Chap. 74.—An ACT providing how the cities of this Commonwealth hav-
ing a vopulation in excess of onc hundred thousand inhabitants. may
request of the general assembly of Virginia to grant to anv such city
a special form of government. (S. B. 128.)

Approved February 29, 1916.

1. Be it enacted by the general assemblv of Virginia, That
the council of any citv of this Commonwealth having a popula-
tion in excess of one hundred thousand (100,000) inhabitants,
when reauested by petition. or petitions, in duplicate filed in the
office of the mayor, signed by a number of voters equal to twen-
ty-five (25) per centum of the voters qualified to vote at the last
preceding general election, shall provide by ordinance for the
holding of an election to take place not less than thirty days,
nor more than fifty days thereafter, to determine the question:
“Shall this city take the necessary steps to frame and request
that it be granted, a special form of charter?’ At the same elec-
tion there shall be elected a charter commission of seven citizens,
who shall be qualified voters of said city, and they shall be elect-
ed at large. In the event a majority of the qualified voters
voting at the said election, vote in favor of the proposition to
adopt a special forra of charter or a new form of government for
said city, then the election of the charter commission shall be
valid; otherwise the election of the said charter commission
shall be invalid. The said commission so elected shall proceed,
in that case, in open session, to prepare and propose within one
hundred and fifty days from their election a special charter and
form of government for such city, which shall be signed in du-
plicate by the members of said commission, or a majority of
them, and the said commission shall forthwith within one hun-
dred and fifty days from the election of said commission, for-
ward 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
said corpceration court, it shall be the duty of the said court or
the judge thereof in vacation to order a special election for sub-
mitting said special charter or form of government to the quah-
fied voters of said city, on some day to be determined by the said
court or judge, said election to be held, conducted and the result
canvassed, ascertained and returned in the mode prescribed by
law for the holding of regular elections, and by the regular elec-
tion officials of the said city; and when ascertained, the result
thereof shall be, by the commissioners of election reported to
the said court or to the judge thereof in vacation. Thereupon
if a majority of the qualified voters, voting in said election ap-
prove and vote in favor of said special charter or form of gov-
ernment so submitted, the said court or judge thereof in vaca-
tion, shall transmit two copies of the special charter or form of
government so adopted to the keeper of the rolls of the general
assembly, whose duty it shall be at the then or next regular ses-
sion of the general assembly to communicate one of said copies to
the presiding officer of the house of delegates and to the senate
of Virginia, whose duty it shall be, respectively, upon receipt
of same, to lay the said special charter or form of government
before the body over which he presides, and said special charter
vr form of government so communicated shall constitute a re-
quest to the general assembly to grant the said snecial charter
or form of government provided therein, as provided by section
one hundred and seventeen of the Constitution of Virginia,
as amended.

2. Accompanying the petiticn or petitions filed in the office
of the mayor, signed by twenty-five per centum of the qualified
voters of such city, there shall be a certificate from the clerk in
whose office ther2 is now required to be filed a list of the quali-
fied voters, which certificate shall show and state the number
of persons on the said petition or duplicate petitions, who are
qualified to vote in said election.

3. The said charter commission, immediately upon its valid
election, shall meet and organize by the election of a chairman
and secretary, who shall be members of the said charter com-
mission. It shall have the power to accept the resignation of
any of its members; all vacancies caused by death, resignation,
or otherwise, on the said commission, shall be filed by the said
commission. Such commissioners shall serve without compensa-
tion, but the council of such city in which such commission is au-
thorized to act, shall provide for what they shall deem the neces-
Sary expense in connection with the preparation of the proposed
charter, exclusive, however, of counsel fees.

4. The petition or duplicate petitions provided for in this
act shall be signed by none but qualified voters of the city in
which said special charter or form of government is proposed,
but no petition shall be invalid by reason of illegal or unqualified
voters, provided it contains the required percentage of qualified
voters. The names of the petitioners need not be in one petition,
but they may be upon duplicate petitions, provided the several
petitions are copies of each other; in addition to the names of
the petitioners, the street and house number, if any, in which
the petitioners reside, shall be given.

5. All acts or parts of acts in conflict with this act are here-
by repealed. ,