West Virginia Impeachment Proceedings Amendment (2020)
| West Virginia Impeachment Proceedings Amendment | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 3, 2020 | |
| Topic Government accountability | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
The West Virginia Impeachment Proceedings Amendment was not on the ballot in West Virginia as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 3, 2020.[1]
This measure would have established that practices or procedures adopted by the State House or Senate for impeachment proceedings are not subject to judicial review or judicial interpretation. It was rejected in the House on March 9, 2019.[2]
Text of measure
Constitutional changes
- See also: Article IV, West Virginia Constitution
The measure would have amended section 9 of section 9 of Article IV of the state constitution. The following underlined text would have been added, and struck-through text would have been deleted:[2]
Note: Hover over the text and scroll to see the full text.
§9. Impeachment of officials.
Any officer of the state may be impeached for maladministration, corruption, incompetency, gross immorality, neglect of duty, or any high crime or misdemeanor. The House of Delegates shall have the sole power of impeachment. The Senate shall have the sole power to try impeachments and no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two thirds of the members elected thereto. When sitting as a court of impeachment, the president Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals, or, if from any cause it be improper for him or her to act, then any other judge justice of that court, to be designated by it, shall preside; and the senators shall be on oath or affirmation, to do justice according to law and evidence. Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than removal from office and, if a conviction is had, and disqualification of the person convicted to hold any office of honor, trust, or profit, under the state by a concurrence of two thirds of the members elected to the Senate; but the party convicted shall be liable to indictment, trial, judgment, and punishment according to law. The Senate may sit during the recess of the Legislature for the trial of impeachments.
Rules of practice or procedure adopted by the House of Delegates or the Senate for impeachment proceedings or by the Senate for a trial on articles of impeachment shall not be subject to judicial review or judicial interpretation.
No court of this state shall have the authority to stay or enjoin an impeachment proceeding or a trial of impeachment.[3]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Amending the West Virginia Constitution
To put a legislatively referred constitutional amendment before voters, a two-thirds (66.67%) vote in both the West Virginia State Senate and the West Virginia House of Delegates is required.
This amendment was introduced as Senate Joint Resolution 5 on January 9, 2019, by Sen. Charles S. Trump IV (R-15). On January 31, 2019, the state Senate passed SJR 5 in a vote of 27 to 6 with one member, Douglas Facemire (D-12) absent.[1]
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See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 West Virginia State Legislature, "Senate Joint Resolution 5," accessed February 13, 2019
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 West Virginia Legislature, "SJR 5 Full Text," accessed February 13, 2019
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source.
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