HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 5
(By Delegates Ennis, Hamilton Romine,
Azinger, Evans, White and Tucker)
[Introduced January 15, 2007; referred to the
Committee on Constitutional Revision then Judiciary.]
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the State of West
Virginia, amending section three, article VI thereof, relating
to increasing the terms of members of the House of Delegates
from two to four years; and increasing the terms of members of
the State Senate from four to six years; 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 eight, which proposed amendment is that
section three, article VI thereof, be amended and reenacted to read
as follows:
ARTICLE VI. THE LEGISLATURE.
§3. Senators and delegates -- Terms of office.
Senators shall be elected for the term of four six years and
delegates for the term of two four years, beginning with the first
general election after January 1, 2010. The senators first
elected, shall continue to 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 with each
Senator serving a six-year term commencing after the regularly
scheduled expiration of each four-year term, after January 1, 2010.
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 "Increase of Terms of Members of the Legislature Amendment,"
and the purpose of the proposed amendment is summarized as follows:
"To increase the terms of members of the House of Delegates from
two years to four years; and to further increase the terms of
members of the State Senate from four to six years."
NOTE: The purpose of this Resolution is to propose an
amendment to the State Constitution that would increase the terms
of members of the House of Delegates from two to four years, and would increase the terms of members of the State Senate from four
to six years.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present Constitution, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.