Chap. 339.—An ACT to amend and re-enact Sections 7 and 191i of an act en-
titled “An act to provide a new charter for the City of Richmond”,
approved March 24, 1926, and to amend and re-enact Sections 62 and 105
of said act, as heretofore amended. © [fH B 274]

Approved March 31, 1938

I. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia, That sec-
tions seven and nineteen-i of an act entitled an act to provide a new
charter for the city of Richmond, approved March twenty-fourth,
nineteen hundred and twenty-six, be amended and re-enacted so as to
read as follows:

Section 7. The mayor and the members of the city council, .be-
fore entering upon the duties of their respective offices, shall be
respectively sworn in accordance with the laws of this State. Such
oaths may be administered to the mayor-elect by any judge of a
court of record commissioned to hold any such court within said city;
and the members of the city council by the mayor, being himself first.
sworn as aforesaid, or by any judge of any court of record as afore-
said; and.a certificate of such oaths having been respectively taken,
shall be filed with the city clerk and entered upon the journal of the
city council. Every other person elected or appointed to any office
under this act or under any law or ordinance of the city council,
shall, before he enters upon the duties of said office, take and sub-
scribe said oath, and such other oaths as may be required by law or
ordinance, before the mayor or city clerk, the said clerk having him-
self been first sworn by said mayor or a judge of a court of record
as aforesaid; and a certificate of the same shall be filed in the office
of said city clerk. If any person elected or appointed to any office in
said city shall neglect to take such oath on or before the day on which
his term of office begins, or shall neglect, for the like space of time,
to give such securities as may be required of him, as hereinafter pro-
vided, or as may be hereafter required by any law or ordinance, he
shall be considered as having declined such office, and the same shall
be deemed vacant; and whenever any such vacancy shall occur, an-
other election shall be ordered or another appointment made, accord-
ing to the directions of this act; provided, however, that in the case
of any appointment or election to fill a vacancy for the unexpired
portion of a term the person so appointed or elected for such unex-
pired term shall have not exceeding fifteen days after the date of such
election or appointment within which to take such oath and give such
securities.

Section 19-1. To authorize the laying down of railway tracks in
the streets of the city and the running of cars thereon under such
conditions and regulations as they may prescribe, and also from time
to time to prescribe additional conditions and regulations as to the con-
struction, reconstruction, repair and maintenance of the tracks, road-
bed, and cars, and the running of cars on such tracks. The city
council may take, under any contract heretofore made, hold, maintain
and operate any street railway and fixture thereto belonging, lying
within the city and the lots and buildings and appurtenances owned
by such company, and the equipment thereof, and maintain and operate
the same for the carriage of passengers or freight, for hire or reward,
or, when so taken, the council may grant the same to be operated by
some other person; and, in order to meet the expenses of such acqui-
sition may issue bonds, to be known as “city railways bonds’, and
secure the same upon the roadbed, tracks, rolling stock, and earnings
of such street railway. The city council may likewise construct sewers,
culverts, or drains under the streets, alleys or other public places in
the city and may compel the use thereof, and may cause to be as-
sessed upon the real estate benefited thereby the expense of such
construction, to the extent of the peculiar benefits resulting therefrom
to such abutting landowners. In lieu of such assessment, they may
assess and collect compensation for the use of such sewers, culverts
or drains, whether the same be actually used or not, and compel the
payment of such compensation or may provide for the commutation
thereof upon such terms and conditions as they may prescribe. All
such assessments heretofore made are hereby ratified, validated and
confirmed. And the city council may acquire, by condemnation or
otherwise, any interest or right of any property holder in and to the
use of any sewer, culvert or drain heretofore or hereafter constructed
in the city, and when such right shall be so acquired, charge such person
for the use of the same whether actually used or not.

2. Be it further enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia,
That sections sixty-two and one hundred and five of an act entitled
an act to provide a new charter for the city of Richmond, approved
March twenty-fourth, nineteen hundred and twenty-six, as hereto-
fore amended, be amended and re-enacted so as to read as follows:

