Chap. 55.—An ACT prescribing the manner in which cities in this Com-
monwealth having a population in excess of 65,000 inhabitants and less
than 100,000 inhabitants may request the general assembly to grant a
special form of government for any such city, under section 117 of
the Constitution, providing for the holding of special elections in
relation thereto, and to repeal, so far as it may be in conflict there
with section 14 of an act of the general assembly. approved March
18, 1914, and entitled an act to provide for a change in the form of
government of cities having a population of less than 100,000, and of
towns, and to provide in what manner such cities and towns may
adopt such form of government, and further to repeal an act entitled
an act, prescribing the manner in which cities in this Commonwealth
having a population in excess of 65,000 inhabitants, and less than
100,000 inhabitants may request the general assembly to grant a
special form of government for any such city, under section 117 of
the Constitution, providing for the holding of special elections in re-
lation thereto, and to repeal so far as it may be in conflict therewith,
section 14 of an act of the general assembly, approved March 13, 1914,
and entitled an act to provide for a change in the form of govern-
ment of cities having a population of less than 100,000, and of towns,
and to provide in what manner such cities and towns may adopt such
form of government; and also repealing all acts or parts of acts in-
consistent herewith. (S. B. 5.)

Approved February 17, 1916.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That
upon the presentation of a petition or duplicate petitions to the
judge of the corporation court of any city either in term time
or vacation, having a population of between sixty-five thou-
sand and one hundred thousand inhabitants, signed by qualified
electors of such city equal in number to at least fifteen per
centum of the total number of votes cast for mayor or council
at the last preceding municipal election, asking that an election
be held to determine the question, “Shall the city of —————
take the necessary steps to frame and request that it be granted
a special form of government, and to elect a charter commis-
sion of nine qualified electors to be elected at large?” the court
or the judge thereof in vacation shall pass an order, entered
in term time or vacation directing the proper election officers of
such municipality to take such steps and prepare such means as
may be necessary to submit to the qualified electors of the said
city the question, shall the city of ——————. take the necessary
steps to frame and request that it be granted a special form
of government, and to elect a charter commission of nine quali-
fied electors to be elected at large? Accompanying the petition,
presented to the judge of the corporation court, signed by the
qualified voters of such city equal in number to fifteen per
centum of the votes cast at the last preceding municipal elec-
tion, there shall be a certificate from the clerk in whose office
there is now required to be filed a list of qualified voters, which
certificate shall show and state the number of persons on the
said petition or duplicate petitions qualified to vote at the last
preceding election. The names of the petitioners need not all
be on one sheet, but the circulators of the petitions shall make
affidavit on each sheet on which each such circulator has secured
the signatures of names, that he knows that the signatures
are the genuine signatures of the persons whose names they
purport to be, and that they were signed in his presence. After
the name of each person signing the petition, there shall be
placed the name of the street and number if any, of his resi-
dence. The petitions or duplicate petitions provided for in this
act shall be signed by none but qualified voters of the city in
which such said special form of government is proposed, but no
petition shall be invalid by reason of the placing thereon of the
names of illegal or unqualified voters, provided it contains the
required percentage of qualified voters. Any qualified voter
may be a candidate at said election for charter commissioner
upon a petition or duplicate petitions signed by fifty qualified
voters of said city, filed with the clerk in whose office there is
now filed a list of qualified voters of said city, within ten days
before the holding of said election. In case the sufficiency of
such petition is questioned, or its operation be restrained by
any injunction proceedings, the judge of the court shall give a
prompt hearing of the case, and the burden of the proof shall
be on the complainant.

