Opinion ID: 1342159
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: effective date of statute

Text: The respondents contend that although the effective date (June 11, 1982) of the amendments to W.Va.Code, 3-4A-1, et seq., was ninety days from the date of passage, the act should not have any applicability to any aspect of the June 1, 1982 election. This argument would have merit if new amendments were being applied to a voting transaction that was completed prior to June 11, 1982. However, the formal recount based on Candidate McClung's request was not scheduled to begin until June 15, 1982. The particular section relied upon, W.Va.Code, 3-4A-28 [1982], amended the existing section to provide for a right upon the canvass and any requested recount, where voting was done by electronic voting, to have five percent of the precincts randomly selected and their ballots subject to a manual count. [6] We find that this provision has nothing to do with the initial voting procedures but is designed as a procedural device to come into play upon the canvass or any requested recount as a means of testing the accuracy of the tabulation obtained through the electronic voting device. There is nothing within the terms of the new amendments which specifically exclude their applicability to the June 1982 primary election. The Legislature in 1978 changed the date of the primary election from the second Tuesday in May to the first Tuesday in June as of the year 1980. W.Va.Code, 3-5-1 [1978]. We must assume that, when the Legislature set the ninety-day effective date when the bill was passed in March of 1982, they were aware of the June 1982 primary date. Moreover, it is common knowledge that the recount provisions are typically post-election procedures. Consequently, we believe that the Legislature, acting with this knowledge, must have realized that the new amendments could well impact on recount procedures arising from the 1982 election. The Legislature's failure to specifically exclude the 1982 primary from the operation of the new amendments is contrasted with the fact that when the Legislature reset the primary date in W.Va.Code, 3-5-1 [1978], it made clear the particular primary on which the act would have its impact. [7] Consequently, we cannot imply any legislative intent to exclude this particular section from operating on the recount in this case. Statutes are ordinarily given prospective operation as we have stated in Syllabus Point 3 of Shanholtz v. Monongahela Power Co., W.Va., 270 S.E.2d 178 (1980): A statute is presumed to operate prospectively unless the intent that it shall operate retroactively is clearly expressed by its terms or is necessarily implied from the language of the statute. We acknowledged this rule in Woodring v. Whyte, W.Va., 242 S.E.2d 238, 244 (1978), and said that: There may be some relaxation of this rule for a statute which is purely procedural or remedial in nature. Certainly, the particular provision of W.Va.Code, 3-4A-28(4), involves a purely procedural rule, that is, how the recount is to be conducted. Of even more significance is the rule contained in Syllabus Point 3 of Sizemore v. State Workmen's Compensation Commissioner, W.Va., 219 S.E.2d 912 (1975), which states: A law is not retroactive merely because part of the factual situation to which it is applied occurred prior to its enactment; only when it operates upon transactions which have been completed or upon rights which have been acquired or upon obligations which have existed prior to its passage can it be considered to be retroactive in application. See also Devon Corporation v. Miller, W.Va., 280 S.E.2d 108 (1981); Lester v. State Workmen's Compensation Commissioner, W.Va., 242 S.E.2d 443 (1978). In State ex rel. Kittle v. Ritchie County Court, 84 W.Va. 212, 99 S.E. 439 (1919), the Legislature had enacted a statute which required all public funds coming into the hands of a sheriff to be deposited in an interest bearing account. The statute further provided that the interest so obtained should be credited to the general county fund. The interest on funds derived from the sale of road bonds was acknowledged as included in such funds. Subsequently, the Legislature enacted a provision which required interest from funds derived from the sale of road bonds to be credited to the district road fund held by the sheriff. The argument was made that the new statute could not be construed to apply to interest arising from funds previously obtained from the sale of road bonds prior to the enactment of the new statute, because such construction would give the new statute retroactive effect. This court rejected the retroactive argument and stated that the statute applied only to interest accruing after the date of its enactment. In the present case, the new amendment relative to the recount procedure operates only on a recount that has occurred after the effective date of the act. The recount provision is completely severable and has no impact on any substantive right that existed prior to the effective date of the enactment. The particular amendment operates prospectively on a procedural matter involving the mechanism of the recount. Clearly, Sizemore and our related cases are applicable and the new amendment should be utilized on the recount. For these reasons a writ of mandamus is issued against respondents. Writ Granted.