secretary thereof shall perform such duty; and if the question be submitted by a council of a municipal corporation, such duty shall be performed by the clerk, recorder or other recording officer of the council; provided, that the question of levy, except as provided in the first and second provisos of section five, may be submitted for any two successive years that may be named in the order submitting the question to the voters, the rate of levy for each year being stated in such order; and if the levy be authorized, as aforesaid, the proper tribunal may lay such levy for each of said two years, or so much thereof as may be found necessary. Special debt levy-Provisions as to certain funds. Sec. 8 If any county, or any magisterial district or any school district or any independent school district, or any municipal corporation, have outstanding unpaid orders on the treasury thereof, or owe other floating indebtedness, which orders were issued or which indebtedness was incurred previous to the first day of January in the year nineteen hundred and eight, the amount whereof is so considerable that it is impracticable to discharge the same out of the proceeds of the regular levy, and the county court, or board of education, or common council, as the case may be, deem it inadvisable to submit to the voters of the county, or district, or municipality the question of an additional levy as provided in section five, such court, board or council may lay a levy in addition to said regular levy, to be called "special debt levy," not exceeding ten cents on each one hundred dollars of the valuation of the taxable property of the county, district, or municipality, as the case may be, according to the last assessment of such property, and continue such levy for as many years as may be necessary to pay off such debt, but not longer. The net amount produced by any such levy, or by any additional levy authorized by section five, or by any special levy authorized by section six, shall not be used for any other purpose, as to such special debt levy than for the payment of such debt, or as to such additional or special levy than for the purpose or purposes named in the order submitting the question to the voters. The treasurer of each of such funds shall keep an accurate account of the same separately from other funds. If after paying off such debts or effecting the object of said additional levy or of said special levy, any balance remains of any of said funds the same shall, first, revert to the sinking fund of the county, or of the magisterial district, or independent school district, or of the municipal corporation, as the case may be; or, secondly, if there be no such sinking fund, it shall in case the fund was raised by taxes levied throughout the county, revert to the fund for general purposes of the county; if the fund was raised by taxes levied on the property of a school district or independent school district, said balance shall revert to the teachers' fund of the district; if the fund was raised by taxes levied on the property of a municipal corporation, said balance shall revert to the fund for general purposes of the municipality; and in case of a magisterial district said balance shall revert to the road fund thereof. Certain acts prohibited-Penalties. Sec. 9 It shall be unlawful for any county court, board of education, or council of a municipal corporation, or other body charged with the administration of the fiscal affairs of any county, school district or independent district, or municipality, to expend any money or to incur any obligation or indebtedness which such tribunal is not expressly authorized by law to expend or to incur. Nor shall any such tribunal make any contract, express or implied, the performance of which, in whole or in part, would involve the expenditure of money in excess of funds legally at the disposal of such tribunal, issue or authorized to be issued any certificate, order or other evidence of indebtedness which cannot be paid out of the levy for the current year or out of the fund against which it is issued. Nor shall any such tribunal attempt to lay any levy the rate whereof shall exceed the rate specified by this act. Any member of any such tribunal, or any officer or person, who in violation of any of the provisions of this act shall expend any money, or incur any debt or obligation, or make or participate in the making of any such contract, or be party thereto in any official capacity, or issue or cause to be issued any such certificate, order or other evidence of indebtedness, or lay or cause to be laid any levy or levies, shall be personally liable therefor, both jointly and severally, and an action may be maintained therefor by the state, or by any county, municipal corporation, district or person prejudiced thereby, in any court of competent jurisdiction; and any such member, officer or person shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars, or be confined in jail not more than one year, or be both fined and imprisoned; and in addition thereto shall forfeit his office. Whenever any court of competent jurisdiction by mandamus, injunction or other judicial proceeding, shall determine that any officer or person has wilfully violated any of the provisions of 'this section, it shall enter an order declaring the office of such officer or person forfeited. Duty of state tax commissioner and attorney general. Sec. 10. The state tax commissioner shall prepare forms and instructions for making up the