The election shall take place not less than thirty nor more
than fifty days after the ascertainment of the sufficiency of the
petition. Such election shall be conducted in the manner pre-
scribed by law for the conduct of regular elections and by the
regular election officers of such municipality. The election shall
be by secret ballot, and the ballots used shall contain the fol-
lowing: “Shall the city of —————— take the necessary steps
to frame and ask that it be granted a special form of govern-
ment? Yes. No.” and the drawing of a line through the
word Yes, or the word No, shall be sufficient to indicate the
wishes of the person voting. The ballots shall also contain the
names of the candidates for the charter commission arranged
in alphabetical order, without party designation or other dis-
tinguishing mark. The nine candidates for commissioners who
receive the highest number of votes cast at said election shall
constitute the charter commission herein provided for. Returns
of the election shall be certified by the commissioners of elec-
tion, or their clerk, to the court, or to the judge thereof in
vacation, and if it shall appear that a majority of those voting
on the question shall vote No, an order shall be entered of
record accordingly: But if a majority of those voting on the
question vote Yes, then the election of the charter commis-
sioners shall be valid, and the said commission shall in that
case proceed, in open session, to prepare and propose within
one hundred and twenty days from their election, a special
charter and form of government for such city, which shall be
signed in duplicate by the members of said commission, or a
majority of them, and the said charter commission shall forth-
with, within the said period of one hundred and twenty days
from the election of the said commission, forward one copy
thereof to the corporation court of said city and a copy thereof
to the city clerk; and upon receipt of said copy by the said cor-
poration court it shall be the duty of said court, or the judge
thereof in vacation, to order a special election for submitting
said special charter or form of government to the qualified
voters of said city on some day to be determined by the said
court or judge, said election to be held, conducted, and the re-
sult canvassed, ascertained and returned in the mode prescribed
by law for the holding of regular elections, and by the regular
election officials of the said city; and when ascertained, the re-
sult thereof shall be by the commissioners of elections reported
to the said court or to the judge thereof in vacation.
Thereupon, if the majority of the qualified voters voting in
said election approve and vote in favor of the said charter or
form of government, the said court, or judge thereof in vacation
shall transmit the special charter or form of government so ap-
proved to the keeper of the rolls of the general assembly, whose
duty it shall be if the legislature be in session, immediately upon
its receipt to communicate the same to the presiding officers of
the house of delegates and to the senate of Virginia, whose duty
it shall be respectively, upon the receipt of the same, to lay the
said special charter or form of government before the body over
which he presides, and said special charter or form of govern-
ment so communicated shall constitute a request to the general
assembly to grant the said special charter or form of govern-
ment provided for therein, as provided by section one hundred
and seventeen of the Constitution of Virginia, as amended; if
the legislature be not in session when the special charter shall
be received by the keeper of the rolls, he shall present the same
to the presiding officer of the senate and house of delegates of
Virginia immediately upon the reassembling of the general
assembly.

Any city may apply, under the provisions of this act, for a
special charter or form of government, whether or not it has
operated for less than four years under the provisions of an act
of the general assembly approved March thirteenth, nineteen
hundred and fourteen, and entitled an act to provide for a
change in the form of government of cities having a population
of less than one hundred thousand and of towns, and to provide
in what manner such cities and towns may adopt such form of
government, and so far as section fourteen of said act last men-
tioned is inconsistent with the provisions of this act, the same
is hereby repealed. Be it further enacted that the act entitled
an act prescribing the manner in which cities in this Com-
monwealth having a population in excess of seventy-five thou-
sand inhabitants, and less than one hundred thousand inhabi-
tants may request the general assembly to grant a special form
of government for any such city under section one hundred and
seventeen of the Constitution, providing for the holding of
special election in relation thereto, and to repeal, so far as it
may be in conflict therewith, section fourteen of an act of the
general assembly approved March thirteenth, nineteen hundred
and fourteen, and entitled an act to provide for a change in
the form of government of cities having a population of less
than one hundred thousand and of towns, and to provide in
what manner such cities and towns may adopt such form of
government; be repealed as well as all other acts or parts of
acts inconsistent herewith, including section fourteen of an act
of the general assembly, approved March thirteenth, nineteen
hundred and fourteen, and entitled an act to provide for a
change in the form of government of cities having a population
of less than one hundred thousand, and of towns, and to pro-
vide in what manner such cities and towns may adopt such form
of government.