Chap. 362.—An ACT to amend and re-enact sections 223, 224, 225, 226, 227, 228,
229, 230, 231, 233, and 235 of the Code of Virginia, and to amend and re-enact
section 232 of the Code of Virginia as amended and re-enacted by an act entitled
“an act to amend and re-enact section 232, chapter 17, of the Code of Virginia,
relating to the appointment of directors and surgeon of penitentiary, approved
February 19, 1892,” as amended by an act approved April 24, 1903, entitled “an
act to amend and re-enact section 232 of the Code of Virginia, as amended by
an act approved February 19, 1892, in relation to the appointment of directors
and surgeon of the penitentiary.”

Approved December 10, 1903.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That sections
two hundred and twenty-three, two hundred and twenty-four, two hun-
dred and twenty-five, two hundred and twenty-six, two hundred and
twenty-seven, two hundred and twenty-eight, two hundred and twenty-
nine, two hundred and thirty, two hundred and thirty-one, two hundred
and thirty-three, and two hundred and thirty-five of the Code of Virginia,
and two hundred and thirty-two of the Code of Virginia as amended and
re-enacted by an act approved February nineteenth, eighteen hundred and
ninety-two, entitled “an act to amend and re-enact section two hundred
and thirty-two, chapter seventeen, of the Code of Virginia, relating to
the appointment of directors and surgeon of penitentiary,” as amended
and re-enacted by an act approved April twenty-fourth, nineteen hundred
and three, entitled “an act to amend and re-enact section two hundred
and thirty-two of the Code of Virginia as amended by an act approved
February nineteenth, eighteen hundred and ninety-two, in relation to
the appointment of directors and surgeon of the penitentiary,” be
amended and re-enacted so as to read as follows:

§ 223. Election of certain officers at seat of government.—There shall
be elected every four years, by the joint vote of the two houses of the gen-
eral assembly, the following officers: An auditor of public accounts, a
second auditor, a register of the land office, and a superintendent of pub-
lic printing.

§ 224. Term of office and time of qualification —The term of office of
each of them shall commence on the first day of March, nineteen hun-
dred and four, and continue four vears, and afterwards until a successor
shall be qualified according to law. Each of the aforesaid officers shall be
allowed thirty days from the day of his election within which to qualify:
and if he fail to qualify within said time his office shall be deemed vacant.

§ 225. The bonds of certain officers and of their clerks.—The officers
and clerks herein named shall each give bond, with sufficient sureties, to be
approved by the governor. Such surety may be either personal or a
guaranty or trust company. If any clerk herein required to give bond
with surety shall give as such surety a guaranty company, the cost thereof
shall be paid by the Commonwealth: provided, that the charge made by
such company for becoming such surety shall be approved by a board
composed of the governor, ‘lieutenant-governor, and attorney-general as
a fair and reasonable charge.

The penalties of the bonds shall be as follows: Of the secretary of the
Commonwealth, ten thousand dollars: of each of his clerks, three thou-
sand dollars; of the State treasurer, one hundred thousand dollars; of
each of his clerks, five thousand: dollars; of the superintendent of public
instruetion, ten thousand dollars ; of each of his clerks, two thousand dol-
lars; of the commissioner of agriculture, ten thousend dollars; of eaeh
of his clerks, five thousand dollars; of the auditor of public accounts,
thirty thousand dollars; of each of his clerks, ten thousand dollars; of
the second auditor, twenty thousand dollars; of each of his clerks, seven
thousand five hundred dollars; of the register of the land office, ten thou-
sand dollars; of the superintendent of public printing, five thousand dol-
lars.

§ 226. To be subinitted to attorney-general—Each of the said officers
and clerks, required by the preceding section to give bond, shall sub-
mit his bond to the attorney-general for his examination, and in case of
his inability to act, by reason of sickness or otherwise, to such person
learned in the law, as the governor may select; and if, after examination,
such bond is found to be in proper form and legally executed, the attor-
ney-general, or the person so selected by the governor, shall make an en-
dorsement on it to that effect.

§ 227. Governor may require new bonds or additional bonds.—Any
such officer or clerk shall be required by the governor, whenever in his
opinion it is necessary for the protection of the public interest, to give a
new bond or a bond in addition to one already given, to be approved by
the governor, within such reasonable time after the officer or clerk has
been notified of the requirement, as the governor shall prescribe; and if
the officer or clerk fail or refuse to give the bond required, his office shall
be deemed vacant.

§ 228. Where bonds filed.—The bond of each of the said officers and
clerks mentioned in section two hundred and twenty-five, except the au-
ditor of public accounts and his clerks, after it shall have been recorded
by the secretary of the Commonwealth, as required by section one hun-
dred and seventy-seven, shall be transmitted by him to the auditor of
public accounts, who shall file the same in his office. The bonds of the
auditor of public accounts, and of his clerks, after they have been re
corded as aforesaid, shall be retained and filed by the secretary of the
Commonwealth in his office.