statement named in sections two, three and four of the condition of the fiscal affairs, which forms and instructions shall be followed so far as they are consistent with law. The attorney general shall prepare forms and instructions for the holding of any election provided by this act, which forms and instructions shall be followed so far as they are consistent with law. Sec. 11. All acts and parts of acts in conflict with this act, are hereby repealed in so far as they are in conflict. (Senate Bill No. 3.) CHAPTER 10. AN ACT to amend and reenact section seven of chapter thirty of the code of nineteen hundred and six (serial section 828), relating to sheriff's commissions in the collection of taxes. [Passed February 29, 1908. In effect January 1, 1909. Approved March 6, 1908.] Sec. Sec. thirty-one of this chapter of the code notice to be advertised in all newspapers in the county for three weeks; penalty for failure to give notice; to be in effect January 1st, 1909. Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia: That section seven of chapter thirty of the code of nineteen hundred and six (serial section 828) be and the same is hereby amended and reenacted so as to read as follows: Sec. 7. It shall be the duty of the sheriff or collector to give notice by posting at the places of voting in each district, and at not less than six other public places in the district, for at least twenty days before the time appointed, that he will attend at one or more of the most public and convenient places for the people in such districts, such places to be specified in said notice, between the first day of October and the last day of November following, for the purpose of receiving taxes due by the people residing or paying taxes in said district, and that he will make a discount of two and one half per cent. to all such persons as shall pay all their taxes on or before the last day of November of that year, and not otherwise; which discount shall be made on the whole amount of taxes and levies of every kind so collected by said sheriff or collector; and which discount shall not be credited to said sheriff in his settlements but shall be deducted from his commissions as set out in section thirty-one of this chapter. Any sheriff or collector failing to post said notice as herein required shall forfeit one hundred dollars for every such failure. The county court of any county may order that the notice hereinbefore required shall also be given by the sheriff or collector by advertising the same. After such order is made, and until it is set aside, the sheriff or collector shall, besides posting as hereinbefore required, advertise such notice once a week for three successive weeks, next preceding the first day of October in every year, in all newspapers published in said county, and for each failure so to advertise, the sheriff or collector shall forfeit one hundred dollars. This act shall not take effect until January first, nineteen hundred and nine. (House Bill No. 3.) CHAPTER 11. AN ACT to provide for the investment of sinking funds established for the purpose of paying off the bonded indebtedness of any county, district, school district, independent school district, city, town or village in this state. [Passed February 13, 1908. In effect ninety days from passage. ruary 21, 1908.] Approved Feb vested; to whom order shall be directed to as to such fund; if officer fails or refuses to make such investment, what then. How and what kind of securities can be invested in; what premium to be paid; investments of SEC. a county or board of education to SEC. 3. 4. 5. town or village by the city attorney. County court. board of education, Duty of sheriff. treasurer or other Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia: Sec. 1. When any bonds of any county, district, school district, independent school district, city, town or village of this state, has been or shall hereafter be issued as provided by law and a sinking fund established to pay the same and any money shall have accumulated in such fund, it shall be the duty of the county court in case of bonds issued by a county or a district of a county, and the duty of the board of education in the case of a school district or independent school district, and the duty of the common council in the case of a city, town or village to direct by order entered of record, the investment of such sinking fund. The order shall be directed to the sheriff, treasurer or other legal custodian of such sinking fund, and shall specify minutely the securities in which said fund shall be invested, the amount of the investment to be made, and the date at which it shall be made. If the sheriff, treasurer or other custodian of such fund shall fail or refuse to make such investment when so directed, he shall forfeit for the benefit of such fund at the rate of ten per centum per annum on the amount directed to be invested for such time as he shall fail to make such investment. Sec. 2. No such sinking fund shall be invested in securities of any kind other than the bonds of other valid interest-bearing evidence of indebtedness of the United States or of this state, or a county, district, school district, independent school district, city, town or village of this state, and only in such of said securities as will mature. prior to the date of the maturity of the bonds for the payment of which the sinking fund to be invested was established; and in invest-ing these funds no greater premium shall be paid for any of said. |