive. The bill provides a time limit to correct any cases currently pending. The bill also specifies that the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate each direct any litigation for their respective houses in the event of intervention.


This section is new; therefore strike-throughs and underlining have been omitted.