H. B. 2540
(By Delegates Givens, Ennis, Pettit and Love)
[Introduced January 10, 1996; referred to the
Committee on Government Organization then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section four, article twenty-one-a,
chapter nineteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to
agriculture; soil conservation districts; the state soil
conservation committee; and authorizing systematic stream
maintenance.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section four, article twenty-one-a, chapter nineteen of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one,
as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 21A. SOIL CONSERVATION DISTRICTS.
§19-21A-4. State soil conservation committee; continuation.
(a) The state soil conservation committee is continued. It
is to serve as an agency of the state and to perform the
functions conferred upon it in this article. The committee shall consist of seven members. The following shall serve, ex officio,
as members of the committee: The director of the state
cooperative extension service; the director of the state
agricultural experiment station; the director of the division of
environmental protection; and the state commissioner of
agriculture, who shall be chairman of the committee.
The governor shall appoint as additional members of the
committee three representative citizens. The term of members
thus appointed shall be four years, except that of the first
members so appointed, one shall be appointed for a term of two
years, one for a term of three years, and one for a term of four
years. In the event of a vacancy, appointment shall be for the
unexpired term.
The committee may invite the secretary of agriculture of the
United States of America to appoint one person to serve with the
committee as an advisory member.
The committee shall keep a record of its official actions,
shall adopt a seal, which seal shall be judicially noticed, and
may perform such acts, hold such public hearings and promulgate
such rules as may be necessary for the execution of its functions
under this article.
(b) The state soil conservation committee may employ an
administrative officer and such technical experts and such other
agents and employees, permanent and temporary, as it may require, and shall determine their qualifications, duties and
compensation. The committee may call upon the attorney general
of the state for such legal services as it may require. It shall
have authority to delegate to its chairman, to one or more of its
members, or to one or more agents or employees, such powers and
duties as it may deem proper. The committee is empowered to
secure necessary and suitable office accommodations, and the
necessary supplies and equipment. Upon request of the committee,
for the purpose of carrying out any of its functions, the
supervising officer of any state agency, or of any state
institution of learning shall, insofar as may be possible, under
available appropriations, and having due regard to the needs of
the agency to which the request is directed, assign or detail to
the committee, members of the staff or personnel of such agency
or institution of learning, and make such special reports,
surveys or studies as the committee may request.
(c) A member of the committee shall hold office so long as
he shall retain the office by virtue of which he shall be serving
on the committee. A majority of the committee shall constitute
a quorum, and the concurrence of a majority in any matter within
their duties shall be required for its determination. The
chairman and members of the committee shall receive no
compensation for their services on the committee, but shall be
entitled to expenses, including traveling expenses, necessarily incurred in the discharge of their duties on the committee. The
committee shall provide for the execution of surety bonds for all
employees and officers who shall be entrusted with funds or
property; shall provide for the keeping of a full and accurate
public record of all proceedings and of all resolutions, rules
and orders issued or adopted; and shall provide for an annual
audit of the accounts of receipts and disbursements.
(d) In addition to the duties and powers hereinafter
conferred upon the state soil conservation committee, it shall
have the following duties and powers:
(1) To offer such assistance as may be appropriate to the
supervisors of soil conservation districts, organized as provided
hereinafter, in the carrying out of any of their powers and
programs;
(2) To keep the supervisors of each of the several
districts, organized under the provisions of this article,
informed of the activities and experience of all other districts
organized hereunder, and to facilitate an interchange of advice
and experience between such districts and cooperation between
them;
(3) To coordinate the programs of the several soil
conservation districts organized hereunder so far as this may be
done by advice and consultation;
(4) To secure the cooperation and assistance of the United States and any of its agencies, and of agencies of this state, in
the work of such districts;
(5) To disseminate information throughout the state
concerning the activities and programs of the soil conservation
districts organized hereunder, and to encourage the formation of
such districts in areas where their organization is desirable;
(6) To accept and receive donations, gifts, contributions,
grants and appropriations in money, services, materials or
otherwise, from the United States or any of its agencies, from
the state of West Virginia, or from other sources, and to use or
expend such money, services, materials or other contributions in
carrying out the policy and provisions of this article, including
the right to allocate such money, services or materials in part
to the various soil conservation districts created by this
article in order to assist them in carrying on their operations,
which shall include a line item special funding program of
systematic stream maintenance to prevent flooding and stream bank
erosion from encroaching on works of improvement and valuable
land; and
(7) To obtain options upon and to acquire by purchase,
exchange, lease, gift, grant, bequest, devise or otherwise, any
property, real or personal, or rights or interests therein; to
maintain, administer, operate and improve any properties
acquired, to receive and retain income from such property and to expend such income as required for operation, maintenance,
administration or improvement of such properties or in otherwise
carrying out the purposes and provisions of this article; and to
sell, lease or otherwise dispose of any of its property or
interests therein in furtherance of the purposes and the
provisions of this article. Money received from the sale of land
acquired in the small watershed program shall be deposited in the
special account of the state soil conservation committee and
expended as herein provided.
After having conducted a performance audit through its joint
committee on government operations, pursuant to article ten,
chapter four of this code, the Legislature hereby finds and
declares that the state soil conservation committee should be
continued and reestablished. Accordingly, pursuant to the
provisions of section five of said article, the state soil
conservation committee shall continue to exist until the first
day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-eight.
NOTE: This bill authorizes the State Soil Conversation
Committee to develop a program of stream maintenance.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.