H. B. 4030
(By Delegate Mezzatesta)
[Introduced
January 14, 2002
; referred to the
Committee on Health and Human Resources then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section four-e, article twenty-one,
chapter eleven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended; to amend and reenact section
six, article five-p, chapter sixteen of said code; and to
further amend said article five-p, by adding thereto a new
section, designated section ten-a, all relating to the "senior
citizens prescription drug subsidy program"; enumerating
criteria to be used in determining eligibility to participate;
requiring the bureau for senior services to administer the
program; requiring transfer of those funds into a special
account for the program; naming the account; increasing the
rate at the maximum level of taxation for personal income by three percent and providing that the income derived from this
increase shall be placed in a special account and used for the
"senior citizens prescription drug subsidy program".
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section four-e, article twenty-one, chapter eleven of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted; that section six, article five-
p, chapter sixteen of said code be amended and reenacted; and that
said article five-p be further amended by adding thereto a new
section, designated section ten-a, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 11. TAXATION.
PART I. GENERAL.
ARTICLE 21. PERSONAL INCOME TAX.
§11-21-4e. Rate of tax -- Taxable years beginning on or after
January 1, 1987.
(a) (Rate of tax on individuals (except married individuals
filing separate returns,) individuals filing joint returns, heads
of households, estates and trusts.) -- The tax imposed by section
three of this article on the West Virginia taxable income of every
individual (except married individuals filing separate returns);
every individual who is a head of a household in the determination
of his or her federal income tax for the taxable year; every husband and wife who file a joint return under this article; every
individual who is entitled to file his or her federal income tax
return for the taxable year as a surviving spouse; and every estate
and trust shall be determined in accordance with the following
table:
If the West Virginia
taxable income is:The tax is:
Not over $10,0003% of the taxable income
Over $l0,000 but not$300.00 plus 4% of excess
over $25,000over $10,000
Over $25,000 but not$900.00 plus 4.5% of excess
over $40,000over $25,000
Over $40,000 but not$1,575.00 plus 6% of excess
over $60,000over $40,000
Over $60,000 $2,775.00 plus 6.5% of excess
over $60,000
(b) (Rate of tax on married individuals filing separate
returns.) -- In the case of husband and wife filing separate
returns under this article for the taxable year, the tax imposed by
section three of this article on the West Virginia taxable income
of each spouse shall be determined in accordance with the following
table:
If the West Virginia
taxable income is:The tax is:
Not over $5,0003% of the taxable income
Over $5,000 but not$l50.00 plus 4% of excess
over $l2,500over $5,000
Over $l2,500 but not$450.00 plus 4.5% of
over $20,000excess over $l2,500
Over $20,000 but not$787.50 plus 6% of excess
over $30,000over $20,000
Over $30,000$l,387.50 plus 6.5% of
excess over $30,000
(c) Applicability of this section. -- The provisions of this
section, as amended by this act, shall be applicable in determining
the rate of tax imposed by this article for all taxable years
beginning after the thirty-first day of December, one thousand nine
hundred eighty-six, and shall be in lieu of the rates of tax
specified in section four-d of this article.
(d) Beginning the first day of April, two thousand two, the
tax rate for the excess of income over thirty thousand dollars
shall be nine and one-half percent. The increase collected on
personal income tax generated by this amendment to this section
(three percent) shall be deposited in a special account hereby
created in the treasury, named the "Senior Citizen's Drug
Prescription Assistance Fund" and, subject to appropriation by the
Legislature, used by the senior citizen's prescription drug subsidy program to subsidize, within the funds available, the cost of
prescription drugs for eligible persons over the age of sixty-five
in accordance with the provisions of section ten-a, article five-p,
chapter sixteen of this code.
CHAPTER 16. PUBLIC HEALTH.
ARTICLE 5P. SENIOR SERVICES.
§16-5P-6. Powers and duties generally.
The commissioner shall be the executive and administrative
head of the bureau and shall have has the power and duty to:
(a) Exercise general supervision of the bureau;
(b) Propose legislative rules for the effective and
expeditious performance and discharge of the duties and
responsibilities placed upon the commissioner by law;
(c) Conduct and coordinate studies of the problems of
encountered by the state's older people citizens;
(d) Encourage and promote the establishment of local programs
and services for the aging;
(e) Conduct public education programs of public education on
the problems of the related to aging;
(f) Review state programs for the aging, and annually make
recommendations to the governor and the Legislature;
(g) Encourage and assist governmental and private agencies to coordinate effective efforts on behalf of the aging;
(h) Coordinate statewide local and voluntary efforts to serve
the aging and develop programs at the local level;
(i) Supervise fiscal management and responsibilities of the
bureau;
(j) 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;
(k) Submit an annual report to the governor on the condition,
operation and functioning of the bureau;
(l) Invoke any legal or special remedy for the enforcement of
orders or the provisions of this chapter;
(m) Standardize administration, expedite bureau business,
revise rules and promote the efficiency of the service;
(n) Provide a program of continuing professional, technical
and specialized instruction for the personnel of the bureau and
local service providers; and
(o) Receive on behalf of the state any grant or gift and
accept the same, so that the title shall pass to the state. All
moneys from grants or gifts shall be deposited with the state treasurer in a special fund and shall be used for the purposes set
forth in the grant or gift; and
(p) Administer the program provided for in section ten-a of
this article by subsidizing, within the funds available, the cost
of prescription drugs for eligible persons over the age of
sixty-five.
§16-5P-10a. Senior citizens prescription drug subsidy program.
(a) There is hereby created a senior citizens prescription
drug subsidy program, which shall be administered by the bureau of
senior services in accordance with the provisions of this section
and within the funding made available through the provisions of
section ten, article twenty-two-a, chapter twenty-nine of this code
and any appropriations: Provided, That the provisions of this
section shall not be construed to require legislative
appropriations. The program shall be designed to provide a subsidy
for prescription medications purchased by eligible citizens over
the age of sixty-five: Provided, however, That the otherwise
eligible citizen does not qualify for other third-party
reimbursement for prescription drugs. Funds administered as
reimbursement for prescription drugs under the provisions of this
section may be paid directly to qualified pharmaceutical providers, or the eligible citizen, upon proof of purchase.
(b) The bureau shall propose legislative rules in accordance
with the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this
code, to accomplish the following:
(1) Establish eligibility guidelines for program participation
based on income and the need for the prescription drugs;
(2) Develop criteria, which is to be applied uniformly, to
determine which pharmaceutical providers may participate in the
program;
(3) Determine the percentage of subsidy to be provided based
on the cost of the particular prescription drug, the availability
of an equivalent generic prescription drug, and the amount of funds
available in the account;
(4) Develop criteria, which is to be applied uniformly, to
determine the circumstances in which a pharmaceutical provider or
eligible person would be declared ineligible;
(5) Develop a system to verify that the prescription drug has
actually been dispensed to the eligible person; and
(6) Maintain a registry of companies and organizations that
provide free medications, and make this information available to
consumers through all local senior programs.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create the "Senior
Citizens Prescription Drug Subsidy Program." Provisions of the
bill include: (1) Enumerating criteria to be used in determining
eligibility to benefit from the program; (2) requiring the bureau
of senior citizens to administer the program; and (3) providing for
an increase in the tax rate for personal income tax at the maximum
level by three percent and that the income generated by this
individual income tax increase be placed in a special account and
used to fund the program.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
§10-5P-10a is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring
have been omitted.
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