ENGROSSED
Senate Bill No. 163
(By Senators Wooton, Burnette, Caldwell, Fanning, Kessler,
Mitchell, Oliverio, Redd, Ross, Rowe, Snyder, Deem and McKenzie)
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[Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary;
reported January 10, 2002.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section two-b, article two, chapter one
of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended, relating to precinct boundary changes.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section two-b, article two, chapter one of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. APPORTIONMENT OF REPRESENTATION.
§1-2-2b. Precinct boundary changes.
(a) If an election precinct of this state includes territory
contained in more than one senatorial or delegate district, as such
senatorial districts are established by section one of this article
and as such delegate districts are established by section two of
this article, it is the duty of the county commission of the county
in which the precinct is located shall, prior to the fifteenth day
of March, two thousand two, to alter the boundary lines of its election precincts so that no precinct contains territory included
in more than one senatorial or delegate district.
(b) Every county commission shall, prior to the fifteenth day
of March, two thousand two, alter the boundary lines of its
election precincts so that the geographical boundaries of the
precincts are consistent with the voting districts geographically
defined by the bureau of the census of the United States department
of commerce for the taking of the two thousand census of population
and described on census maps prepared by the bureau of the census.
The maps are, at the time of the reenactment of this section in the
year two thousand one, maintained by the bureau of the census and
filed with the joint committee on government and finance. A voting
district may contain more than one election precinct if:
(1) The geographical boundaries of the election precincts when
combined are identical to the geographical boundaries of the voting
district; and
(2) The election precinct lines are established so that no
precinct contains territory included in more than one senatorial
district or in more than one delegate district, consistent with
subsection (a) of this section.
(c) The joint committee on government and finance may provide
assistance to county commissions in altering the boundary lines in
compliance with this section. The joint committee may further
assist county commissions in drawing other county boundaries and
magisterial districts, if requested by the county commission.
(d) The provisions of this section govern and control notwithstanding any conflicting provision of section seven, article
one, chapter three of this code.