A BILL to amend and reenact section thirty-four, article three, chapter eleven-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to appointment of employees of the state auditor to serve as deputy commissioners of delinquent and nonentered lands; exempting auditor's employees from residency requirements; and providing compensation be credited to the auditor.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section thirty-four, article three, chapter eleven-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:

ARTICLE 3. SALE OF TAX LIENS AND NONENTERED, ESCHEATED AND WASTE AND UNAPPROPRIATED LANDS.

§11A-3-34. Deputy commissioners of delinquent and nonentered lands; bond.

(a) The auditor shall appoint for each county in the state a deputy commissioner of delinquent and nonentered lands. Persons serving in that capacity when this article takes effect shall continue to serve, subject to the provisions of this article. The auditor shall make new appointments, from time to time thereafter, whenever vacancies occur or when, in the auditor's judgment,4 it is deemed advisable. The auditor may promulgate rules respecting the tenure of deputy commissioners. In the absence of such rules, the deputy commissioner for each county shall, so long as he or she satisfies the requirements of this section in respect to professional qualifications and bonding, continue to act without reappointment until the auditor designates his or her successor.
(b) The auditor shall appoint deputy commissioners in such numbers and to serve such counties as the auditor deems considers advisable to effect the purposes of this article. Appointments, other than an employee of the auditor's office, shall be limited to persons duly licensed to practice law in this state. A Except for an employee of the auditor's office, any person appointed as deputy commissioner for a single county shall reside in said that county. Any person appointed as deputy commissioner for more than one county shall reside in one of the counties for which he or she has been appointed.
(c) Whenever in respect to any land the deputy commissioner, in his or her own judgment or in the opinion of the auditor, is disqualified or otherwise unable to serve because of his or her personal interest, because of his or her representation of clients in matters affecting such the land, or because of vacancies or failure to act, or whenever the auditor considers it in the best interest of the state, the auditor may appoint an employee of his or her office to assume all of the disqualified deputy commissioner's rights, duties, responsibilities and liabilities serve as a deputy commissioner relating to such the land. When a deputy commissioner is an employee of the auditor, all compensation and commissions that would otherwise be paid to a deputy commissioner shall be credited by the sheriff to the auditor for deposit into the operating fund created pursuant to section thirty- six of this article.
(d) The deputy commissioner shall be is subject to the orders and control of the auditor, shall be is accountable to him or her and shall serve as his serves as the auditor's local agent within in the county. It shall be his The duty to deputy commissioner shall do whatever is required of him by the auditor or by the provisions of this article. The deputy commissioner, before entering upon his or her duties, shall give a bond, with satisfactory corporate surety, conditioned upon the faithful performance of his or her duties and the payment of any forfeitures incurred. The penalty of such the bond shall be not less than at least twenty-five thousand dollars nor and not more than one hundred thousand dollars, as the auditor may direct. The premium therefore for the bond shall be paid by the auditor out of the operating fund for the land department in his or her office.