CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- State lawmakers passed and Gov. Joe Manchin signed legislation Monday night providing for special elections to fill the late Robert C. Byrd's unexpired term in the U.S. Senate -- after the bill's chances looked all but hopeless on Monday morning.

"The 17th Amendment to the Constitution is alive and well," Manchin said during a 9:15 p.m. bill signing, referring to the amendment that provides for popular election of U.S. senators.

The governor, who has said he is "highly likely" to run for the Senate seat, said he will make his intentions known today<co tues> at 10 a.m.

Manchin signed the bill into law just hours after a House-Senate conference committee reached a compromise on the legislation.

Shortly after 8:15 p.m., the House passed the compromise bill without discussion on an 83-7 vote -- then in a key vote, made the bill effective immediately on an 85-5 vote.

A half-hour later, the Senate passed the bill 29-0, sending it to the governor.

Efforts to revive the bill Monday included a rare visit by the governor to House chambers to garner support for a compromise from reluctant House Republicans, as well as from seven House Democrats who had voted Saturday against making the bill effective from passage.

Asked if he had worked out a compromise, Manchin said at the time, "We're getting there."

On Monday evening, House and Senate conferees met officially for the first time, and emerged after about 45 minutes with a compromise bill that resolved concerns House Republicans had regarding the legislation:

| It strictly applies only to the 2010 elections to fill Byrd's term, leaving it to future lawmakers to correct long-standing inconsistencies in the state's senatorial succession law.

Secretary of State Natalie Tennant is to submit a report to the Legislature in January analyzing the 2010 special election -- presumably to set the groundwork for legislation to correct the loopholes in the senatorial succession law.

| It clarifies a variety of filing deadlines and other dates leading up to the Aug. 28 special primary and Nov. 2 special election to elect a senator to fill what will be roughly two years and two months remaining in Byrd's term.

That includes a narrow four-day filing period for candidates, which opens Tuesday> at 8:30 a.m. and ends at 5 p.m. on Friday.

Sen. Mike Oliverio, D-Monongalia, said that is one of several timelines that had to be compressed for the special elections, which will begin with the special primary in five weeks.

"The timelines are obviously very compressed, and a [typical] filing deadline of three weeks was just not practical," Oliverio said.

Tennant said the compromise still gives her office enough flexibility to issue any emergency orders that may be needed to address unanticipated issues that may arise with the elections.

| It clarifies that the special election is distinct from the 2010 general election -- clearing the way for Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va. to run for both the Senate seat and for re-election to her House seat, should she choose that option.

Senate Minority Leader Mike Hall, R-Putnam, said the provision applies to any number of candidates who won primary elections in May and are already locked in as candidates on the November general election ballot -- who otherwise would be prevented from running for the U.S. Senate seat.

"There are probably more than 400 qualified candidates who can't run for Senate, because they are already on the [2010] ballot," Hall said of the current law.

Capito couldn't be reached Monday to be asked whether she might run simultaneously for the U.S. Senate seat and also seek another term in the House of Representatives.

The Gazette made repeated phone calls and e-mails to her staff, inquiring whether Capito would attempt the double campaign. Late Monday, aide Jamie Corley said Capito was aboard an airplane flying to Washington, and would answer the inquiry as soon as possible.

A key issue earlier Monday was whether the House could get the minimum of 67 "yes" votes to make the bill effective from passage.

That's needed because bills usually go into effect 90 days after they're passed -- and 90 days from now is mid-October, well after the Aug. 28 date set for the special primary election.

As late as noon on Monday, that seemed to be in doubt.

"It is clearly the intent of the House to pass the bill," Speaker Rick Thompson, D-Wayne, said at the time. "We just don't have the votes to make it effective from passage."

House Minority Leader Tim Armstead, R-Kanawha, said House Republicans never opposed having a special election for the unexpired term this fall, but wanted to make sure the process was transparent and fair to all sides.

"We want an election," he said. "We want a fair election and we the process to be fair and open."

Earlier Monday, Oliverio said members of the House and Senate had kept discussions going, even when it appeared there was little hope for passage of the bill.

"We've tried to work with them on all their objections," said Oliverio, a member of a House-Senate conference committee that had been meeting informally and privately since Saturday trying to reach a compromise.

Also Monday, Delegate Mark Hunt, D-Kanawha, apologized for missing key votes on the House floor Saturday.

One of the reasons the House was unable to secure the 67 votes needed to make the bill effective from passage was that 15 of the 100 members of the House were absent Saturday, including 13 Democrats.

Hunt, a Charleston lawyer, said he was trying to get back from a trial in Tampa, Fla, on Saturday, but his connecting flight from Charlotte into Charleston was cancelled. He said he then booked a flight into Huntington's Tri-State Airport, but the FAA cancelled all flights into Tri-State Saturday because the airport had run out of jet fuel.

Hunt said he ultimately rented a car and drove back to Charleston, arriving after midnight Sunday.

Reach Phil Kabler at ph...@wvgazette.com  or 304-348-1220.