HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 105
(By Delegate Mathews)
[Introduced February 7, 2002; referred to the
Committee on Constitutional Revision then the Judiciary.]
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the State of West
Virginia, amending sections three, twenty-two and
thirty-three, article six thereof, relating to the
Legislature; numbering and designating such proposed
amendment; and providing a summarized statement of the purpose
of such proposed amendment.
Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia, two thirds of
the members elected to each house agreeing thereto:
That the question of ratification or rejection of an amendment
to the Constitution of the State of West Virginia be submitted to
the voters of the State at the next general election to be held in
the year two thousand two, which proposed amendment is that
sections three,
twenty-two and thirty-three, article six thereof be
amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE VI. THE LEGISLATURE.
§3. Senators and delegates -- Terms of office.
Beginning in two thousand five, senators shall be elected for the term of four years, and delegates shall serve terms the length
of which shall be designated by law.
for the term of two years.
The senators first elected, shall divide themselves into two
classes, one senator from every district being assigned to each
class; and of these classes, the first to be designated by lot in
such manner as the Senate may determine, shall hold their seats for
two years and the second for four years, so that after the first
election, one half of the senators shall be elected biennially
§22. Length of legislative session.
The regular session of the Legislature held in the year one
thousand nine hundred seventy-three two thousand five shall not
exceed the number of days provided by general law. and every
fourth year thereafter shall, in addition to the meeting days
preceding the adjournment provided for in section eighteen of this
article, not exceed sixty calendar days computed from and including
the second Wednesday of February, and the regular session held in
all other years shall not exceed sixty calendar days computed from
and including the second Wednesday of January.
Any regular session
may be extended by a concurrent resolution adopted by a two-thirds
vote of the members elected to each house determined by yeas and
nays and entered on the journals
§33. Compensation and expenses of members.
Members of the Legislature shall receive such compensation in
connection with the performance of their respective duties as
members of the Legislature and such allowances for travel and other
expenses in connection therewith as shall be (1) has been
previously established in a resolution submitted to the Legislature
by the Citizens Legislative Compensation Commission hereinafter
created and shall not be increased except by the Citizens
Legislative Compensation Commission
. and (2) thereafter enacted
into general law by the Legislature at a regular session thereof,
subject to such requirements and conditions as shall be prescribed
in such general law. The Legislature may in any such general law
reduce but shall not increase any item of compensation or expense
allowance established in such resolution. All voting on the floor
of both houses on the question of passage of any such general law
shall be by yeas and nays to be entered on the journals
The Citizens Legislative Compensation Commission is hereby
created. It shall be composed of seven members who have been
residents of this state for at least ten years prior to the date of
appointment, to be appointed by the governor within twenty days
after ratification of this amendment, no more than four of whom shall be members of the same political party. The members shall be
broadly representative of the public at large. Members of the
Legislature and officers and employees of the state or of any
county, municipality or other governmental unit of the state shall
not be eligible for appointment to or to serve as members of the
commission. Each member of the commission shall serve for a term
of seven years, except of the members first appointed, one member
shall be appointed for a term of one year, and one each for terms
ending two, three, four, five, six and seven years after the date
of appointment. As the term of each member first appointed
expires, a successor shall be appointed for a seven-year term. Any
member may be reappointed for any number of terms, and any vacancy
shall be filled by the governor for the unexpired term. Any member
of the commission may be removed by the governor prior to the
expiration of such member's term for official misconduct,
incompetency or neglect of duty. The governor shall designate one
member of the commission as chairman. The members of the
commission shall serve without compensation, but shall be entitled
to be reimbursed for all reasonable and necessary expenses actually
incurred in the performance of their duties as such members.
The commission shall meet as often as may be necessary and shall within fifteen days after the beginning of the regular
session of the Legislature in the year one thousand nine hundred
seventy-one and within fifteen days after the beginning of the
regular session in each fourth any year thereafter submit by
resolution to the Legislature its determination of compensation and
expense allowances, which resolution must be concurred in by at
least four members of the commission.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this constitution, such
compensation and expense allowances as may be provided for by any
such general law shall be paid on and after the effective date of
such general law. Until the first such general law becomes
effective, the provisions of this section in effect immediately
prior to the ratification of this amendment shall continue to
govern the resolution.
Resolved further, That in accordance with the provisions of
article eleven, chapter three of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, such proposed
amendment is hereby numbered "Amendment No. 1" and designated as
the "Legislature Reform Amendment," and the purpose of the proposed
amendment is summarized as follows: "To amend sections three,
twenty-two and thirty-three, article VI of the State Constitution so as to provide for the time and length for the Legislature to
meet be set by general law and provide for compensation of members
of the Legislature in an independent manner."
NOTE: The purpose of this resolution is to propose an
amendment to sections three,
twenty-two and thirty-three, article
VI of the West Virginia Constitution, relating to setting the term
and length of the legislative session by general law and providing
for the compensation of members of the Legislature to be set in an
independent manner, without a vote by the Legislature as to
approval or disapproval.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present Constitution, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.