West Virginia Trust Fund, Inc. v. Bailey

STARCHER, Justice:

These four consolidated actions require us to interpret West Virginia Constitution, Article X, section 6, the constitutional prohibition against the State becoming a joint owner or stockholder in any company or association. In its 1996 session, the Legislature enacted the West Virginia Trust Fund Act, W.Va. Code, 44-6B-1 to -12, (“the Act”) in an attempt to reconcile this restriction with the legislative goal of promoting the fiscal well-being of several State pension and workers’ compensation funds. The proponents of the Act, in the proceedings before this Court, argue that…