reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
WV Code § 8-2-2 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 8. Municipal Corporations|Article 2. Creation of Municipalities|§8-2-2. Petition; Survey and Map

A proceeding to incorporate any such city, town or village shall be initiated upon petition addressed to and filed with the county court of the county in which the territory is located, or if in more than one county in which the major portion of the territory is located, indicating whether the territory sought to be incorporated will be upon incorporation, depending upon population, a Class I, Class II or Class III city or a Class IV town or village. Such petition shall be signed by at least thirty percent of the freeholders of the territory to be incorporated.Such petition shall be verified by at least one of the petitioners and shall be accompanied by a map made by a professional engineer registered under the laws of this state, which map shall be based upon an actual and accurate survey of the territory to be incorporated showing the courses, distances and the area of the territory to be incorporated.Such map shall be verified and shall be left at the residence or place of business within the territory to be incorporated of some individual residing or some person doing business therein, and shall be subject to examination at all reasonable hours by every person interested in such application for a period of at least ten days prior to the hearing on such petition as provided for in section three of this article.
WV Code § 8-2-3 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 8. Municipal Corporations|Article 2. Creation of Municipalities|§8-2-3. Hearing on Petition; Notice; Dismissal

Upon the filing of such petition, the county court shall set the same for hearing not sooner than ten days and not later than thirty days thereafter, and the petitioners shall cause notice of the filing of said petition and of the date, time and place of hearing thereon to be published as a Class II 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 the territory sought to be incorporated.Upon the date set for hearing, the county court shall hear evidence for and against the proposed incorporation, and if it shall determine that the requirements of sections one and two of this article have not been met, it shall forthwith enter an order dismissing said petition.
WV Code § 8-2-4 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 8. Municipal Corporations|Article 2. Creation of Municipalities|§8-2-4. Census; Bond; Appointment and Duties of Enumerators

If the court shall determine after hearing that the requirements of sections one and two of this article have been met, the petitioners shall provide bond in penalty prescribed by the court, with good and sufficient surety thereon, conditioned to pay all costs of taking a census, determining the qualification of electors, holding an election and ascertaining the results thereof, in the event a majority of the qualified electors vote against incorporation; and thereupon the court shall fix a day or days for taking a census of the inhabitants and for determining those who are qualified electors of said territory. For the purpose of taking said census, and determining the qualifications of the electors, said court shall appoint four enumerators for each five hundred inhabitants of said territory based upon the most reliable estimate obtainable: Provided, That if the territory contains less than one square mile and the county court believes the territory contains fewer than five hundred inhabitants, two enumerators shall be appointed. It shall be the duty of the enumerators so appointed to enumerate all of the inhabitants of said territory and to visit each house or dwelling therein, and to obtain the name of each known resident thereof. It shall also be the duty of the enumerators to examine the permanent registration records of the county or counties in which the territory is situate to determine which of such inhabitants are qualified electors therein and to compile and file with the county court a list of such qualified electors. Each enumerator shall receive for his services a sum per day, to be fixed by the county court, but not to exceed $10 per day, together with all reasonable and necessary expenses actually incurred in the discharge of such duties, which sum and expenses shall be paid by the county court and reimbursed to it by the city, town or village if and when the city, town or village shall become incorporated, as hereinafter provided; otherwise by the petitioners. The county court shall provide an opportunity for all qualified individuals residing in such territory, who have not been previously registered to vote, to become registered prior to the election hereinafter provided for. Upon the completion of said census and the listing of qualified electors, said enumerators shall make a report under oath to the county court that said enumeration and listing are correct, true and accurate, and do not contain the name of any individual who is not a resident of the territory, and that the list of qualified electors is true and correct, which report shall be filed with the county court within the following number of days after the appointment of said enumerators: Forty days if it is to be a Class I city, twenty days if it is to be a Class II city, ten days if it is to be a Class III city and ten days if it is to be a Class IV town or village.
WV Code § 8-2-5 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 8. Municipal Corporations|Article 2. Creation of Municipalities|§8-2-5. Special Election -- Voting Precincts; Time for Election; Supplies; Commissioners and Clerks; Notice

