Introduced Version
House Bill 2170 History
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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
H. B. 2170
(By Delegates Morgan, Stephens, Hartman,
Householder and Staggers)
[Introduced February 13, 2013; referred to the
Committee on Government Organization.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §30-1-5 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to professional licensing boards;
modifying who has the authority to call meetings and
administer oaths; clarifying the establishment of quorums;
providing that persons who report violations in good faith are
not subject to civil damages; requiring boards to maintain a
business office open to the public; requiring board offices to
be identified with a sign or directory on the building or in
the entranceway or lobby of the building; requiring board
members to adhere to ethical standards for appointed
officials; and clarifying that boards may issue notices to
cease and desist unlawful or unlicensed practice.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §30-1-5 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO ALL STATE BOARDS OF EXAMINATION OR REGISTRATION REFERRED TO IN CHAPTER.
§30-1-5. Meetings; quorum; investigatory powers; duties.
(a) Each board is required to hold meetings as set forth in
this chapter, but
shall hold at least one meeting annually, at such
time and place as it may prescribe by rule, to transact business
which may legally come before it. A board may hold additional
meetings, upon the call of the chairperson or upon the written
request of two board members.
_____(b) A quorum is:
_____(1) A simple majority of the members; or
_____(2) In the case of a vacancy on the board, a simple majority
of the
remaining members.
_____(c) Each board may:
_____(1) Compel the attendance of witnesses;
_____(2) Issue subpoenas and subpoenas duces tecum;
_____(3) Conduct investigations;
_____(4) Hire an investigator; and
_____(5) Take testimony and other evidence concerning any matter
within its jurisdiction.
_____(d) The chairperson of the board may administer oaths.
_____(e) Each board shall investigate and resolve complaints which
it receives and shall, within six months of the complaint being
filed, send a status report to the party filing the complaint by
certified mail with a signed return receipt, and within one year of the status report's return receipt date issue a final ruling,
unless the party filing the complaint and the board agree in
writing to extend the time for the final ruling.
_____(f) Each board shall maintain a business office that is open
to the public
and identified with a sign or building directory on
the front of the building or in the entranceway or lobby of the
building. Each board
shall provide access to its public records,
including the disposition of the complaints which it receives, in
accordance with the provisions of chapter twenty-nine-b of this
code.
_____(g) Each board
member shall adhere to the ethical standards
for appointed officials set forth in section five, article two,
chapter six-b of this code.
_____(h) Each person regulated by a board and each board member
shall report to the board, in a timely manner,
a violation of the
provisions of this chapter which are administered and enforced by
that board
. Law-enforcement agencies or their personnel and courts
shall report in a timely manner to the appropriate board a
violation of the provisions of this chapter
by an individual. A
person who reports or provides information in good faith is not
subject to civil damages.
_____(i) When a board obtains information that a person has engaged
in, is engaging in or is about to engage in an act which
constitutes or will constitute a violation of the provisions of this chapter which are administered and enforced by that board, it
may issue a notice to the person to cease and desist
and apply to
the circuit court of the county in which the violation has
occurred, is occurring or is about to occur for an order enjoining
the act. Upon a showing that the person has engaged, is engaging
or is about to engage in such an act, the court may order an
injunction, restraining order or other order as the court considers
appropriate.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to clarify the law governing
the duties of professional licensing boards. The bill modifies who
has the authority to call meetings and administer oaths; clarifies
the establishment of quorums; provides that persons who report
violations in good faith are not subject to civil damages; requires
boards to maintain a business office open to the public; and
requires board members to adhere to ethical standards for appointed
officials requiring boards to maintain a business office open to
the public. The bill also permits these boards to issue notices of
cease and desist and to apply to the circuit court for appropriate
relief.
This section has been completely rewritten; therefore, it has
been completely underscored.