COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 4607
(By Delegates Cann, Pethtel, Frederick,
Palumbo and Caruth
)
(Originating in the Committee on Finance)
[March 1, 2004]
A BILL to amend and reenact §13-2C-3a of the code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended; and to amend and reenact §31-15-5 of said
code, all relating to the economic development authority
board; conferring the authority and duties of the industrial
revenue bond allocation review committee to the board of the
West Virginia economic development authority; and adding
members to the board of the economic development authority.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §13-2C-3a of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted; and that §31-15-5 of said code be amended
and reenacted, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 13. PUBLIC BONDED INDEBTEDNESS.
ARTICLE 2C. INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT AND COMMERCIAL
DEVELOPMENT BOND ACT.
§13-2C-3a. Creation of industrial revenue bond allocation review
committee; appointment, terms of members; voting;
expenses; duties.
(a) There is hereby created the West Virginia industrial revenue
bond allocation review committee consisting of five the members of
the board of the West Virginia economic development authority
created by article fifteen, chapter thirty-one of this code., as
follows: The secretary of tax and revenue, who shall serve as
chair of the committee, and the executive director of the
development office or his or her designee, and three members chosen
from the general public as private members.
(b) The three private members shall be appointed by the governor,
with the advice and consent of the Senate: Provided, That one
private member shall be appointed from each congressional district
of the state, in such a manner as to provide a broad geographical
distribution of members of the committee: Provided, however, That
at least one private member appointed pursuant to this subdivision
shall have significant experience in economic development. No more
than two private members shall be from the same political party.
(c) Appointment of the three members shall be for staggered terms
of three years. Any member whose term has expired shall serve
until a successor has been duly appointed and qualified. Any
member shall be eligible for reappointment. In case of any vacancy in the office of a private member, such vacancy shall be filled by
appointment by the governor for the unexpired term. The governor
may remove any private member in case of incompetency, neglect of
duty, gross immorality or malfeasance in office; and he may declare
the office vacant and may appoint a person for such vacancy as
provided in other cases of vacancy.
(d) (b) Members shall are not be entitled to compensation for
services performed as members, but shall be are entitled to
reimbursement for all reasonable and necessary expenses actually
incurred in the performance of their duties: Provided, That no
member may be eligible for expenses for meetings of both the board
of the West Virginia economic development authority and the West
Virginia industrial revenue bond allocation review committee when
the meetings are held on the same day.
(e) (c) A majority of the members of the committee shall
constitute a quorum for the purpose of conducting business. The
affirmative vote of at least the majority of the members present is
necessary for any action taken by vote of the committee. No
vacancy in the membership of the committee shall impair the right
of a quorum to exercise all the rights and perform all the duties
of the committee.
(f) (d) The committee shall review and evaluate all applications
for reservation of funds submitted to the development office by a governmental body pursuant to the provisions of subsections (d) and
(e), section twenty-one of this article, and shall make
reservations of the state allocation (as defined in subdivision
(2), subsection (b) of said section twenty-one of this article)
pursuant to subdivision (3), subsection (b) and subsection (c) of
said section twenty-one of this article.
CHAPTER 31. CORPORATIONS.
ARTICLE 15. WEST VIRGINIA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY.
§31-15-5. West Virginia economic development authority;
composition; appointment; terms; delegation of authority by
chairman; voting; compensation and expenses.
The West Virginia economic development authority heretofore
created is hereby continued as a body corporate and politic,
constituting a public corporation and government instrumentality.
The authority shall be composed of a board of members
consisting of a chairman, who shall be the governor, or his or her
designated representative, the tax commissioner and seven members
who shall be appointed by the governor, by and with the advice and
consent of the Senate, and who shall be broadly representative of
the geographic regions of the state. One member of the House of
Delegates to be appointed by the speaker and one member of the
Senate to be appointed by the president shall serve on the board in
an advisory capacity as ex officio, nonvoting members. The board shall direct the exercise of all the powers given to the authority
in this article. The governor shall also be the chief executive
officer of the authority, and shall designate the treasurer and the
secretary of the board.
Upon the effective date of this legislation, the governor
shall forthwith appoint seven members of the board for staggered
terms. The terms of the board members first taking office on or
after the effective date of this legislation shall expire as
designated by the governor at the time of the nomination, two at
the end of the first year, two at the end of the second year, two
at the end of the third year, and one at the end of the fourth
year, after the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred
eighty-nine. As these original appointments expire, each
subsequent appointment shall be for a full four-year term. Any
member whose term has expired shall serve until his or her
successor has been duly appointed and qualified. Any person
appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve only for the unexpired
term. Any member shall be eligible for reappointment. The term of
any person serving as a member of the board immediately preceding
the effective date of this legislation shall cease and otherwise
expire upon such effective date: Provided, That any such member
shall be eligible for reappointment.
The governor may, by written notice filed with the secretary of the authority, from time to time, delegate to any subordinate
the power to represent him or her at any meeting of the authority.
In such case, the subordinate shall have the same power and
privileges as the governor and may vote on any question.
Members of the authority shall not be entitled to compensation
for services performed as members, but shall be entitled to
reimbursement for all reasonable and necessary expenses actually
incurred in the performance of their duties.
A majority of the members shall constitute a quorum for the
purpose of conducting business. Except in the case of a loan or
insurance application or unless the bylaws require a larger number,
action may be taken by majority vote of the members present.
Approval or rejection of a loan or insurance application shall be
made by majority vote of the full membership of the board.
The board shall manage the property and business of the
authority and may prescribe, amend, adopt and repeal bylaws and
rules and regulations governing the manner in which the business of
the authority is conducted.
The board shall, without regard to the provisions of civil
service laws applicable to officers and employees of the state of
West Virginia, appoint such managers, assistant managers, officers,
employees, attorneys and agents as are necessary for the
transaction of its business, fix their compensation, define their duties and provide a system of organization to fix responsibility
and promote efficiency. Any appointee of the board may be removed
at the discretion of the board. The authority may reimburse any
state spending unit for any special expense actually incurred in
providing any service or the use of any facility to the authority.
In cases of any vacancy in the office of a voting member, such
vacancy shall be filled by the governor. Any member appointed to
fill a vacancy in the board occurring prior to the expiration of
the term for which his or her predecessor was appointed shall be
appointed for the remainder of such term.
The governor may remove a member in the case of incompetence,
neglect of duty, gross immorality or malfeasance in office, and may
declare such member's office vacant and appoint a person for such
vacancy as provided in other cases of vacancy.
The secretary of the board shall keep a record of the
proceedings of the board and perform such other duties as may be
determined appropriate by the board. The treasurer shall be
custodian of all funds of the authority and shall be bonded in such
amount as other members of the board may designate.