SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 7

(By Senators Chafin and Plymale)

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[Introduced March 1, 2013; referred to the Committee on the Judiciary; and then to the Committee on Finance.]

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Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the State of West Virginia, amending article X thereof, by adding thereto a new section, designated section twelve, relating to reducing from sixty percent to a simple majority the number of votes required for approval of an excess levy, bond issue or incurring of indebtedness by a county, a municipality or a county board of education; allowing counties, cities, school districts and municipal corporations to approve, by a vote of the people, levies, excess levies, the incurring of indebtedness and bond issues by a majority of the votes cast for and against the same, notwithstanding any other provision of the Constitution to the contrary; 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 article X thereof be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section twelve, to read as follows:

ARTICLE X. TAXATION AND FINANCE.

§12. Simple majority approval for all county, city, school district, and municipal corporation levies and bonds.

    Notwithstanding the provisions of sections one, seven or eight of this article relating to a vote of the people on proposed bonds or indebtedness, or any other provisions of this Constitution, a county, city, school district or municipal corporation may contract indebtedness and issue bonds for purposes as provided by law, if when submitted to a vote of the people of the county, city, school district or municipal corporations in the manner provided by law, the questions of contracting indebtedness and issuing bonds is approved by a majority of the votes cast for and against the same.

    Notwithstanding the provisions of sections one, seven or eight of this article relating to a vote of the people on proposed tax levies, or any other provisions of this Constitution, a county, city, school district or municipal corporation may increase tax levies for purposes as provided by law, if when submitted to a vote of the people of the county, city, school district or municipal corporations in the manner provided by law, the question of increasing tax levies is approved by a majority of the votes cast for and against the same.

    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 Simple Majority Approval Amendment” and the purpose of the proposed amendment is summarized as follows: “To allow a simple majority approval for all county, city, school district and municipal levies and bonds.”

    NOTE: The purpose of this Joint Resolution is to amend the State Constitution to allow simple majority approval for all city, school district and municipal levies and bonds.

    §12 is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.