reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 7A. Consolidated Local Government › Article 8. Charter Amendment › §7A-8-1. Charter Amendment

(a) If a charter is adopted, it may be amended by one of the following methods:
(1) The governing body of the consolidated local government may submit a proposed amendment by resolution to the voters at the next primary or general election. Notice of the election and the proposed amendment shall be published as a Class II legal advertisement in a newspaper of general circulation in the affected areas. If a majority of the legal votes cast by the qualified voters of the consolidated local government approve the amendment, then the amendment becomes effective as permitted by law;
(2) The governing body of the consolidated local government may amend the charter by ordinance. However, if a petition signed by at least ten percent of the qualified voters of the consolidated local government is filed with the governing body within thirty days following publication of the ordinance, the governing body shall submit the charter amendment to the voters at the next primary or general election. Notice of the election and the proposed amendment shall be published as a Class II legal advertisement in a newspaper of general circulation in the affected areas. If a majority of the legal votes cast by the qualified voters of the consolidated local government approve the amendment, then the amendment becomes effective as permitted by law; or
(3) If a petition, signed by ten percent of the qualified voters in the consolidated local government, is filed with the governing body of the consolidated local government proposing an amendment to the charter, then the governing body shall submit the proposed amendment to the voters at the next primary or general election. Notice of the election and the proposed amendment shall be published as a Class II legal advertisement in a newspaper of general circulation in the affected areas. If a majority of the legal votes cast by the qualified voters of the consolidated local government approve the amendment, then the amendment becomes effective as permitted by law.
(b) If an election is held, then the governing body shall submit each proposed amendment generally in the following form:
Should the amendment described below be adopted for the charter of ()?
[ ] Yes
[ ] No
The ballot shall contain a summary of the proposed amendment.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 8. Municipal Corporations › Article 1. Purpose and Short Title; Definitions; General Provisions; Construction › §8-1-1. Purpose and Short Title

§8-1-1. Purpose and short title.
The purpose of this chapter is to effect a recodification of the basic municipal law of this state and of various statutory provisions relating to certain intergovernmental relations involving municipalities, counties and other units of government, to provide as much uniformity as possible between the powers, authority, duties and responsibilities of special legislative charter municipalities and all other municipalities, and to give effect to the "Municipal Home Rule Amendment" to the Constitution of this state, being section thirty-nine-(a), article six of said Constitution.
For convenience of reference, this chapter may be known and cited as the "Municipal Code of West Virginia."
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 8. Municipal Corporations › Article 1. Purpose and Short Title; Definitions; General Provisions; Construction › §8-1-3. Classification of Municipal Corporations

§8-1-3. Classification of municipal corporations.
Pursuant to the mandate of the "Municipal Home Rule Amendment" to the Constitution of this state, all municipal corporations are hereby classified by population into four classes, as follows:
(1) Every municipal corporation with a population in excess of fifty thousand shall be a Class I city;
(2) Every municipal corporation with a population in excess of ten thousand but not in excess of fifty thousand shall be a Class II city;
(3) Every municipal corporation with a population in excess of two thousand but not in excess of ten thousand shall be a Class III city; and
(4) Every municipal corporation with a population of two thousand or less shall be a Class IV town or village.
Transition from one to another class shall occur automatically when the requisite population qualification has been met, effective as of the effective date of the census, as specified in section four of this article.
The Legislature hereby declares its interpretation of the said "Municipal Home Rule Amendment" to be that a single classification by population of municipal corporations in this state is required which shall exclude any other classification of municipal corporations by population for any purpose. It is, therefore, the intention of the Legislature that the classification established in this section shall give effect to the Constitutional mandate and shall be the only classification by population applying to municipal corporations in this state. It is the further intention of the Legislature that subsequent legislation affecting municipal corporations in this state shall treat municipal corporations differently upon the basis of population, only in accordance with the general classification established in this section.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 8. Municipal Corporations › Article 1. Purpose and Short Title; Definitions; General Provisions; Construction › §8-1-4. How Population Determined

