WEST virginia legislature

2016 regular session

ENGROSSED

Committee Substitute

for

House Bill 4352

By Delegates E. Nelson, Ellington, Summers, Waxman and Lane

[Originated in the Committee on Finance, February 25, 2016]

A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated §9-5-24, relating to the potential sale, renovation or leasing of certain state-owned health care facilities by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Resources; requiring the secretary to contract a consultant to submit a plan relating to the potential sale, renovation or lease of such facilities to the Governor and Joint Committee on Government and Finance by November 30, 2016; identifying the minimum contents of said plan; exempting the hiring of the said consultant from certain purchasing requirements; requiring the secretary to update the Joint Committee on Government and Finance regarding the selection of the consultant; requiring the Director of the Division of Personnel to assist the secretary to create a strategy related to the employees of the facilities that are the subject of the plan; creating in the State Treasury a special revenue account to be known as the “Health Care Facilities Liquidation Fund”; requiring the secretary to prepare an accounting of all such assets, and providing that expenditures from the fund are not authorized from collections deposited in the fund but are to be made only in accordance with appropriation by the Legislature; and prohibiting the secretary from acting pursuant to the plan without enactment of legislation authorizing the same.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated §9-5-24, to read as follows:

 ARTICLE 5. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.

§9-5-24. Selling of state owned health care facilities.

(a) The secretary shall contract with a consultant and prepare a plan which includes but is not limited to options concerning selling, renovating or leasing Hopemont Hospital, Jackie Withrow Hospital, John Manchin Sr. Health Center and Lakin Hospital: Provided, That the consultant shall consider the aforementioned facilities on a facility-by-facility basis with regard to options concerning selling, renovating or leasing the same.  The consideration for this contract shall not exceed two hundred thousand dollars.  This plan shall be submitted to the Governor and the Joint Committee on Government and Finance by November 30, 2016.

(b) The plan shall include at a minimum:

(1) A feasible time table for the sale, renovation or leasing of the facilities described in subsection (a) of this section;

(2) Strategies to minimize effects on state and contract employees of the facilities described in subsection (a) of this section;

(3) Strategies to minimize effects on long term care facility residents, including any potential risk that could arise from relocating current residents of the facilities described in subsection (a) of this section;

(4) Feedback from relevant internal and external stakeholders;

(5) Identification of barriers the secretary may encounter in the sale, renovation or leasing of the facilities described in subsection (a) of this section;

(6) Strategies to do the following:

(A) Reduce the cost of operating the facilities described in subsection (a) of this section; and

(B) Produce the most revenue from the sale, renovation or leasing of the facilities described in subsection (a) of this section, including strategies to sell licensed beds and provide purchase options, lease options or separate sale of buildings, land, chattel and equipment;

(7) A complete accounting of the facilities described in subsection (a) of this section and assets related thereto; and

(8) Identification and analysis of legal issues arising from the sale, renovation or leasing of the facilities described in subsection (a) of this section.

(c) The hiring of the consultant as described in subsection (a) of this section is not subject to the purchasing requirements of article three, chapter five-a of this code.

(d) The secretary shall provide bimonthly updates to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance regarding the selection of the consultant described in subsection (a) of this section: Provided, the secretary is encouraged to seek out several potential consultant candidates prior to entering into a contract with a consultant to create the plan as described in subsection (a) of this section.

(e) The Director of the Division of Personnel shall assist the secretary and the consultant to create a strategy to minimize any effects on employees of the facilities described in subsection (a) of this section.

(f) There is hereby created in the State Treasury a special revenue account to be known as the “Health Care Facilities Transition Fund.” The fund shall consist of appropriations to effectuate the purposes of this section and any revenue or sales proceeds derived from activities provided for in accordance with this section. Expenditures from the fund are for the purposes set forth in this section and are not authorized from collections but are to be made only in accordance with appropriation by the Legislature and in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twelve of this code.

(g) This section shall be construed broadly as to provide the secretary with the latitude to accomplish the goals of this section.

(h) The secretary may not sell, renovate or lease pursuant to the plan described in subsection (a) of this section until the enactment of legislation specifically authorizing the same.