H. B. 2765
(By Delegates Perdue, Spencer, Browning, Hunt,
Wells and Hatfield)
[Introduced March 1, 2005; referred to the
Committee on Health and Human Resources then the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new article, designated §16-33A-1, §16-33A-2
and §16-33A-3, all relating to creating a program to increase
awareness of colon cancer and to increase participation in
colon cancer screening and diagnostics designed to detect
colon cancer; providing for a board working in collaboration
with the Bureau for Public Health to administer a program
designed to promote colon cancer awareness and related topics;
providing funding to be used to promote colon cancer
awareness; and, providing a voluntary check-off option for
taxpayers to donate some or all of any tax refund they may be
due to the program.
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 article, designated §16-33A-1, §16-33A-2
and §16-33A-3, all
to read as follows:
ARTICLE 33A. COLON CANCER DETECTION AND AWARENESS ACT.
§16-33A-1. Colon Cancer Detection and Awareness Program; Board.
(a) There is hereby established the Colon Cancer Detection and
Awareness Program. The program shall be administered by a Colon
Cancer Detection and Awareness Program Board whose members are
appointed by the Commissioner of the Bureau for Public Health. The
members shall be representative of consumers including persons with
colon cancer, local health departments, health care providers and
recognized experts in the provision of health services to victims
of colon cancer.
(b) The Colon Cancer Detection and Awareness Program Board
shall be responsible for advising the Commissioner with respect to
the implementation of the provisions in this article. The
Commissioner shall consult with the Colon Cancer Detection and
Awareness Program Board for the purpose of determining efficacious
methods to disseminate information which promote awareness of colon
cancer as well as the benefits of early detection of the disease
through screening and diagnostic testing.
(c) The Commissioner shall perform an evaluation of the
state's system for early detection and treatment of colon cancer
and shall submit to the Legislature and the Governor a report
detailing his or her findings and recommendations concerning the
state's response to the high incidence of colon cancer. The report
shall be submitted no later than the first day of December, two thousand six, and shall reflect the evaluation of the at-risk
population screened for colon cancer detection for the previous
twelve months.
(d) The Colon Cancer Detection and Awareness Program Board
shall meet at least three times a year to receive information and
provide interaction, consultation and advice.
(e) The members of the Board shall receive no compensation for
their services, but shall be allowed their actual and necessary
expenses incurred in performance of their duties.
§16-33A-2. Establishment of Colon Cancer Awareness Program and
Diagnostic and Treatment Fund.
(a) There is hereby established the Colon Cancer Awareness
Program and Diagnostic and Treatment Fund which shall be
administered by the Colon Cancer Detection and Awareness Program
Board in collaboration with the Bureau for Public Health for the
purpose of promoting awareness of the dangers of colon cancer and
the benefits of proactive diagnostic screening as a preventative
and early detection measure to save lives.
(b) In addition to the funding source provided in section
three of this article, the Fund may be comprised of moneys
appropriated to the Fund by the Legislature, allocated to the Fund
by the federal government and all other sums designated for deposit
in the Fund from any source, public or private.
(c) The Colon Cancer Detection and Awareness Program Board, in collaboration with the Bureau for Public Health, shall file an
annual report with the Joint Committee on Government and Finance
describing the operation and status of the Fund, acts, policies,
practices or procedures of the Board in implementing the provisions
of this article, and the Board's and Bureau's recommendations as to
changes in law or policy which are considered necessary or
appropriate.
(d) Nothing in this article may be construed as mandating
funding for the Colon Cancer Detection and Awareness Program Fund
or to require any appropriation by the Legislature to the Fund.
§16-33A-3. Colon cancer awareness program and diagnostic and
treatment voluntary checkoff option; Bureau for
Public Health to propose rules.
(a) The Department of Revenue shall cause each West Virginia
personal income tax return form to contain a provision whereby the
taxpayer, and his or her spouse in the event of a joint return, may
designate a portion or all of his or her tax refund to the Colon
Cancer Detection and Awareness Program Fund checkoff option. The
contribution made shall be credited to the Fund provided in section
two of this article.
(b) The Department of Revenue shall determine by the first day
of July of each year the total amount designated under the
provisions of this section and shall report the amount to the State
Treasurer. The State Treasurer shall credit the amount to the Fund provided in section two of this article, which shall be held on
account for the Bureau for Public Health. Expenditures from the
Fund shall be for the purposes set forth in this article.
(c) This section applies to all personal income tax returns
required to be filed for tax years beginning on or after the first
day of January, two thousand six, and before the first day of July,
two thousand nine.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create a program to
increase awareness of colon cancer and to increase participation in
colon cancer screening and diagnostics designed to achieve early
detection of colon cancer. Other provisions in the bill intended
to promote this purpose include providing for a board working in
collaboration with the Bureau for Public Health to administer the
program in order to promote colon cancer awareness and related
topics, and providing funding to be used to promote colon cancer
awareness. As a supplementary source of funding, the bill provides
a voluntary check-off option for taxpayers to donate some or all of
any tax refund they may be due to the program.
This article is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.
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