Section 62. The council may grant or refuse licenses and may
prohibit the conduct of business without such a license, and may re-
quire taxes to be paid on such licenses to all business which cannot,
in the opinion of the council, be reached by the ad valorem system.
In any case in which they see fit, they may require from the person,
firm or corporation licensed, bond, with sureties in such penalty and
with such condition as they may deem proper, or make other regula-
tions concerning the same. The council shall, in addition, be expressly
authorized and empowered to regulate the sale at auction of jewelry,
clocks, gold and silverware, gold and silver plated ware, rugs, curtains,
carpets, tapestries, statuary, porcelains, china ware, pictures, paint-
ings, bric-a-brac, or other articles of virtu and may also prescribe the
time, manner and conditions under which such auction sales may be
held and shall also have power to enact and enforce, by adequate
penalties all ordinances deemed necessary or expedient to prevent
fraud or deception in the sales of any goods, wares or merchandise in
the city of Richmond or within one mile thereof. They may also
grant or refuse such license to all sellers of wine or spirituous or
fermented liquors to whom the State grants such licenses, and re-
quire taxes to be paid therefor in addition to those imposed by the
State. In the event of the failure of any person, firm or corporation
to pay any of the licenses imposed under the authority of this or the
succeeding section, the council may require interest to be paid at the
rate of six per centum (6%) per annum from the date that such
licenses become due and payable, and in addition shall be authorized
to impose such fines and penalties as it may deem proper.

Section 105. There shall be appointed by the city council one
police justice, who shall hold his office for the term of four years, and
until his successor shall be elected and qualified, unless sooner re-
moved from office. The police justice shall hold daily (Sunday ex-
cepted), in said city, in such place as the city council may provide.
The jurisdiction of the police justice shall extend to all cases arising
within the jurisdictional limits of the city of which a justice of the
peace may take cognizance under the laws of the State, and to all
cases arising under the charter and ordinances of the city.

Provided, however, that there shall be a police court, known as
police court, part two, which shall be held by a police justice within
the former territory of the city of Manchester, for the trial of all
cases, civil and criminal, arising within the limits of the city of Rich-
mond, so far as said limits lie on the southside of James river, and
so far as such cases are properly triable by a police justice, and within
said territory the civil jurisdiction of said police justice of police court,
part two, shall be the same as the civil jurisdiction that the civil
justices of the city of Richmond now exercise or as may be hereafter
conferred upon them, and such police justice of police court, part
two, shall be elected in the same manner and for the same term as
is provided in this charter for the police justice of the city of Rich-
mond. The police justice and the police justice of police court, part
two, now in office shall continue to serve until the end of their re-
spective terms, unless sooner removed from office.

Such justices shall have such other powers and jurisdiction as
may be conferred upon them by the city council, not in conflict with
the Constitution and laws of the United States and of the State -of
Virginia. The city council may provide for the appointment of such
clerks and officers for said courts of the police justices and make
such rules concerning admission to the court rooms and the maintenance
of good order therein during the sitting of said courts as they may
deem proper. The city council may designate one of said police justices
to hold a court at such place or places in the city and at such time as
may be prescribed by said council, for the trial of all cases involving
the violation in the city of laws of the State or ordinances of the
city regulating travel and traffic upon the streets, roads and highways
and may designate the clerk and other officer or officers provided for
said justices to serve such court in the trial of such cases.

If any person who has been duly summoned as a witness to attend
and give evidence before the said justice, as the case may be, touch-
ing any matter or thing under the charter or any ordinance of the
city shall fail to attend in obedience to said summons, he or she may
be fined at the discretion of said justice, in a sum not exceeding
twenty dollars. That hereafter, at the expiration of the present term
of office, or a vacancy occurring therein, the city council shall elect
the civil justice as provided for in section thirty-one hundred and
twelve of the Code of Virginia. —

A clerk of the civil justice court, as provided for in section thirty-
one hundred and eighteen of the Code of Virginia, shall be appointed
by the civil justice and the civil justice number two subject to con-
firmation by the city council, and should the city council fail within
ten days after the appointment made by the civil justices to confirm
the same, the civil justices shall, within ten days thereafter, appoint
another suitable person and report such appointment to the city council
for confirmation, and the same procedure shall continue until the city
council shall have confirmed the appointment made by the civil jus-
tices, and such clerk shall serve during the term of such civil justices
unless sooner removed by such justices or the city council.

A clerk to the juvenile and domestic relations court, as provided
for in section nineteen hundred and fifty-two of the Code of Virginia,
shall be appointed by the judge of the juvenile and domestic relations
court, subject to confirmation by the city council, and should the
city council fail within ten days after the appointment made by the
judge to confirm the same, the judge shall within ten days thereafter
appoint another suitable person and report such appointment to the
city council for confirmation, and the same procedure shall continue
until the city council shall have confirmed the appointment made by
the judge, and such clerk shall serve during the term of such judge
unless sooner removed by such judge or the city council.