H. B. 2190
(By Delegates Martin, Williams, Douglas, Mezzatesta,
Michael and Willison)
[Introduced February 21, 1997; referred to the
Committee on Government Organization.]
A BILL to amend article one-a, chapter twenty of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended,
by adding thereto a new section, designated section nine,
relating to requiring agencies of state government to
develop land management plans.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article one-a, chapter twenty of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section nine,
to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1A. REAL ESTATE MANAGEMENT AND PROCEDURES.
§20-1A-9. State agencies to develop land management plans.
(a) State agencies charged with primary responsibility for
the management or control of tracts or parcels of state-owned
land shall develop land management plans for the following
categories of land: (1) agricultural land, including land used
for arboriculture, silviculture, horticulture and grazing; (2)
timberland and forest land; (3) natural resources property, as defined in section ten, article one-c, chapter eleven of this
code; and (4) undeveloped acreage located outside of
municipalities.
(b) Each land management plan shall state (1) the name by
which the land is generally known; (2) a brief description of the
nature, type or character of the land; (3) the objectives of the
agency with respect to the land; (4) the agency's determination
of the optimum use or disposition of the land, including the
reasons for concluding that the land should be either held and
used, or sold or leased in whole or in part; and (5) planned
activities and uses, including specific determinations as to
whether the land is to be used for production of food products,
production or development of natural resources, recreational use,
or some other specified use.
(c) When reversionary clauses or other restrictions in deeds
of conveyance limit options for use or sales or leases that might
otherwise be proposed, the plan shall so state. Planned
activities and uses with respect to the land shall be stated in
general terms for at least five years and the agency's
conclusions shall be based on a cost benefit analysis of options
or alternatives for action. In the case of land managed for
production of timber, the agency shall report on projections for
timber harvesting on a sustained-yield basis, income estimates,
and the years in which income will be generated. The plan shall
include any planned activities, which involve expenditures or
efforts above ordinary or maintenance levels, to protect the land
from erosion, fire, plant and animal pests, noxious insects, noxious weeds and plant and animal diseases. In the case of land
subject to rights granted by existing contracts, leases, licenses
or easements, the plan shall include a determination as to
whether the interest granted should be continued or withdrawn.
In the case of land managed under land management plans adopted
prior to the effective date of this section, land management
plans shall be reviewed and amended as may be necessary. When
appropriate, the agency administrator shall consult with the
secretaries of the various departments of state government and
request suggestions for land use and resource development on the
land. In the case of land recommended for sale, lease, or
transfer, the report shall include the review and approval of the
director of the West Virginia development office of the proposed
use and any alternate suggestions for land use which may be in
the public interest. Land management plans developed following
the enactment of this section and in satisfaction of the
requirements of this section ordinarily should not exceed five
double-spaced pages and may not exceed twenty pages for each
named tract or parcel, except that information summarized or
excerpted from longer documents prepared by the agency may be
offered in satisfaction of the requirements of this section.
(d) Each agency shall complete and provide to the governor,
the secretary of the department of state government within which
the agency is contained, the president of the Senate, the speaker
of the House of Delegates and the cochairs of the West Virginia
forest management review commission, within one hundred eighty
days of the effective date of this section, draft copies of that agency's land management plans, and, within one year of the
effective date of this section, final land management plans for
the agency. The agency may confer with any other agency or
individual in developing, implementing and adjusting the land
management plan. Any land management plan established pursuant
to this section may be amended, from time to time, as may be
necessary, and shall be reviewed and updated at least every five
years: Provided, That no land management plan shall authorize
the establishment of any all-terrain vehicle trail.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require state agencies
to develop land management plans.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.
This bill is recommended by the Forest Management Review
Commission for passage during the 1997 Regular Session.