§8-2-5. Special election -- Voting precincts; time for election; supplies; commissioners and clerks; notice.Upon receiving such a report from said enumerators, the county court shall forthwith fix a date for a special election, not later than thirty days thereafter, on which all qualified electors of the territory shall vote upon the question of incorporation between such hours as may be fixed by order of said court. For the purpose of holding and conducting said election, the county court shall divide the territory into one or more precincts, consisting of not more than five hundred qualified voters in each precinct; shall arrange for and provide at its expense polling places, registration books, challenges and other election supplies as provided for by law in general elections; shall appoint three commissioners of election and two clerks from the qualified electors of said territory for each precinct so established, dividing the election officials as nearly as possible equally between those favoring incorporation and those opposed to incorporation; and shall give notice of the date and place or places of election and hours for voting by publication of such notice 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 the territory sought to be incorporated.
WV Code § 8-2-8 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 8. Municipal Corporations|Article 2. Creation of Municipalities|§8-2-8. Judicial Review

§8-2-8. Judicial review.A writ of error shall lie to the circuit court in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-eight of this code from any order of a county court determining that the requirements of sections one and two of this article have been met and ordering a census or enumeration to be taken. Upon the filing of a petition for a writ of error, all proceedings shall be suspended or stayed pending final adjudication of the matters involved.
WV Code § 8-3-3 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 8. Municipal Corporations|Article 3. Framing and Adopting an Original Charter Following Incorporation of a City; Revising or Amending a Charter; Expenses of Incorporation|§8-3-3. City Charters -- Approval and Certification by Attorney General

The draft of said charter shall, upon completion, be certified by the secretary of said charter board to the Attorney General of the state. It shall be his duty to examine the draft and advise whether it is consistent in all respects with the Constitution and general law of this state. The Attorney General, if satisfied that the proposed charter is consistent in all respects with the Constitution and general law of this state, shall so certify to the charter board within thirty days after receipt of such draft. If the Attorney General is not satisfied that the proposed charter is consistent in all respects with the Constitution and general law of this state, he shall certify, within thirty days after receipt of such draft, to the charter board in what respects the same does not conform to the Constitution or general law of this state.
WV Code § 8-3-4 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 8. Municipal Corporations|Article 3. Framing and Adopting an Original Charter Following Incorporation of a City; Revising or Amending a Charter; Expenses of Incorporation|§8-3-4. Same -- Hearing and Notice

When it shall have completed its draft of a charter, the charter board shall conduct a public hearing thereon. The county court shall cause notice of the date, time, place and purpose of the hearing to be given by publication thereof at least ten days prior to the date set for the hearing as a Class I 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 the incorporated territory. The notice shall state where copies of the draft of the charter may be obtained. The hearing may be continued by the charter board by adjournments over a period not exceeding fourteen days.
WV Code § 8-3-5 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 8. Municipal Corporations|Article 3. Framing and Adopting an Original Charter Following Incorporation of a City; Revising or Amending a Charter; Expenses of Incorporation|§8-3-5. Same -- Changes; Time for Changes; Signatures; Filing

A charter board shall have thirty days after the conclusion of the hearing required by section four of this article or receipt of the certificate of the Attorney General required by section three of this article, whichever shall occur later, to make any changes it may consider necessary or desirable in its charter draft.At least three copies of the completed charter draft shall be signed by at least a majority of the members of the board, and two copies shall be filed with the clerk of the county court.
WV Code § 8-3-6 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 8. Municipal Corporations|Article 3. Framing and Adopting an Original Charter Following Incorporation of a City; Revising or Amending a Charter; Expenses of Incorporation|§8-3-6. Same -- Special Election; Time for Election; Notice; Voting Precincts; Supplies; Officials; Certification; Canvass; Declaration of Results; Recount

