HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 3

(By Delegate Kump)
[Introduced February 13, 2013; referred to the Committee on Constitutional Revision then the Judiciary.]




Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the State of West Virginia, amending sections one, two and seventeen, article VII thereof, relating to the executive department and creating the Office of Lieutenant Governor; election and vacancy in the lieutenant governorship; providing that the Lieutenant Governor will serve as the chairperson of the Public Service Commission; 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 2014, which proposed amendment is that sections one, two and seventeen, article VII thereof be amended, to read as follows:
ARTICLE VII. EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT.
§1. Executive department.
     The executive department shall consist of a Governor and Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Auditor, Treasurer, Commissioner of Agriculture and Attorney General, who shall be ex officio reporter of the Court of Appeals. Their terms of office shall be four years, and shall commence on the first Monday after the second Wednesday of January next after their election. They shall reside at the seat of government during their terms of office, keep there the public records, books and papers pertaining to their respective offices, and shall perform such duties as may be prescribed by law. The Lieutenant Governor shall serve as the chairperson of the Public Service Commission.
§2. Election.
     An election for Governor together with the Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Auditor, Treasurer, Commissioner of Agriculture and Attorney General shall be held at such times and places as may be prescribed by law. The Lieutenant Governor shall serve as the chairperson of the Public Service Commission.
§17. Vacancies in other executive departments.
     If the Office of Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Auditor, Treasurer, Commissioner of Agriculture or Attorney General shall become vacant by death, resignation, or otherwise, it shall be the duty of the Governor to fill the same by appointment, and the appointee shall hold his or her office until his or her successor shall be elected and qualified in such manner as may be prescribed by law. The subordinate officers of the executive department and the officers of all public institutions of the state shall keep an account of all moneys received or disbursed by them, respectively, from all sources, and for every service performed, and make a semiannual report thereof to the Governor under oath or affirmation; and any officer who shall wilfully make a false report shall be deemed guilty of perjury.
     Resolved further, That in accordance with the provisions of article eleven, chapter three of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, the proposed amendment is hereby numbered "Amendment No 1." and designated as the "Lieutenant Governor Amendment" and the purpose of the proposed amendment is summarized as follows: "To create the Office of Lieutenant Governor who will serve as the chairperson of the Public Service Commission."


     NOTE: The purpose of this Joint Resolution is to change the Constitution of the State of West Virginia to create the Office of Lieutenant Governor who will serve as the chairperson of the Public Service Commission.

     Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present Constitution, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.