HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 67

(By Delegates Stemple, Trump, Stalnaker, C. White, Houston, Kelley, Hall, Willison, Hunt, Angotti, Cann, Coleman, Flanigan, Kuhn, Marshall, Dalton, Hines, Prunty, Shelton, Manuel, Tucker, Ennis, Varner, Warner, Martin, Leggett, Mezzatesta, Davis, J. Smith, Williams, Frederick, Douglas, Campbell, Pethtel, Boggs, Proudfoot, Willis and Yeager)



Requesting the Joint Committee on Government and Finance to make a study relative to the ability of local libraries situated in this State to comply with current regulations related to raising funds.

Whereas, Current regulations regarding funding of libraries in this State, while historically waived in some instances, require local libraries to raise a certain level of funds before they become eligible for state funding. In the past, however, the library commission has waived that requirement under certain circumstances; and
Whereas, There is a serious concern that if the regulation requiring libraries to provide minimum levels of funding before being eligible for state funding is enforced, those libraries situated in smaller communities will be unable to maintain the current level of operational quality and that as a result, the citizens in those communities will be denied equal access to information and other services; and
Whereas, As a result of the foregoing regarding past practices of the library commission in waiving certain requirements concerning local funding, before those regulations should be stringently imposed, a moratorium on enforcement of the regulations should be imposed until the matter of funding can be sufficiently studied in order to determine if all libraries in this State can reasonably be expected to comply with current regulations regarding funding; therefore, be it
Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Joint Committee on Government and Finance is hereby directed to review, examine and study with the advice and counsel of the Library Commission the status of current requirements regarding funding of libraries in this State, focusing especially upon what impact, if any, required compliance with funding regulations may cause to communities that have heretofore relied almost exclusively on nonlocal funding; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Governor is hereby requested to direct the Library Commission to apply a moratorium upon the enforcement of regulations that would require libraries to attain minimum levels of local funding prior to obtaining eligibility for state funding until the study called for hereunder is completed; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Joint Committee on Government and Finance report to the regular session of the Legislature, 2001, on its findings, conclusions and recommendations, together with drafts of any legislation necessary to effectuate its recommendations; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the expenses necessary to conduct this study, to prepare a report and to draft necessary legislation be paid from legislative appropriations to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance.