COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 17
(By Senator Bowman)
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[Originating in the Committee on Government Organization;
reported February 18, 2005.]
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A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §12-4-17, relating to
establishing requirements for receipt of public money by
business entities; and penalties.
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 §12-4-17, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 4. ACCOUNTS, REPORTS AND GENERAL PROVISIONS.
§12-4-17. Restrictions on appropriation of public money.
(a) For purposes of this section:
(1) "Bonuses and/or pay raises" means a monetary award
including stock options and any other thing of value.
(2) "Business entity" means a company, corporation,
partnership, association, firm, sole proprietorship, person or other entity engaged in business that employs more than one hundred
people, but does not include the state or political subdivisions.
(3) "Economic conditions" means any factor materially
affecting financial considerations.
(4) "Lay-off or laid off" means an interval of enforced
unemployment due to economic conditions that is imposed on a
business entity's permanent full-time employees.
(5) "Political subdivision" means any county, city or town in
the state and any separate corporation or instrumentality
established or supported by the state or a county, city or town in
the state.
(6) "Public moneys" means an appropriation by a political
subdivision, the state, the Legislature or Governor, reduction of
taxes, tax credits and any other request for public financial
assistance to operate a business entity.
(7) "Reduction of taxes" means the lowering of a business
entity's taxes by the state or a political subdivision, which
lowering was based on the economic conditions of the business
entity.
(8) "State" means the State of West Virginia.
(b) Prior to a business entity receiving public money, the
business entity must attest and agree in writing to the state or a
political subdivision, as applicable, that:
(1) In the six months prior to receiving public money, the business entity has not awarded bonuses and/or pay raises to
executive management personnel while it had permanent employees on
lay-off status due to economic conditions; and
(2) For two years after receiving public money, the business
entity will not award bonuses and/or pay raises to executive
management personnel while there are permanent employees on lay-off
status due to economic conditions.
(c) After it has been established that a business entity is
not in violation of subsection (b) of this section, the state or a
political subdivision may appropriate public money to the business
entity.
(d) A business entity that has received public money and
subsequently violates the provision of subsection (b) of this
section must repay the public money plus ten percent interest from
the date of receipt of the public money. The public money must be
paid back to the state or the political subdivision, as applicable,
within sixty days of the business entity being notified of the
violation.
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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to establish requirements
for receipt of public money by business entities.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.)
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