For any purpose pertinent to the provisions of this chapter, population shall be determined by reference to the last preceding census taken under the authority of the United States or of the Legislature of West Virginia or by the municipality pursuant to an ordinance adopted thereby, the adoption of any such ordinance being hereby expressly authorized.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 8. Municipal Corporations › Article 1. Purpose and Short Title; Definitions; General Provisions; Construction › §8-1-5. Existing Status of Municipalities Confirmed; Powers, Authority, Duties and Responsibilities Conferred by Law

The corporate being of every municipality now existing is hereby confirmed and validated. Except as otherwise provided in section six of this article, any municipality shall have all of the powers, authority, duties and responsibilities conferred by law upon a municipality of the class to which it belongs.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 8. Municipal Corporations › Article 1. Purpose and Short Title; Definitions; General Provisions; Construction › §8-1-7. Construction of Powers and Authority Granted

(a) The enumeration of powers and authority granted in this chapter shall not operate to exclude the exercise of other powers and authority fairly incidental thereto or reasonably implied and within the purposes of this chapter or in accordance with the provisions of the Municipal Home Rule Amendment to the Constitution of this state, the powers and authority granted by such Constitution, other provisions of this code and any existing charter. The provisions of this chapter shall be given full effect without regard to the common-law rule of strict construction and particularly when the powers and authority are exercised by charter provisions framed and adopted or adopted by revision of a charter as a whole or adopted by charter amendment under the provisions of this chapter.
(b) Any charter provision framed and adopted or adopted by revision of a charter as a whole or adopted by charter amendment under the provisions of former chapter eight-a of this code or under the provisions of this chapter which is beyond the power and authority of a municipality and any ordinance provision which is beyond the power and authority of a municipality shall be of no force and effect.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 8. Municipal Corporations › Article 1. Purpose and Short Title; Definitions; General Provisions; Construction › §8-1-8. References to Code Provisions

Any reference in this chapter to another provision of this code and any reference elsewhere in this code or other law to a provision in this chapter shall be construed to mean the present provision or such provision as the same may be hereafter amended from time to time. Where additional provisions are added to the subject matter of any other provision so referred to, the reference shall include such additional provisions.
Wherever in this code, in any act, in general law, elsewhere in law, in any charter, in any ordinance, resolution or order of a municipality, or in any order, ordinance or resolution of a county court or other unit of government, reference is made to any section, any article, any particular provision or any term of chapter eight of this code as it existed immediately prior to the effective date of this new chapter eight or to any section, any article, any particular provision or any term of former chapter eight-a of this code, such reference shall henceforth be read, construed and understood to mean the comparable section, article, particular provision or term in this new chapter eight.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 8. Municipal Corporations › Article 1. Purpose and Short Title; Definitions; General Provisions; Construction › §8-1-9. Reporting of Fraud and Misappropriations of Funds

(a) Whenever a governing body for a municipality, or any of a municipalitys boards, committees, or any other entities of any kind or nature authorized in this chapter, obtains information that an employee, officer, or member of the municipality, or any of a municipalitys boards, committees, or any other entities of any kind or nature authorized in this chapter may have misappropriated funds, engaged in fraud, or otherwise violated a law relating to the public trust, the governing body for a municipality, or the municipalitys board, committee, or other entity authorized in this chapter shall timely report that information or allegation in writing to the county prosecutors office, the Legislatures Commission on Special Investigations and the State Auditor.
(b) The reporting of the information under subsection (a) of this section does not prevent, relieve or replace a report to a law-enforcement agency, if appropriate or warranted.
2023 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.
2023 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.
2023 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.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 8. Municipal Corporations › Article 2. Creation of Municipalities › §8-2-5. Special Incorporation Election Voting Precincts; Time for Election; Supplies; Commissioners and Clerks; Notice

