Chap. 117.—An ACT to amend and re-enact Section 3, as heretofore amended, of
an act entitled ‘“‘an act to provide for the creation of sanitary districts in coun-
ties of the State adjoining a city having a population, according to the last
preceding United States census, of one hundred and seventy thousand in-
habitants or more; to prescribe the powers and duties of the boards of super-
visors of such counties as to the construction, acquisition, maintenance and
operation of water supply, sewerage, heat, light and power and gas systems in
such districts; and to provide for the issuance of county bonds; to provide
funds for establishing and operating such public utilities in said sanitary dis-
tricts.’’, approved March 17, 1926. | IS B 131]

Approved March 1, 1940

1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia, That
section three, as heretofore amended, of an act entitled ‘‘an act to
provide for the creation of sanitary districts in counties of the State
adjoining a city having a population, according to the last preceding
United States census, of one hundred and seventy thousand in-
habitants or more; to prescribe the powers and duties of the boards
of supervisors of such counties as to the construction, acquisition,
maintenance and operation of water supply, sewerage, heat, light
and power and gas systems in such districts; and to provide for the
issuance of county bonds; to provide funds for establishing and
operating such public utilities in said sanitary districts.’’, approved
March seventeenth, nineteen hundred and twenty-six, be amended
and re-enacted so as to read.as follows:

Section 3. After the entry of such order creating a sanitary
district in such county, the board of supervisors thereof shall have
the following powers and duties, subject to the conditions and limita-
tions hereinafter prescribed:

(a) To construct, reconstruct, maintain, alter, improve, add to
and to operate water supply, sewerage, heat, light, power, gas, side-
walks and fire-fighting systems, for the use and benefit of the public
in such sanitary districts.

(b) To acquire by gift, condemnation, purchase, lease, or other-
wise, and to maintain and operate any such water supply, sewerage,
heat, light and power and gas and sidewalks and fire-fighting systems
in such district.

(c) To contract with any person, firm, corporation or munic-
ipality to construct, establish, maintain, and operate any such water
supply, sewerage, heat, light, power, gas, sidewalks and fire-fighting
systems in such district.

(d) To require owners or tenants of any property in the said
district to connect with any such system or systems, and to con-
tract with the said owners or tenants for such connections. In order
to require owners or tenants of any property in the said district to
connect with any such system or systems the board of supervisors
shall have power and authority to adopt ordinances so requiring
said owners or tenants to connect with said systems, and to use the
same, and said board of supervisors shall have power to provide for
a punishment in said ordinance of not exceeding a fifty-dollar fine
for each failure and refusal to so connect with such systems, or to
use the same. Before adopting any such ordinance the board of
supervisors shall give public notice of the intention to propose the
same for passage by posting hand bill notices of such proposal in
three or more public places in said sanitary district at least ten days
prior to the time the ordinance shall be proposed for passage. Said
ordinance shall not become effective after its passage until ten days
like notice has been given by posting copies of such ordinance in
three or more public places in said district. Violations of such or-
dinance shall be tried before the trial justice court of such county as
is provided for trial of misdemeanors, and with like right of appeal.

(e) To fix and prescribe the rates of charge for the use of any
such system or systems, and to provide for the collection of such
charges. And to enable the said board to enforce the collection of
charges for the use of any such systems against the person or per-
sons, firm or corporation using the same, the said charges when
made for the use of any such system shall be collectable by distress,
levy, garnishment, attachment or otherwise without recourse to
court procedure, except so far as the selected procedure may require
the same. And the board shall have power to designate as its agent
for the purpose of collection such officer or officers, person or persons
as it may determine, and the officer or officers, person or persons
shall be vested with the same power and authority as a sheriff or
constable may have in like procedure.

(f) To employ and fix the compensation of any technical, clerical,
or other force and help which from time to time, in their judgment
may be deemed necessary for the construction, operation or mainte-
nance of any such system or systems.

(zg) To negotiate and contract with any person, firm, corporation,
or municipality with regard to the connection of any such system or
systems, with any other system or systems now in operation or here-
after to be established, and with regard to any other matter necessary
and proper for the construction or operation and maintenance of
any such system within the said sanitary district.

(h) To contract for the extension of any such systems into terri-
tory outside of said district, and for the use thereof, upon such terms
and conditions as said board may from time to time determine upon.

2. An emergency existing, this act shall be in force from its
passage.