Introduced Version
House Bill 4345 History
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Enrolled Version - Final Version
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H. B. 4345
(By Delegates Douglas, Collins, Stalnaker,
Capito, Claypole, Prunty and Tucker)
[Originating in the Committee
on Government Organization]
[Introduced February 11, 1998]
A BILL to amend and reenact section four, article twenty-one
a, chapter nineteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, continuing the
state soil conservation committee
.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section four, article twenty-one-a, chapter nineteen of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 21A. SOIL CONSERVATION DISTRICTS.
§19-21A-4. State soil conservation committee; continuation.
(a) The state soil conservation committee is continued. It is
to serve as an agency of the state and to perform the functions
conferred upon it in this article. The committee shall consist of
seven members. The following shall serve, ex officio, as members
of the committee: The director of the state cooperative extension
service; the director of the state agricultural experiment station; the director of the division of environmental protection; and the
state commissioner of agriculture, who shall be chairman of the
committee.
The governor shall appoint as additional members of the
committee three representative citizens. The term of members thus
appointed shall be four years, except that of the first members so
appointed, one shall be appointed for a term of two years, one for
a term of three years, and one for a term of four years. In the
event of a vacancy, appointment shall be for the unexpired term.
The committee may invite the secretary of agriculture of the
United States of America to appoint one person to serve with the
committee as an advisory member.
The committee shall keep a record of its official actions,
shall adopt a seal, which seal shall be judicially noticed, and may
perform such acts, hold such public hearings and promulgate such
rules as may be necessary for the execution of its functions under
this article.
(b) The state soil conservation committee may employ an
administrative officer and such technical experts and such other
agents and employees, permanent and temporary, as it may require,
and shall determine their qualifications, duties and compensation.
The committee may call upon the attorney general of the state for
such legal services as it may require. It shall have authority to
delegate to its chairman, to one or more of its members, or to one
or more agents or employees, such powers and duties as it may deem proper. The committee is empowered to secure necessary and suitable
office accommodations, and the necessary supplies and equipment.
Upon request of the committee, for the purpose of carrying out any
of its functions, the supervising officer of any state agency, or
of any state institution of learning shall, insofar as may be
possible, under available appropriations, and having due regard to
the needs of the agency to which the request is directed, assign or
detail to the committee, members of the staff or personnel of such
agency or institution of learning, and make such special reports,
surveys or studies as the committee may request.
(c) A member of the committee shall hold office so long as he
shall retain the office by virtue of which he shall be serving on
the committee. A majority of the committee shall constitute a
quorum, and the concurrence of a majority in any matter within their
duties shall be required for its determination. The chairman and
members of the committee shall receive no compensation for their
services on the committee, but shall be entitled to expenses,
including traveling expenses, necessarily incurred in the discharge
of their duties on the committee. The committee shall provide for
the execution of surety bonds for all employees and officers who
shall be entrusted with funds or property; shall provide for the
keeping of a full and accurate public record of all proceedings and
of all resolutions, rules and orders issued or adopted; and shall
provide for an annual audit of the accounts of receipts and
disbursements.
(d) In addition to the duties and powers hereinafter conferred
upon the state soil conservation committee, it shall have the
following duties and powers:
(1) To offer such assistance as may be appropriate to the
supervisors of soil conservation districts, organized as provided
hereinafter, in the carrying out of any of their powers and
programs;
(2) To keep the supervisors of each of the several districts,
organized under the provisions of this article, informed of the
activities and experience of all other districts organized
hereunder, and to facilitate an interchange of advice and experience
between such districts and cooperation between them;
(3) To coordinate the programs of the several soil conservation
districts organized hereunder so far as this may be done by advice
and consultation;
(4) To secure the cooperation and assistance of the United
States and any of its agencies, and of agencies of this state, in
the work of such districts;
(5) To disseminate information throughout the state concerning
the activities and programs of the soil conservation districts
organized hereunder, and to encourage the formation of such
districts in areas where their organization is desirable;
(6) To accept and receive donations, gifts, contributions,
grants and appropriations in money, services, materials or
otherwise, from the United States or any of its agencies, from the state of West Virginia, or from other sources, and to use or expend
such money, services, materials or other contributions in carrying
out the policy and provisions of this article, including the right
to allocate such money, services or materials in part to the various
soil conservation districts created by this article in order to
assist them in carrying on their operations; and
(7) To obtain options upon and to acquire by purchase,
exchange, lease, gift, grant, bequest, devise or otherwise, any
property, real or personal, or rights or interests therein; to
maintain, administer, operate and improve any properties acquired,
to receive and retain income from such property and to expend such
income as required for operation, maintenance, administration or
improvement of such properties or in otherwise carrying out the
purposes and provisions of this article; and to sell, lease or
otherwise dispose of any of its property or interests therein in
furtherance of the purposes and the provisions of this article.
Money received from the sale of land acquired in the small watershed
program shall be deposited in the special account of the state soil
conservation committee and expended as herein provided.
After having conducted a performance audit through its joint
committee on government operations, pursuant to article ten, chapter
four of this code, the Legislature hereby finds and declares that
the state soil conservation committee should be continued and
reestablished. Accordingly, pursuant to the provisions of section
five of said article, the state soil conservation committee shall continue to exist until the first day of July, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-eight ninety-nine.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to continue the State Soil
Conservation Committee until July 1, 1999, pursuant to the
provisions of the West Virginia Sunset Law.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
This bill is recommended by the Joint Committee on Government
Operations for passage during the 1998 Regular Session of the
Legislature.