8-2-5. Special incorporation election Voting precincts; time for election; supplies; commissioners and clerks; notice.
Upon receiving such a report from said enumerators, the county commission shall forthwith fix a date for a special incorporation election, to be held concurrently with the next regularly scheduled primary or general election if there are more than 90 days preceding such election, and, if not, then, at the next succeeding regularly scheduled primary or general election, and at which election all qualified electors of the territory shall vote upon the question of incorporation between such hours as may be fixed by order of said commission. For the purpose of holding and conducting said election, the county commission shall divide the territory into one or more precincts, consisting of not more than 500 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 59-3-1
et seq
. of this code, and the publication area for such publication shall be the territory sought to be incorporated.
2023 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.
2023 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.
2023 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.
2023 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.
2023 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 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 commission to be held concurrently with the next regularly scheduled primary or general election if there are more than 90 days preceding such election, and, if not, then, at the next succeeding regularly scheduled primary or general election, and 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 commission 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 59-3-1
et seq
. 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 30 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 commission shall divide the incorporated territory into one or more temporary precincts, consisting of not more than 500 qualified voters in each temporary 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 temporary precinct so established, subject, however, to the provisions of 8-4-11 of this code. Such election shall be held and conducted under the supervision of the commissioners and clerks of election appointed by the county commission 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 commission. 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 commission that the party or parties shall pay all costs of such recount.
2023 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.
2023 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.
2023 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.
2023 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.
2023 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.
2023 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.
2023 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.
2023 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 › §8-4-5. Approval of Charter; Effective Date; Certification; Judicial Notice; Recordation; Effect of Rejection

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 approved as aforesaid, one of the signed copies of the charter on file with the recorder of the city, 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 such recorder 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.
If the charter is approved as aforesaid, a certified copy of the declaration of the results of the election showing the total legal votes cast for and against approval shall be forwarded by the recorder of the city to the clerk of the county commission for filing with the signed copy of the charter previously filed with him.
Rejection of the proposed charter by a majority of the legal votes cast shall have the same effect as a majority vote against the question of framing a charter as specified in section two of this article, and no further effort shall be made to have a charter approved until the question of framing a charter is again submitted to the qualified voters of the city and is approved by a majority vote, subject to the two-year limitation set forth in said section two of this article.
2023 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 › §8-4-6. New Charter Supersedes Existing Charter; Effect on Ordinances and Administrative Law

A new charter shall entirely supersede the prior charter of a city. All ordinances and administrative acts or rules theretofore adopted by the governing body or administrative agencies of a city which are in conflict with or are inconsistent with a new charter shall continue in force for sixty days after the effective date of the new charter, unless sooner modified or repealed by competent authority; but at the end of this period shall, to the extent of such conflict or inconsistency, be of no further force or effect.
2023 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 › §8-4-9. Submission of Alternative Provisions

A charter revision as a whole or a charter amendment or amendments may be proposed with alternative provisions for submission to the qualified voters and the same may be voted upon separately without prejudice to the primary question of whether the proposed charter revision as a whole or the amendment or amendments shall be adopted and without prejudice to the other provisions thereof.
2023 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 › §8-4-10. Conduct of Elections; General Provisions Concerning Canvass and Declaration of Results; Election Supplies; Election Officials

8-4-10. Conduct of elections; general provisions concerning canvass and declaration of results; election supplies; election officials.
The governing body of a city shall canvass the returns within relatively the same time with reference to an election held under the provisions of this article and in the same manner as county commissions are required to do with respect to general elections, and shall declare the results of any such election. This requirement shall apply to any election held under the provisions of this article, whether it be a special municipal election or voting conducted in conjunction with a general election or a regular municipal election. The canvass and declaration of results shall be entered in the minutes of the governing body on the date made. Unless otherwise provided by charter provision, any such special municipal election or voting conducted in conjunction with a general election or a regular municipal election shall be held and conducted under the supervision at each precinct of three commissioners of election and two clerks who shall be appointed by the governing body and shall be conducted as nearly as may be in accordance with the laws of this state governing general elections, subject, however, in the case of a special municipal election to the provisions of 8-4-11 of this code. For any special municipal election or voting conducted in conjunction with a general election or a regular municipal election, in accordance with the provisions of this article, the governing body shall arrange for and provide at its expense registration books, challenges and other election supplies as provided by law in general elections, and polling places in any such special municipal election or with respect to any such voting conducted in conjunction with a regular municipal election. In the event any commissioner or clerk appointed by the governing body 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, except that the governing body shall act in the place and stead of the county commission. A recount may be had, as in general elections, upon the party or parties desiring such recount providing adequate assurance to the governing body that the party or parties shall pay all costs of such recount.
2023 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 › §8-4-12. Expenses

