Senate Bill No. 275
(By Senators Unger and Yoder)
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[Introduced February 24, 2005; referred to the Committee
on Government Organization; and then to the Committee on
Finance.]
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A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §7-1-3oo, relating to
allowing counties and municipalities to establish a child
advocacy center authority; providing for the appointment,
membership officers, meetings and terms of members; providing
for employees, equipment and buildings; setting forth certain
powers; providing that counties and municipalities may
contribute funds to a child advocacy center; specifying that
charitable contributions to these child advocacy center
authorities are tax deductible; and requiring each authority
to establish facilities in which single interviews of abused
and neglected children by interagency representatives may be
undertaken at the same time.
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 §7-1-3oo, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. COUNTY COMMISSIONS GENERALLY.
§7-1-3oo. Child advocacy center authorities; membership; funding;
facilities.
(a) A county commission and a municipality or any combination
of county commissions and municipalities may by ordinance,
interagency agreement or other appropriate contractual mechanism
establish an authority and appropriate funds therefor to provide
facilities, referred to as "Child Advocacy Centers" established for
the development and management of safe and appropriate facilities
for multidisciplinary interviews of children who are suspected of
being or alleged to have been abused and neglected.
(b) Each authority shall be governed by a Board of Directors
consisting of eleven members appointed by the participating local
governments as agreed between the participating governmental
entities or if a single entity as set out in the ordinance creating
the authority.
(c) Each authority must meet at least quarterly and may meet
more often as determined by a vote of the members. A quorum for
official meetings requires six members to be present and voting.
At its first meeting, each authority shall adopt bylaws for the
conduct of business and elect officers to include a chairman,
vice-chairman, secretary and treasurer.
(d) From donations, gifts and appropriated funds, each
Authority may employ staff, acquire equipment, supplies,
furnishings and facilities to carry out the purposes of this section. In addition, each authority has the power:
(1) To sue and be sued, implead and be impleaded;
(2) To have and use a seal and alter the same at pleasure;
(3) To make and adopt all rules and bylaws as may be necessary
or desirable to enable it to exercise the powers and perform the
duties conferred or imposed upon it;
(4) To acquire by grant, purchase, gift, devise or the
provisions of this section lease and to hold, use, sell, lease or
otherwise dispose of real and personal property of every kind and
nature whatsoever, licenses, franchises, rights and interests
necessary for the full exercise of its powers pursuant to the
provisions of this section or which may be convenient or useful for
the carrying out of such powers;
(5) To enter into contracts and agreements which are
necessary, convenient or useful to carry out the purposes of this
section with any person, public corporation, state or any agency or
political subdivision thereof and the federal government and any
department or agency thereof, including, without limitation,
contracts and agreements for the joint use of any property and
rights by the authority and any person or authority operating any
system, whether within or without the jurisdictional limits of the
authorizing entities establishing the authority, and contracts and
agreements with any person or authority for the maintenance,
servicing, storage, operation or use of any system or part thereof,
facility or equipment on such basis as shall seem proper to its
board;
(6) To apply for, receive and use grants, grants-in-aid,
donations and contributions from any source or sources, including,
but not limited to, the federal government and any agency or
department thereof, and a state government whose constitution does
not prohibit such grants, grants-in-aid, donations and
contributions, and any agency or department thereof, and to accept
and use bequests, devises, gifts and donations from any person;
(7) To encumber or mortgage all or any part of its facilities
and equipment; and
(8) To do any and all things necessary or convenient to carry
out the powers given in this section unless otherwise forbidden by
law.
(e) Contributions to an authority established under the
provisions of this section are deductible charitable contributions.
It is the responsibility of each authority to provide a
facility permitting the interview and treatment of child victims of
physical and sexual abuse at one location and at one time by
involved multidisciplinary representatives of health care
organizations, child protective services, law enforcement and the
courts.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to establish county and
municipal authorities to provide for and maintain facilities to
house Child Advocacy Centers. Under the bill, a Child Advocacy
Center is a safe place for multidisciplinary members to interview
abused and neglected children at the same time.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.