ENGROSSED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 197
(By Senators Tomblin, Mr. President, and Sprouse,
By Request of the Executive)
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[Originating in the Committee on Finance;
reported March 2, 2004.]
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A BILL to amend the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §5B-2-3b; to amend
said code by adding thereto a new section, designated §18B-1B-
10; and to amend and reenact §29-22A-10 of said code, all
relating generally to distribution of net terminal income of
racetrack video lottery terminals; creating research challenge
fund; reducing distributions to the tourism promotion fund;
providing for portions of the remaining tourism promotion fund
to be deposited in the development office promotion fund and
in the higher education policy commission's research challenge
fund; providing for uses and expenditures of the funds; and
deleting obsolete language.
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 §5B-2-3b; that said
code be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated §18B-1B-10; and that §29-22A-10 of said code be amended and reenacted,
all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 5B. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 1985.
ARTICLE 2. WEST VIRGINIA DEVELOPMENT OFFICE.
§5B-2-3b. Development office promotion fund.
There is hereby established in the state treasury a special
revenue fund known as the "development office promotion fund".
Moneys deposited in this fund shall be administered by the
development office and used solely to promote business formation,
expansion, recruitment and retention through aggressive marketing
and international development and export assistance, which together
lead to more and better jobs with higher wages for all geographic
regions and communities of the state, including rural areas and
urban core areas, and for all residents, including minorities.
CHAPTER 18B. HIGHER EDUCATION.
ARTICLE 1B. HIGHER EDUCATION POLICY COMMISSION.
§18B-1B-10. Research challenge.
(a) There is established in the state treasury a special
revenue fund known as the "Research Challenge Fund". Moneys
deposited in this fund shall be administered by the higher
education policy commission.
(1) Twenty-five percent of the moneys deposited in this fund
shall be used to fund coal research and development projects at
institutions of higher education located in this state. Research
includes, but is not limited to, carbon sequestration and carbon technology research and development projects.
(2) The remainder of the moneys deposited in this fund shall
be used to fund other research and development projects at
institutions of higher education in this state.
(b) The policy commission shall use the recommendations of the
EPSCoR state advisory council in its allocation of appropriations
made to the research challenge fund and in its development of
procedures for competitive application and review of proposals for
funding. The research challenge is a critical component in the
state's strategic plan for economic development and the
contribution of higher education in the economic health of the
state and the EPSCoR state advisory council is well qualified, by
virtue of its research-oriented mission and membership, to advise
the policy commission in the allocation of research challenge
funding.
The objectives of the research challenge are to:
(1) Increase the research capacity of institutions of higher
education and the competitiveness of these institutions to apply
for external funding;
(2) Stimulate the development of research and research
products that are directly applicable in improving the economic
competitiveness of existing West Virginia industries and the
development of new business and jobs in the state;
(3) Leverage limited state resources with private and federal
funds to support projects and activities directly related to
economic development by requiring matching funds and cooperative agreements with external partners;
(4) Increase the production of undergraduate and graduate
students of programs in the sciences, technology, engineering and
mathematics, with special attention to emerging disciplines such as
biometrics; and
(5) Hold institutions more accountable for the success of
research projects funded under this program with the expectation
that state support will be phased out and the project or activity
will be terminated if it is unable to generate ongoing external
support.
(c) The priorities for the research challenge shall be:
(1) Research on energy generation, distribution and
utilization that builds on the state's existing energy research
strengths, related research products and technology transfer
programs shall receive twenty-five percent of the appropriation;
(2) Research, education and outreach conducted by the EPSCOR
program. This federal program is recognized by the national
science foundation as the state's primary entity for developing the
research capacity that is so important to the state's economic and
educational development;
(3) Research projects that are related to the economic
development of the state, and that have significant potential to
attract participation and funding from industrial, federal or
foundation partners;
(4) Collaborative projects between higher education and public
education to improve science and mathematics education;
(5) Graduate education in science (including medical
education), technology, engineering and mathematics. The allocation
shall be used for the increase in doctoral students and programs at
West Virginia university and Marshall university in these fields;
and
(6) Recruitment of eminent scholars to strengthen research
capacity and competitiveness for external funding.
(d) The policy commission shall report to the legislative
oversight committee on educational accountability annually on the
results of the projects and activities funded by the research
challenge appropriation.
(e) The priorities established in subsection (b) of this
section shall be reviewed biannually by the policy commission and
the EPSCoR state advisory council beginning in two thousand six.
The policy commission shall include any recommended adjustments in
its budget request for the two thousand seven budget.
CHAPTER 29. MISCELLANEOUS BOARDS AND OFFICERS.
ARTICLE 22A. RACETRACK VIDEO LOTTERY.
§29-22A-10. Accounting and reporting; commission to provide
communications protocol data; distribution of net
terminal income; remittance through electronic
transfer of funds; establishment of accounts and
nonpayment penalties; commission control of
accounting for net terminal income; settlement of
accounts; manual reporting and payment may be
required; request for reports; examination of accounts and records.