The governing body of a city shall make full provision for all expenses incurred in advertising, holding and conducting any election or voting under the provisions of this article and all other proper expenses incurred in complying with the provisions of this article, including the expenses of a charter board and the members thereof, as specified in section two of this article.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 8. Municipal Corporations › Article 5. Election, Appointment, Qualification and Compensation of Officers; General Provisions Relating to Officers and Employees; Elections and Petitions Generally; Conflict of Interest › §8-5-1. First Election of Officers of a City; Terms of First Officers

§8-5-1. First election of officers of a city; terms of first officers.
The first election of officers of a city shall be held, conducted, superintended, returned, certified and canvassed in such manner as is provided in article three of this chapter for the first charter election of such city. All officers elected at such first charter election, which first charter election is held after the effective date of this article, shall be elected for a term which shall expire on the thirtieth of June of the second or fourth year following such election, as the charter may provide.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 8. Municipal Corporations › Article 5. Election, Appointment, Qualification and Compensation of Officers; General Provisions Relating to Officers and Employees; Elections and Petitions Generally; Conflict of Interest › §8-5-2. First Election of Officers of a Town or Village; Commissioners of Election

At the time of ordering the issuance of the certificate of incorporation of a town or village as specified in section seven, article two of this chapter, the county court shall appoint three qualified voters of such incorporated territory who shall act as commissioners of election at the first election of officers to be held in such town or village, as hereinafter provided, and, in case they shall fail or refuse to act, such election may be held, conducted, superintended, returned and certified by any three qualified voters of such incorporated territory appointed for that purpose by the qualified voters present.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 8. Municipal Corporations › Article 5. Election, Appointment, Qualification and Compensation of Officers; General Provisions Relating to Officers and Employees; Elections and Petitions Generally; Conflict of Interest › §8-5-3. When First Election of Officers of a Town or Village Held; Notice

The first election of officers of a town or village shall be held within sixty days from the date of the certificate of incorporation issued in accordance with the provisions of section seven, article two of this chapter, and the commissioners of election appointed at the time the order is entered directing issuance of such certificate shall cause notice to be given of the date, time and place of holding such election, which notice shall specify the officers to be voted for, and shall be published within fourteen consecutive days next preceding the date appointed for such election, 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 such town or village.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 8. Municipal Corporations › Article 5. Election, Appointment, Qualification and Compensation of Officers; General Provisions Relating to Officers and Employees; Elections and Petitions Generally; Conflict of Interest › §8-5-4. Conducting First Election of Officers of a Town or Village; Certificate of Election; Terms of First Officers

Such commissioners, or the individuals acting as such, shall preside and act as commissioners of such election, and all of the laws applicable to the election of district officers shall apply to such election, if not inconsistent with the provisions of this article. Such commissioners shall, within five days after such election, issue a certificate to the individuals elected, which certificate shall be recorded among the records of such town or village. All officers elected at the first election of officers held by a town or village, which first election is held after the effective date of this article, shall be elected for a term which shall expire on the thirtieth of June of the second year following such election.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 8. Municipal Corporations › Article 5. Election, Appointment, Qualification and Compensation of Officers; General Provisions Relating to Officers and Employees; Elections and Petitions Generally; Conflict of Interest › §8-5-6. Charter Provisions Concerning Officers and Elections, etc.; Provisions of General Law Concerning Same

ELECTION OF OFFICERS.
§8-5-6. Charter provisions concerning officers and elections, etc.; provisions of general law concerning same.
The charter of every city framed and adopted or revised as a whole under the provisions of article three or article four of this chapter, as the case may be, shall provide a method and time for the filing of certificates of candidacy, nominating candidates, conducting primary and regular municipal elections, and determining and certifying the results of such elections. Except as otherwise provided in the charter of any municipality, the provisions of general law with respect to the method and time for the filing of certificates of candidacy, nominating candidates, conducting primary and regular municipal elections, and determining and certifying the results of such elections, so far as applicable, shall apply to municipal elections: Provided, That the provisions of section thirteen of this article shall be construed as mandatory.