The proposed charter shall be submitted to the qualified voters of the incorporated territory for approval or rejection at a special election ordered by the county court to be held not less than thirty days nor more than ninety days following the date on which the two copies of the completed charter were filed with the clerk of the county court, at which election the officers provided for by said proposed charter and to be elected shall be voted upon in the manner provided in said proposed charter. The county court shall cause notice of the date, hours, place and purpose of such election to be given by publication thereof 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 the incorporated territory. The first of said publications shall be made not less than thirty days prior to the date fixed for the election. Each such notice of election shall state that upon request any qualified voter and any freeholder of the incorporated territory may obtain a copy of the proposed charter from a designated person at a designated place.For the purpose of holding and conducting said election, the county court shall divide the incorporated territory into one or more precincts, consisting of not more than five hundred qualified voters in each precinct; shall arrange for and provide at its expense polling places, registration books, challenges and other election supplies as provided for by law in general elections; and shall appoint three commissioners of election and two clerks from the qualified voters of said incorporated territory for each precinct so established, subject, however, to the provisions of section eleven, article four of this chapter. Such election shall be held and conducted under the supervision of the commissioners and clerks of election appointed by the county court as aforesaid and shall be conducted as nearly as may be in accordance with the laws of this state governing general elections. The results of such election, both as to approval or rejection of the proposed charter and the election of officers, shall be certified as in general elections, and the returns shall be canvassed and the results declared by the county court. In the event any commissioner or clerk designated to serve in said election shall fail or refuse to serve, such vacancy may be filled in like manner as such vacancies are filled in general elections under the laws of this state governing general elections. A recount may be had, as in general elections, upon the party or parties desiring such recount providing adequate assurance to the county court that he or they will pay all costs of such recount.
WV Code § 8-3-7 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 8. Municipal Corporations|Article 3. Framing and Adopting an Original Charter Following Incorporation of a City; Revising or Amending a Charter; Expenses of Incorporation|§8-3-7. Same -- Approval; Effective Date; Certification; Judicial Notice; Recordation

If the proposed charter shall be approved by a majority of the legal votes cast at the election thereon, the charter shall take effect on July 1, next after the date of the election, if the interim exceeds sixty days; otherwise on July 1 of the second fiscal year after its approval. If approved as aforesaid, one of the signed copies of the charter on file with the clerk of the county court, together with a certified copy of the declaration of the results of the election showing the total legal votes cast for and against approval, shall be certified forthwith by the clerk of the county court to the Clerk of the House of Delegates, in his capacity as keeper of the rolls. The same shall be preserved by said Clerk of the House of Delegates as an authentic public record. After the effective date of a charter so filed, all courts shall take judicial notice of its provisions.The clerk of the county court shall certify to the county court the other signed copy of the charter previously filed with him, which copy so certified shall be spread upon the records of said court for public examination.
WV Code § 8-3-8 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 8. Municipal Corporations|Article 3. Framing and Adopting an Original Charter Following Incorporation of a City; Revising or Amending a Charter; Expenses of Incorporation|§8-3-8. Same -- Rejection; Rewriting or Altering Draft; New Charter Board

If the proposed charter shall be rejected by a majority of the legal votes cast at the election thereon, the election of officers shall be void, except that the candidate who shall receive the highest number of legal votes cast for the office of mayor, if a mayor is to be elected, otherwise the candidate for any city office who shall receive the highest number of legal votes cast at the election, shall, within ten days thereafter, require such charter board to reconvene for the purpose of rewriting or altering the draft of the rejected charter in such manner as to it shall seem proper. Any three hundred qualified voters of said incorporated territory may, however, within ten days after the determination of the results of the election at which such charter is rejected, petition the clerk of the county court for the election of a new charter board, in which case the court shall thereupon call a new election for members of the charter board in the same manner as the original election and with nominations to be made and any vacancies to be filled in the same manner as in the first instance, as provided in section one of this article. The duties of the new charter board shall be the same as those of the former board, and as many successive charter boards may be elected as may be necessary until a charter for such territory is framed and approved by the qualified voters of the incorporated territory. The rewritten or altered proposed charter or the charter draft of a new or any succeeding charter board, as the case may be, shall be submitted to the Attorney General and the qualified voters of said incorporated territory in the same manner and with like notice and proceedings as required in the first instance, and such proceedings shall continue until the qualified voters of said incorporated territory have by a majority vote approved a charter.
WV Code § 8-3-9 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 8. Municipal Corporations|Article 3. Framing and Adopting an Original Charter Following Incorporation of a City; Revising or Amending a Charter; Expenses of Incorporation|§8-3-9. Continuing Duties of Charter Boards; Revising or Amending a Charter

