Chap. 67.—An ACT to amend and re-enact Section 4, as amended, of Chapter 335
of the Acts of Assembly of 1938, approved March 31, 1938, known as the “Sani-
tation Districts Law of nineteen hundred thirty-eight”, relating to the incorpora-
tion of sanitation districts and the creation of sanitation district commissions.

[H 131]
Approved February 26, 1944

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia :

1. That section four, as amended, of chapter three hundred thirty-
five of the Acts of Assembly of nineteen hundred thirty-eight, approved
March thirty-one, nineteen hundred thirty-eight, known as the “‘Sanita-
tion Districts Law of nineteen hundred thirty-eight”, be amended and
re-enacted, as follows:

Section 4. Incorporation of district and creation and organization
of commission.—(a) Each district heretofore or hereafter created pur-
suant to this act or pursuant to a special act of the General Assembly, and
the inhabitants of its territory as the same has been or may be established
and from time to time altered pursuant to law, is hereby created as a body
corporate and politic under the name and style of, and to be known by,
the name of the district with the word “commission” appended. Each
commission, constituting a corporation as aforesaid, is hereby invested
with the rights, powers and authority and charged with the duties set
forth in this act as amended, and shall constitute a political subdivision
af the Commonwealth of Virginia established as a governmental instru-
mentality to provide for the public health and welfare, and the bonds of
such district or commission, and the property owned or operated by such
district or commission shall be exempt from all taxation, and the interest
on the bonds shall take the same status under tax laws as the interest on
bonds of other political subdivisions of the State.

(b) In and for each district, a board or commission is hereby created
to manage and control the functions, affairs and property of the corpora-
tion and to exercise all of the rights, powers and authority and perform
all of the duties conferred or imposed upon the corporation. Except as
a special act creating the district shall otherwise provide, such board or
commission shall consist of five members, residents of the district, ap-
pointed by the Governor. Except as a special act creating the district
shall otherwise provide, in making the original appointments, one of the
members shall be appointed for a term of one year, one for a term of two
years, one for a term of three years, and two for terms of four years each;
subsequent appointments shall be made for a term of four years, except
appointments to fill vacancies which shall be for the unexpired terms.
The commission shall elect from its members a chairman, whose term of
office as such shall be.one year, and who shall be eligible for re-election.
The commission under such rules as it may adopt, may elect one of its
members vice-chairman, and may appoint a secretary, or secretary-treas -
urer, who shall not be a member of the commission; in the event that the
commission appoints a secretary-treasurer, his compensation shall be fixed
by the commission but shall not exceed three thousand six hundred dol-
lars per annum.

(c) The members of the commission shall receive no salary, but
shall be paid their necessary traveling and other expenses incurred in at-
tendance upon meetings of the commission or while otherwise engaged in
the discharge of their duties under this act, and the sum of ten dollars
per diem for each day or portion thereof in which they are engaged in
the performance of such duties, but the total of such per diem compensa-
tion so received by any member during any one year shall not exceel
three hundred dollars.

(d) Regular meetings of the commission shall be held at least once
every month at such time and place as the commission shall from time to
time prescribe. Special meetings of the commission shall be held upon
one dav’s mailed notice, or actual notice otherwise given, to each mem-
ber of the commission upon call of the chairman or of any two members
of the commission, at such time and at such place within the district as
such notice may specify, or at such other time and place with or without
notice as all of the members of the commission may expressly approve.
Three members of the commission shall constitute a quorum, and the
vote of three members of the commission shall be necessary to take any
action.

(e) Members of the commission may be suspended or removed by
the Governor at his pleasure. .

(f) Each member of the commission shall, before entering upon
the discharge of his duties under this act, take and subscribe the oath
of office required by section thirty-four of the Constitution of Virginia,
and give bond payable to the Commonwealth of Virginia in form ap-
proved by the Attorney General, in such penalty as shall be fixed from
time to time by the Governor, with some surety or guaranty company
duly authorized to do business in Virginia and approved by the Gov-
ernor, as security, conditioned upon the faithful discharge of his duties.
The premium of such bonds shall be paid by the commission and the
bonds shall be filed with and preserved by the Comptroller.

(g) No member, agent or employee of the board or commission
shall contract with the commission or be interested, either directly or
indirectly, in any contract with the commission, or in the sale of any
property, either real or personal, to the commission. This subjection
shall not prevent any member, agent, or employee of the commission
from granting to the commission, for a nominal consideration, any right
of way, easement or lease.

(h) All contracts, except in cases of emergency, over five thousand
dollars that the commission may let for construction or materials shall
be let after public advertising. The commission shall advertise for bids
for the work or materials at least ten days prior to the letting of any con-
tracts therefor. The advertisement shall state the place where bidders
may examine the plans and specifications and the time and place where
bids for the work or materials will be opened. Each bidder shall ac-
company his bid with a certified check, payable to the commission, for a
reasonable sum to be fixed by the commission, as a guarantee that if the
contract is awarded to him, he will enter into a contract with the com-
mission for doing the work or furnishing the materials. The contract
shall be let to the lowest responsible bidder, and the successful bidder
shall give bond or other security for the faithful performance of the con-
tract, in such form and amount as the chairman may require. The com-
mission is authorized to reject any and all bids. In the event that all bids
are rejected, the commission shall advertise for new bids as in the first
instance. All bids and contracts shall be public records. The commis-
sion is authorized, in its discretion, to do any and all such work by force
account.

(i) The powers of condemnation or eminent domain conferred on
the commission by this act shall be exercised by the board or commission
under the same conditions and provisions and in accordance with the
same procedure as in the case of the exercise of similar powers by the
governing bodies of counties and cities or towns so far as they can be

applied to the same.

(j) No pecuniary liability of any kind shall be imposed upon any
county, city or town constituting any part of any district because of any
act, agreement, contract, tort, malfeasance, misfeasance, or nonfeasance,
by or on the part of the commission of such district, or any member of
such commission, or its agents, servants and employees, except as other-
wise provided in this act with reference to contracts and agreements be-
tween the commission and any county, city or town.

2. That an emergency exists and this act is in force from its passage.