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PART I. COMMISSIONS AUTHORIZED; ORGANIZATION OF COMMISSIONS.
§8-33-1. Municipal, county and municipal-county building commissions authorized; reference to county courts and county commissions.
Any municipality or county, or one or more municipalities and any county, or any two or more municipalities within any county or counties, or any combination thereof, may create and establish a municipal building commission, a county building commission, or a municipal-county building commission, as the case may be (hereinafter in this article referred to as commission or commissions). Such commissions shall be formed by an ordinance or order, as appropriate, by each governmental body establishing the same. The governing body of a county is hereinafter in this article referred to either as a county court or county commission.

§8-33-2. Commissions are public corporations.
Each commission, when created, shall be a public corporation and shall have perpetual existence.

§8-33-3. Authority vested in board; composition of board; appointment; qualifications and terms of members; vacancies; reimbursement of expenses.
All property, powers and duties and the management and control of each commission shall be vested in a board consisting of representatives appointed by the governmental body or bodies creating and establishing such commission. In the case of a municipal building commission or a county building commission such board shall consist of not less than three nor more than five members and in the case of a municipal-county building commission each participating municipality shall appoint two members and each participating county shall appoint three members. All members of any board shall be appointed for terms of five years. Prior to making the initial appointments to the board, the governmental body or bodies shall make such initial appointments so that approximately one fifth of the total number of members of the board shall be appointed for a term of one year, approximately one fifth of the total number of members of the board shall be appointed for a term of two years, approximately one fifth of the total number of members of the board shall be appointed for a term of three years, approximately one fifth of the total number of members of the board shall be appointed for a term of four years, and approximately one fifth of the total number of members of the board shall be appointed for a term of five years. As the term of each such initial appointee expires the successor to fill the vacancy created by such expired term shall be appointed for a term of five years.

The ordinance or order creating a building commission may provide for the manner of appointments to the membership of such commission by the governmental body creating such commission, which, in the case of a county, shall be the county commission or other tribunal in lieu thereof and, in the case of a municipality, shall be the governing body thereof.

If any member of any board die, resign or for any reason cease to be a member of the board, the governmental body which such member represented shall appoint another individual to fill the unexpired portion of the term of such member. No more than two thirds of the total number of members of the board of each commission shall be from the same political party and no member of any such board shall hold any office (other than the office of notary public) or employment under the United States of America, the state of West Virginia, any county or political subdivision thereof, or any political party. All members of any board shall be residents of the municipality or county for which appointed. No member of any board shall receive any compensation for his services as such, but each member shall be reimbursed by the commission for any reasonable and necessary expenses actually incurred in the discharge of his duties as a member of the board.

PART II. POWERS OF COMMISSIONS.
§8-33-4. Powers.
Each commission shall have plenary power and authority to:

(a) Sue and be sued;

(b) Contract and be contracted with;

(c) Adopt, use and alter a common seal;

(d) Make and adopt all necessary, appropriate and lawful bylaws and rules and regulations pertaining to its affairs;

(e) Elect such officers, appoint such committees and agents and employ and fix the compensation of such employees and contractors as may be necessary for the conduct of the affairs and operations of the commission;

(f) (1) Acquire, purchase, own and hold any property, real or personal, and (2) acquire, construct, equip, maintain and operate public buildings, structures, projects and appurtenant facilities, of any type or types for which the governmental body or bodies creating such commission are permitted by law to expend public funds (all hereinafter in this article referred to as facilities);

(g) Apply for, receive and use grants-in-aid, donations and contributions from any source or sources, including, but not limited to, the United States of America, or any department or agency thereof, and accept and use bequests, devises, gifts and donations from any source whatsoever;

(h) Sell, encumber or dispose of any property, real or personal;

(i) Issue negotiable bonds, notes, debentures or other evidences of indebtedness and provide for the rights of the holders thereof, incur any proper indebtedness and issue any obligations and give any security therefor which it may deem necessary or advisable in connection with exercising powers as provided herein;

(j) Raise funds by the issuance and sale of revenue bonds in the manner provided by the applicable provisions of sections seven, ten, twelve and sixteen, article sixteen of this chapter, without regard to the extent provided in section five of this article, to the limitations specified in said section twelve, article sixteen, it being hereby expressly provided that for the purpose of the issuance and sale of revenue bonds, each commission is a "governing body" as that term is used in said article sixteen only;

(k) Subject to such reasonable limitations and conditions as the governmental body or all of the governmental bodies creating and establishing such building commission may prescribe by ordinance or by order, exercise the power of eminent domain in the manner provided in chapter fifty-four of this code for business corporations, for the purposes set forth in subdivision (f) of this section, which purposes are hereby declared public purposes for which private property may be taken or damaged;

(l) Lease its property or any part thereof, for public purposes, to such persons and upon such terms as the commission deems proper, but when any municipality or county commission is a lessee under any such lease, such lease must contain a provision granting to such municipality or county commission the option to terminate such lease during any fiscal year covered thereby; and

(m) Do all things reasonable and necessary to carry out the foregoing powers.