§ 229. When election or appointment of officers and clerks void—lf{
the bond of any such officer mentioned in section two hundred and twenty-
three be not so approved, or the oath prescribed be not taken by him
within thirty days after his election, the clection shall be considered as
void, and the general assembly, if it be in session, or if not the governor.
may proceed to make a new election or appointment. If the bond of the
seeretary of the Commonwealth, of the State treasurer, of the superin-
tendent. of public instruction, or of the commissioner of agriculture, be
not given and approved within thirty days from the beginning of the
term for which he is elected, the election of such officer shall be deemed
void, and his office shall be deemed vacant, and shall be filled as provided
by section ninety-one. If the bond of any of the clerks, required by sec-
tion two hundred and twenty-five to give bonds, be not given and ap-
proved within thirty davs from the date of his appointment. his office
shall be deemed vacant. and shall be filled as provided by law.
§ 230. How removed from office.—Any of the said officers may be re-
moved from office by joint vote of the two houses of the general assembly,
or, during the recess thereof, may be suspended by the governor. This
power shall not be exercised by the governor except for misbehavior, in-
capacity, neglect of official duty, or acts performed without due authority
of law. In any case in which this power is so exercised by the governor,
he shall fill the office by a temporary appointment, and report to the gen-
eral assembly, at the beginning of the next session thereof, the fact of
such suspension and the cause therefor, whereupon the general assembly
shall determine whether such officer shall be restored or finally removed.

§ 231. When governor may fill vacancy.—When either of the said of-
fices shall become vacant during the recess of the general assembly, the
governor may make an appointment to fill the vacancy by a commission
to expire at the end of thirty days after the commencement of the next
session of the general assembly, and the person appointed, after giving
such bond and taking such oaths as are prescribed by law, shall act in the
office until an appointment be made by the general assembly and the per-
son appointed by the assembly be qualified and give bond according to law.

§ 232. Appointment of- directors, superintendents, and surgeons of
penitentiary ; their terms of office; how vacancies filled; qualification.—
The governor shall, on the first day of February, nineteen hundred and
three, or as soon thereafter as may be, appoint, subject to confirmation by
the senate, a board of five directors, which shall have the government and
control of the penitentiary, branch prisons, and prison farms, subject to
such regulations and requirements as may be prescribed by law. The
terms of office of the said directors shall commence on the first day of
March, nineteen hundred and three, and be as follows: Under the first
appointment under this act, one director shall hold for one year, one for
two years, one for three years, one for four years, and one for five years,
and all succeeding appointments, which shall be made by the governor
annually on the first day of February, or as soon thereafter as may be,
subject to confirmation by the senate, as the terms of the directors first
appointed shall respectively expire, shall be for terms of five years. If
any vacancy occur in the board of directors, it shall be filled by the gov-
ernor for the unexpired term or until thirty days after the beginning of
the next session of the general assembly, whichever shall happen first;
and within thirty days after the next session of the general assembly the
governor shall appoint, subject to confirmation by the senate, a director
to serve for the remaining portion of such unexpired term. The said
board, as soon as practicable after the passage of this act, and every four
years thereafter prior to the first day of December, shall appoint a super-
intendent and surgeon of the penitentiary and a superintendent and sur-
geon for the State prison farm. Their terms of office shall begin on the
second day of January following their appointment, and continue four
years and until their successors shall give bond and qualify according to
law: provided, that the term of office of those first appointed shall begin
on the second day of January, nineteen hundred and four. Each of the
aforesaid officers shall be allowed thirty days from the day of his appoint-
ment within which to qualify and give such bond as may be prescribed
by law, and if he fail to qualify and to give such bond within said time
582 ACTS OF ASSEMBLY.

his office shall be deemed vacant. The said directors, superintendents,
and surgeons shall be qualified to act as soon as they have taken the oaths
and given the bonds as prescribed by law and delivered a certificate
thereof or a transcript as directed by section one hundred and seventy-
five of the Code. All vacancies occurring in the offices of said superin-
tendents or surgeons shall be filled by said board for the unexpired term.

§ 233. Secretary of Commonwealth to appoint clerks.—The secretary
of the Commonwealth shall appoint in his office the clerks allowed by law.

§ 235. How, and for what certain officers and clerks may be suspended
or removed.—The officers whose appointment by the governor is provided
for in sections two hundred and thirty-one and two hundred and thirty-
two may be suspended, and the officers and clerks whose appointment is
provided for in the three preceding sections, except those appointed by
the governor, may be removed by the officer or board having the power
of appointment, for misbehavior, incapacity, neglect of official duty, or
acts performed without due authority of law. And when any of such offi-
cers are so suspended the office shall be filled in the same manner, and the
governor shall make the same report to the general assembly at the be-
ginning of the next session, and the assembly shall take the same action
thereon as is prescribed in section two hundred and thirty of the Code
of Virginia.

2. This act shall be in force from its passage.