AMENDING A CHARTER.§8-3-9. Continuing duties of charter boards; revising or amending a charter.The members of the charter board of a city elected under the provisions of this article whose draft of a charter is approved by the qualified voters of the city shall hold office for a term of six years following the approval of such charter. Any vacancy occurring during that period shall be filled temporarily by appointment by majority action of the remaining members, and a successor shall be elected at the next regular municipal election in the same manner as elective city officers, such successor to hold office for the remainder of the term.During such six-year period as aforesaid, the board shall make a continuing study of the functioning of the city government and may, by a two-thirds vote of its members, not less than four years after such charter shall have taken effect, require the submission to the qualified voters of the city of the question of whether the charter shall be revised as a whole, such submission to be in accordance with the pertinent provisions of article four of this chapter. In the event revision as a whole is voted pursuant to such submission, the board as then constituted shall proceed to prepare a revision of the charter as a whole and the process of revision as a whole as so initiated shall be the same as that for the framing and adoption of a charter under the pertinent provisions of said article four of this chapter. During such six-year period as aforesaid, by a two-thirds vote of its members, at any time not less than one year after such charter shall have taken effect, the board may require the submission of one or more proposed charter amendments to the qualified voters of the city, in accordance with the pertinent provisions of article four of this chapter.
WV Code § 8-3-10 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 8. Municipal Corporations|Article 3. Framing and Adopting an Original Charter Following Incorporation of a City; Revising or Amending a Charter; Expenses of Incorporation|§8-3-10. Expenses of Incorporation

§8-3-10. Expenses of incorporation.The first governing body of any municipality incorporated under the provisions of article two of this chapter shall provide for reimbursement to the county court of all costs of incorporation, including, but not limited to, the cost of publishing notices, of taking the enumeration of inhabitants, of ascertaining the qualification of electors, and of holding, conducting and superintending the elections called for thereunder and the returning, certifying and canvassing of the results thereof. The first governing body of any city incorporated under said article two shall also provide for reimbursement of the charter board or boards and the members thereof for all reasonable and necessary expenses actually incurred in the performance of its and their duties.
WV Code § 8-3A-1 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 8. Municipal Corporations|Article 3A. Government of Class Iv Towns or Villages|§8-3A-1. Class Iv Town or Village Form of Government

In the absence of any charter or official declaration to the contrary, a Class IV town or village shall be the mayor-council form of government, as set out in section two, article three of this chapter. The Class IV town or village form of government may be changed pursuant to the provisions of section two of this article.
WV Code § 8-4-3 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 8. Municipal Corporations|Article 4. Framing and Adopting a Charter Other Than Immediately Following Incorporation; Revising or Amending a Charter; Elections and Expenses|§8-4-3. Provisions of Article Three Made Applicable; Duties and Responsibilities of County Court Under Article Three Placed Upon Governing Body Under This Article; Duties and Responsibilities of Charter Board; Exceptions

All of the pertinent provisions of article three of this chapter pertaining to the charter drafting and adoption process for a newly incorporated city shall be as fully applicable to proceedings under this article four as if such provisions were set forth in extensor herein, except that (1) the publication area for all notices required to be published shall be the city, and (2) the duties and responsibilities placed upon the county court in said article three shall be performed and discharged under this article four by the governing body of the city. A charter board elected in accordance with the provisions of this article four for the purpose of framing a charter, and the members thereof, shall be governed by the provisions of said article three relating to a charter board for a newly incorporated city, and the members thereof, and it and the members thereof shall carry out all of the duties and responsibilities imposed upon a charter board, and the members thereof, elected in accordance with the provisions of said article three, except that (1) the board, under the provisions of this article four, shall file one signed copy of the proposed charter with the clerk of the county court of the county in which the city or the major portion of the territory thereof is located and two signed copies of the proposed charter with the recorder of the city, and (2) if the proposed charter under the provisions of this article four is rejected by a majority of the legal votes cast at the election thereon, the duties and responsibilities of such board shall be at an end, nor shall a new charter board be then elected.
WV Code § 8-4-4 (2021)
2021 West Virginia Code|Chapter 8. Municipal Corporations|Article 4. Framing and Adopting a Charter Other Than Immediately Following Incorporation; Revising or Amending a Charter; Elections and Expenses|§8-4-4. Submission of Proposed Charter to Qualified Voters

The proposed charter shall be submitted to the qualified voters of the city in like fashion and with like notice as provided for a proposed charter of a newly incorporated city as set forth in article three of this chapter, except that the proposed charter shall be submitted at the next regular municipal election instead of a special election, unless (1) the governing body by the affirmative vote of two thirds of its members shall determine and specify that a special municipal election is necessary, or (2) a petition bearing the signatures, written in their own handwriting, of fifteen percent of the qualified voters of the city, if a Class I or Class II city, or ten percent of the qualified voters of the city, if a Class III city, expressly requesting that a special municipal election be called for the purpose be presented to the governing body more than one hundred twenty days prior to the date of the next regular municipal election.