PART III. INDEBTEDNESS; SURPLUSES; EXEMPTION FROM
TAXATION; FUNDS; PROPERTY.
§8-33-5. Indebtedness of commission.
No constitutional or statutory limitation with respect to the nature or amount of or rate of interest on indebtedness which may be incurred by municipalities, counties or other public or governmental bodies shall apply to the indebtedness of a commission. No indebtedness of any nature of a commission shall constitute an indebtedness of any municipality or county creating and establishing such commission or a charge against any property of said municipalities or counties. No indebtedness or obligation incurred by any commission shall give any right against any member of the governing body of any municipality or any member of the county commission of any county or any member of the board of any commission. The rights of creditors of any commission shall be solely against the commission as a corporate body and shall be satisfied only out of property held by it in its corporate capacity.

§8-33-6. Disposition of surplus of commission.
If a commission should realize a surplus over and above the amount required for the improvement, maintenance and operation of its facilities and for meeting all required payments on its obligations, it shall set aside such reserve for future improvements, maintenance, operations and contingencies as it shall deem proper and shall then apply the residue of such surplus, if any, to the payment of any recognized and established obligations not then due, and after all such recognized and established obligations have been paid and discharged in full, the commission shall, at the end of each fiscal year, set aside the reserve for future improvements, maintenance, operations and contingencies, as aforesaid, and then pay the residue of such surplus, if any, to the governmental bodies creating and establishing such commission in direct proportion to their financial contribution.

§8-33-7. Property, bonds and obligations of commissions exempt from taxation.
Each commission shall be exempt from the payment of any taxes or fees to the state or any subdivisions thereof or any municipalities or to any officer or employee of the state or of any subdivision thereof or of any municipality. The property of each commission shall be exempt from all municipal and county taxes. Bonds, notes, debentures and other evidences of indebtedness of each commission are declared to be issued for a public purpose and to be public instrumentalities, and, together with interest thereon, shall be exempt from taxation.

§8-33-8. Contributions to commissions; funds and accounts of commissions; reports; audits.
Contributions may be made to each commission from time to time by the governmental body or bodies creating and establishing it, and persons that shall desire to do so. All funds received by each commission shall be deposited in such banking institution or banking institutions as the board may direct and shall be withdrawn therefrom in such manner as the board may direct. Each commission shall keep strict account of all of its receipts and expenditures and shall each quarter make a quarterly report thereon to the municipalities, counties and persons which have made contributions to it, and such report shall contain an itemized account of its receipts and disbursements during the preceding quarter. Such report shall be made within sixty days after the termination of the quarter. Within sixty days after the end of each fiscal year, each commission shall make an annual report containing an itemized statement of its receipts and disbursements for the preceding fiscal year and publish the same as a Class II-0 legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code, and the publication area for such publication shall be each county in which the commission's facilities are located. The books, records and accounts of each commission shall be subject to audit and examination by the state tax commissioner and by other proper public official or body in the manner provided by law.

§8-33-9. Authority to convey or transfer property to commission.
Any municipality or county is hereby empowered and authorized to convey or transfer to a commission which it has created and established either alone or with another governmental body, property of any kind, heretofore acquired by said municipality or county, to carry out the purposes of said commission. When property is conveyed or transferred as aforesaid, the conveying or transferring municipality or county court and the board shall agree in writing at the time the conveyance or transfer is made as to the fair market value of such property. The members of the board appointed by any municipality or county court conveying or transferring property shall not participate in connection with, otherwise than to provide a quorum, or vote on, any motion or resolution by which the board agrees to the fair market value of the property so conveyed or transferred.

§8-33-10. Sale of property by commission.
In the event a majority of the governmental bodies contributing funds or property to a commission shall so direct in writing and if all indebtedness of said commission has been paid in full, the commission shall sell all or any part of its properties and assets so directed and distribute the proceeds thereof among the governmental bodies creating and establishing it in direct proportion to their contributions of funds or property to the commission.

PART IV. WORKERS' COMPENSATION; CONSTRUCTION.
§8-33-11. Workers' compensation.
Each commission shall subscribe to the workers' compensation fund of this state and pay all necessary premiums thereto, to the end that all eligible employees of such commission shall be covered by workers' compensation.

§8-33-12. Liberal construction.
The provisions of this article are hereby declared to be remedial and shall be liberally construed to effectuate the purposes hereof. The provisions of this article are in addition to and not in derogation of any power granted to or vested in municipalities and county courts under any constitutional, statutory or charter provisions which may now or hereafter be in effect.

Note: WV Code updated with legislation passed through the 2012 1st Special Session