WEST virginia legislature
2021 regular session
Introduced
Senate Bill 421
By Senators Tarr, Roberts, and Woodrum
[Introduced February 23,
2021; referred
to the Committee on Government Organization]
A BILL to amend and reenact §21A-2-6 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to the general powers and duties of the Commissioner of Workforce West Virginia; and authorizing the agency to hire additional employees to serve at the will and pleasure of the commissioner.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
Article 2. the
commissioner of the bureau of employment programs Workforce West
Virginia.
§ 21A-2-6 Powers and duties generally
The commissioner is the
executive and administrative head of the bureau Workforce West
Virginia and has the power and duty to:
(1) Exercise general
supervision for the governance of the bureau Workforce West Virginia
and propose rules for promulgation in accordance with the provisions of article
three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code §29A-3-1 et seq. to
implement the requirements of this chapter;
(2) Prescribe uniform rules pertaining to investigations, departmental hearings and propose rules for promulgation;
(3) Supervise fiscal
affairs and responsibilities of the bureau Workforce West Virginia;
(4) Prescribe the
qualifications of, appoint, remove and fix the compensation of the officers and
employees of the bureau Workforce West Virginia, subject to the
provisions of section ten, article four of this chapter §21A-4-10,
relating to the board of review;
(5) Organize and administer
the bureau Workforce West Virginia so as to comply with the
requirements of this chapter and to satisfy any conditions established in
applicable federal law or regulation;
(6) Make reports in the form and containing information required by the United States Department of Labor and comply with any requirements that the United States Department of Labor finds necessary to assure the correctness and verification of the reports;
(7) Make available to any agency of the United States charged with the administration of public works or assistance through public employment, upon its request, the name, address, ordinary occupation and employment status of each recipient of unemployment compensation and a statement of the recipient's rights to further compensation under this chapter;
(8) Keep an accurate and
complete record of all bureau proceedings, record and file all bonds and
contracts and assume responsibility for the custody and preservation of all
papers and documents of the bureau Workforce West Virginia;
(9) Sign and execute in the
name of the state, by the “Bureau of Employment Programs” “Workforce
West Virginia,” any contract or agreement with the federal government, its
agencies, other states, their subdivisions or private persons;
(10) Prescribe a salary scale
to govern compensation of appointees and employees of the bureau Workforce
West Virginia;
(11) Exempt up to 100 positions of the offices of WorkForce West Virginia from the classified service of the state, the employees of which positions shall serve at the will and pleasure of the commissioner: Provided, That such exempt positions shall be in addition to those positions in classified-exempt service under the classification plan adopted by the Division of Personnel. The WorkForce West Virginia Commissioner shall report all exemptions made under this section to the Director of the Division of Personnel as the commissioner determines to be necessary;
(11) (12)
Make the original determination of right in claims for benefits;
(12) (13) Make recommendations and an annual report
to the Governor concerning the condition, operation and functioning of the
bureau Workforce West Virginia;
(13) (14) Invoke any legal or special remedy for
the enforcement of orders or the provisions of this chapter;
(14) (15) Exercise any other power necessary to
standardize administration, expedite bureau Workforce West Virginia
business, assure the establishment of fair rules and promote the efficiency of
the service;
(15) (16) Keep an accurate and complete record and
prepare a monthly report of the number of persons employed and unemployed in
the state. The report shall be made available upon request to members of the
public and press;
(16) (17) Provide at bureau Workforce
West Virginia expense a program of continuing professional, technical and
specialized instruction for the personnel of the bureau Workforce
West Virginia;
(17) (18) (A) Propose rules for legislative
approval in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code §29A-3-1 et seq., under which
agencies of this state shall revoke or not grant, issue or renew any contract,
license, permit, certificate or other authority to conduct a trade, profession
or business to or with any employing unit whose account is in default with the
commissioner with regard to the administration of this chapter. The term “agency”
includes any unit of state government such as officers, agencies, divisions,
departments, boards, commissions, authorities or public corporations. An
employing unit is not in default if it has entered into a repayment agreement
with the Unemployment Compensation Division of the bureau Workforce
West Virginia and remains in compliance with its obligations under the repayment
agreement.
(B) The rules shall provide
that, before revoking, granting, issuing or renewing any contract, license,
permit, certificate or other authority to conduct a trade, profession or
business to or with any employing unit, the designated agencies shall review a
list or lists provided by the bureau of employers Workforce West
Virginia that are in default. If the employing unit's name is not on the
list, the agency, unless it has actual knowledge that the employing unit is in
default with the bureau Workforce West Virginia, may grant, issue
or renew the contract, license, permit, certificate or other authority to
conduct a trade, profession or business. The list may be provided to the agency
in the form of a computerized database or databases that the agency can access.
Any objections to the revocation or refusal to issue or renew shall be reviewed
under the appropriate provisions of this chapter.
(C) The rules may be
promulgated or implemented in phases so that specific agencies or specific types
of contracts, licenses, permits, certificates or other authority to conduct
trades, professions or businesses will be subject to the rules beginning on
different dates. The presumptions of ownership or control contained in the
Department of Environmental Protection's surface mining reclamation regulations
promulgated under the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-two of
this code §22-3-1 et seq. are not applicable or controlling
in determining the identity of employing units who are in default for the
purposes of this subdivision. The rules shall also provide a procedure allowing
any agency or interested person, after being covered under the rules for at
least one year, to petition the Bureau of Employment Programs Workforce
West Virginia to be exempt from the provisions of the rules;
(18) (19) Deposit to the credit of the appropriate
special revenue account or fund, notwithstanding any other provision of this
code and to the extent allowed by federal law, all amounts of delinquent
payments or overpayments, interest and penalties thereon and attorneys' fees
and costs collected under the provisions of this chapter. The amounts collected
shall not be treated by the Auditor or Treasurer as part of the general revenue
of the state; and
(19) (20) Enter into interagency agreements to
assist in exchanging information and fulfilling the provisions of this article.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize Workforce West Virginia to hire additional employees to serve at the Commissioner’s will and pleasure.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.