(a) The commission shall provide to manufacturers, or
applicants applying for a manufacturer's permit, the protocol
documentation data necessary to enable the respective
manufacturer's video lottery terminals to communicate with the
commission's central computer for transmitting auditing program
information and for activation and disabling of video lottery
terminals.
(b) The gross terminal income of a licensed racetrack shall be
remitted to the commission through the electronic transfer of
funds. Licensed racetracks shall furnish to the commission all
information and bank authorizations required to facilitate the
timely transfer of moneys to the commission. Licensed racetracks
must provide the commission thirty days' advance notice of any
proposed account changes in order to assure the uninterrupted
electronic transfer of funds. From the gross terminal income
remitted by the licensee to the commission, the commission shall
deduct an amount sufficient to reimburse the commission for its
actual costs and expenses incurred in administering racetrack video
lottery at the licensed racetrack and the resulting amount after
the deduction is the net terminal income. The amount deducted for
administrative costs and expenses of the commission may not exceed
four percent of gross terminal income:
Provided, That any amounts
deducted by the commission for its actual costs and expenses that
exceeds its actual costs and expenses shall be deposited into the
state lottery fund. For all fiscal years beginning on or after the
first day of July, two thousand one, the commission shall not receive an amount of gross terminal income in excess of the amount
of gross terminal income received during the fiscal year ending on
the thirtieth day of June, two thousand one, but four percent of
any amount of gross terminal income received in excess of the
amount of gross terminal income received during the fiscal year
ending on the thirtieth day of June, two thousand one, shall be
deposited into the fund established in section eighteen-a, article
twenty-two of this chapter.
(c) Net terminal income shall be divided as set out in this
subsection. For all fiscal years beginning on or after the first
day of July, two thousand one, any amount of net terminal income
received in excess of the amount of net terminal income received
during the fiscal year ending on the thirtieth day of June, two
thousand one, shall be divided as set out in section ten-b of this
article. The licensed racetrack's share is in lieu of all lottery
agent commissions and is considered to cover all costs and expenses
required to be expended by the licensed racetrack in connection
with video lottery operations. The division shall be made as
follows:
(1) The commission shall receive thirty percent of net
terminal income, which shall be paid into the state lottery fund as
provided in section ten-a of this article.
(2) Fourteen percent of net terminal income at a licensed
racetrack shall be deposited in the special fund established by the
licensee and used for payment of regular purses in addition to
other amounts provided
for in article twenty-three, chapter
nineteen of this code;
(3) The county where the video lottery terminals are located
shall receive two percent of the net terminal income:
Provided,
That:
(A)
Beginning the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-nine, and thereafter, any Any amount in excess of the two
percent received during fiscal year one thousand nine hundred
ninety-nine by a county in which a racetrack is located that has
participated in the West Virginia thoroughbred development fund
since on or before the first day of January, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-nine, shall be divided as follows:
(i) The county shall receive fifty percent of the excess
amount; and
(ii) The municipalities of the county shall receive fifty
percent of the excess amount, the fifty percent to be divided among
the municipalities on a per capita basis as determined by the most
recent decennial United States census of population; and
(B)
Beginning the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-nine, and thereafter, any Any amount in excess of the two
percent received during fiscal year one thousand nine hundred
ninety-nine by a county in which a racetrack other than a racetrack
described in paragraph (A) of this proviso is located and where the
racetrack has been located in a municipality within the county
since on or before the first day of January, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-nine, shall be divided, if applicable, as follows:
(i) The county shall receive fifty percent of the excess
amount; and
(ii) The municipality shall receive fifty percent of the excess amount; and
(C) This proviso shall not affect the amount to be received
under this subdivision by any county other than a county described
in paragraph (A) or (B) of this subdivision;
(4) One half of one percent of net terminal income shall be
paid for and on behalf of all employees of the licensed racing
association by making a deposit into a special fund to be
established by the racing commission to be used for payment into
the pension plan for all employees of the licensed racing
association;
(5) The West Virginia thoroughbred development fund created
under section thirteen-b, article twenty-three, chapter nineteen of
this code and the West Virginia greyhound breeding development fund
created under section ten of said article shall receive an equal
share of a total of not less than one and one-half percent of the
net terminal income:
Provided, That for any racetrack which does
not have a breeder's program supported by the thoroughbred
development fund or the greyhound breeding development fund, the
one and one-half percent provided
for in this subdivision shall be
deposited in the special fund established by the licensee and used
for payment of regular purses in addition to other amounts provided
for in subdivision (2) of this subsection and article twenty-three,
chapter nineteen of this code;
(6) The West Virginia racing commission shall receive one
percent of the net terminal income which shall be deposited and
used as provided in section thirteen-c, article twenty-three,
chapter nineteen of this code;
(7) A licensee shall receive forty-seven percent of net
terminal income;
(8) The tourism promotion fund established in section twelve,
article two, chapter five-b of this code shall receive three
percent of the net terminal income:
Provided, That for the fiscal
year beginning the first day of July, two thousand three, the
tourism commission shall transfer from the tourism promotion fund
no more than five million dollars of the three percent of the net
terminal income into the development office promotion fund
established in section three-b, article two, chapter five-b of this
code: Provided, however, That for the fiscal year beginning the
first day of July, two thousand three, the tourism commission shall
transfer from the tourism promotion fund no more than two million
five hundred thousand dollars of the three percent of net terminal
income into the West Virginia economic development authority direct
loan program: Provided further, That the fiscal year beginning the
first day of July, two thousand four, and each year thereafter, the
tourism promotion fund shall receive two percent of the net
terminal income.
