Requiring the three commissioners of the Public Service Commission be elected from the three congressional districts for six-year terms
H. B. 3008
(By Delegates P. Smith, Caputo, Fleischauer, Lynch,
Poore, Manchin, M. Poling, Longstreth, Moore
and Wells)
[Introduced March 20, 2013; referred to the
Committee on Government Organization then the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §24-1-3 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to the Public Service Commission
and providing for election of commissioners.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §24-1-3 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS.
§24-1-3. Commission continued; membership; chairman; compensation;
quorum.
(a) The Public Service Commission of West Virginia is
continued and directed as provided by this chapter, chapter twenty-
four-a, chapter twenty-four-b and chapter twenty-four-d of this
code. The Public Service Commission may sue and be sued by that
name.
(b) The Public Service Commission shall consist of three
members, one from each congressional district, who shall be appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the
Senate elected by a majority of voters of the state. The
commissioners shall be citizens and residents of this state. and at
least one of them shall be duly licensed to practice law in West
Virginia, with not less than ten years' actual work experience in
the legal profession as a member of a State Bar.
(c) No more than two of the commissioners shall be members of
the same political party.
(d) (c) Each commissioner shall, before entering upon the
duties of his or her office, take and subscribe to the oath
provided by section five, article IV of the Constitution of this
state. The oath shall be filed in the office of the Secretary of
State.
(e) (d) The Governor shall designate one of the commissioners
themselves to serve as chairman at the Governor's will and
pleasure. The chairman chairperson, who shall be elected by the
commission, shall be the chief administrative officer of the
commission. The Governor may remove any commissioner only for
incompetency, neglect of duty, gross immorality, malfeasance in
office or violation of subsections (g) and (h) of this section. The
chairperson or any other commissioner may be removed from office in
the manner provided in section three, article six of this code. In
addition to the grounds for removal enumerated in section three,
article six, chapter six of this code, a commissioner may be removed from office for conviction of a felony, for conviction of
a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude or a duty of the office or
of a willful violation of this chapter or any rule, regulation or
order provided in this chapter.
_(f) (e) The unexpired terms of members of the Public Service
Commission at the time this subsection becomes effective are
continued until the end of their respective terms or until the
elected commissioners take office, whichever date first occurs. In
accordance with the provisions of subsection (b) of this section,
one commissioner shall be elected at the general election to be
held in the year 2014, one commissioner shall be elected at the
general election to be held in the year 2016, and one commissioner
shall be elected at the general election to be held in the year
2018. Upon expiration of the terms, appointments All future
elections are for terms of six years, except that an appointment to
fill a vacancy is for the unexpired term only. The commissioners
whose terms are terminated by the provisions of this subsection are
eligible for election.
_(g) (f) No person while in the employ of, or holding any
official relation to, any public utility subject to the provisions
of this chapter or holding any stocks or bonds of a public utility
subject to the provisions of this chapter or who is pecuniarily
interested in a public utility subject to the provisions of this
chapter may be elected to serve as a member of the commission or as an employee of the commission.
(h) (g) Nor may any commissioner be a candidate for or hold
any other public office or be a member of any political committee
while acting as a commissioner; nor may any commissioner or
employee of the commission receive any pass, free transportation or
other thing of value, either directly or indirectly, from any
public utility or motor carrier subject to the provisions of this
chapter. In case any of the commissioners becomes a candidate for
any public office or a member of any political committee, the
Governor shall remove him or her from office and shall appoint a
new commissioner to fill the vacancy created a vacancy shall be
determined to exist in that commissioner's office.
_(i) (h) The annual salary of each commissioner provided in
section two-a, article seven, chapter six of this code shall be
paid in monthly installments from the special funds in the
percentages that follow:
(1) From the Public Service Commission Fund collected under
the provisions of section six, article three of this chapter,
eighty percent;
(2) From the Public Service Commission Motor Carrier Fund
collected under the provisions of section six, article six, chapter
twenty-four-a of this code, seventeen percent; and
(3) From the Public Service Commission Gas Pipeline Safety
Fund collected under the provisions of section three, article five, chapter twenty-four-b of this code, three percent.
(j) (i) In addition to the salary provided for all
commissioners in section two-a, article seven, chapter six of this
code, the chairman chairperson of the commission shall receive
$5,000 per annum to be paid in monthly installments from the Public
Service Commission Fund collected under the provisions of section
six, article three of this chapter.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require the three
commissioners of the Public Service Commission be elected from the
three congressional districts for six-year terms, beginning with
the 2014 general election.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
