ENROLLED

Senate Bill No. 202

(By Senators Williams, K. Facemyer, Fanning, Helmick, Miller, Jenkins, Stollings and Wills)

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[Passed March 9, 2012; in effect ninety days from passage.]

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AN ACT to amend and reenact §19-1A-4 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to permitting the Director of the Division of Forestry to enter into stewardship contracts with the United States Forest Service; authorizing projects by written agreement or contract; and directing annual reports to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

    That §19-1A-4 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:

ARTICLE 1A. DIVISION OF FORESTRY.

§19-1A-4. Additional duties of the Director of the Division of Forestry generally.

    (a) The director shall:

    (1) Develop, promote and advance the growth of the forest products industries of this state;

    (2) Cooperate with educational institutions, development agencies and private and public organizations to promote the expansion of the forest products industries of this state in local and global markets;

    (3) Conduct research on marketing and developing forest products and forest products industries; conserving, managing and utilizing the state’s forest land and its multiple uses; and improving the forestry knowledge and practices of private landowners; and

    (4) Compile its findings and recommendations, and disseminate the results of its research to the public, the forest products industry, the Governor and the Legislature.

    (b) The director has the power to carry out and effectuate the purposes of this article, article one-b of this chapter and article three of chapter twenty of this code, including the power to:

    (1) Accept and use gifts, donations or contributions from individuals, organizations or corporations, and to acquire by gift, lease or purchase real estate;

    (2) Establish law-enforcement practices and procedures to address the law-enforcement requirements of the division;

    (3) To promulgate rules and regulations, subject to the provisions of chapter twenty-nine-a of this code; and

    (4) Enter into stewardship end-result contract projects with the United States Forest Service by written agreement or contract and submit an annual report to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance, no later than the first day of October each year, specifying the locations of projects, the amount of funding received, number of contracts and the purpose of each contract.