(A) For the fiscal year beginning the first day of July, two
thousand four, the tourism commission shall transfer from the
tourism promotion fund no more than five million dollars of the two
percent of the net terminal income into the development office
promotion fund established in section three-b, article two, chapter
five-b of this code;
(B) For the fiscal year beginning the first day of July, two
thousand five, and each year thereafter, the tourism commission shall transfer from the tourism promotion fund no more than three
million dollars of the two percent of the net terminal income into
the development office promotion fund established in section three-
b, article two, chapter five-b of this code;
(C) Beginning the first day of July, two thousand four, and
each year thereafter, the research challenge fund established in
section ten, article one-b, chapter eighteen-b of this code shall
receive one percent of net terminal income; and
(9) The veterans memorial program shall receive one percent of
the net terminal income until sufficient moneys have been received
to complete the veterans memorial on the grounds of the state
capitol complex in Charleston, West Virginia. The moneys shall be
deposited in the state treasury in the division of culture and
history special fund created under section three, article one-i,
chapter twenty-nine of this code: Provided, That only after
sufficient moneys have been deposited in the fund to complete the
veterans memorial and to pay in full the annual bonded indebtedness
on the veterans memorial, not
(9) The remaining one percent of net terminal income shall be
deposited as follows:
(A) Not more than twenty thousand dollars of the one percent
of net terminal income provided
for in this subdivision shall be
deposited into a special revenue fund in the state treasury, to be
known as the "John F. 'Jack' Bennett Fund". The moneys in this
fund shall be expended by the division of veterans affairs to
provide for the placement of markers for the graves of veterans in
perpetual cemeteries in this state. The division of veterans affairs shall promulgate legislative rules pursuant to the
provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code
specifying the manner in which the funds are spent, determine the
ability of the surviving spouse to pay for the placement of the
marker and setting forth the standards to be used to determine the
priority in which the veterans grave markers will be placed in the
event that there are not sufficient funds to complete the placement
of veterans grave markers in any one year, or at all;
Upon payment
in full of the bonded indebtedness on the veterans memorial, one
(B) One hundred thousand dollars
of the one percent of net
terminal income provided for in this subdivision shall be deposited
in the special fund in the division of culture and history created
under section three, article one-i, chapter twenty-nine of this
code and be expended by the division of culture and history to
establish a West Virginia veterans memorial archives within the
cultural center to serve as a repository for the documents and
records pertaining to the veterans memorial, to restore and
maintain the monuments and memorial on the capitol grounds;
Provided, however, That five
(C) Five hundred thousand dollars
of the one percent of net
terminal income shall be deposited in the state treasury in a
special fund of the department of administration, created under
section five, article four, chapter five-a of this code, to be used
for construction and maintenance of a parking garage on the state
capitol complex;
and Provided further, That the
(D) The remainder of the one percent of net terminal income
shall be deposited in equal amounts in the capitol dome and improvements fund created under section two, article four, chapter
five-a of this code and cultural facilities and capitol resources
matching grant program fund created under section three, article
one of this chapter.
(d) Each licensed racetrack shall maintain in its account an
amount equal to or greater than the gross terminal income from its
operation of video lottery machines, to be electronically
transferred by the commission on dates established by the
commission. Upon a licensed racetrack's failure to maintain this
balance, the commission may disable all of a licensed racetrack's
video lottery terminals until full payment of all amounts due is
made. Interest shall accrue on any unpaid balance at a rate
consistent with the amount charged for state income tax delinquency
under chapter eleven of this code. The interest shall begin to
accrue on the date payment is due to the commission.
(e) The commission's central control computer shall keep
accurate records of all income generated by each video lottery
terminal. The commission shall prepare and mail to the licensed
racetrack a statement reflecting the gross terminal income
generated by the licensee's video lottery terminals. Each licensed
racetrack shall report to the commission any discrepancies between
the commission's statement and each terminal's mechanical and
electronic meter readings. The licensed racetrack is solely
responsible for resolving income discrepancies between actual money
collected and the amount shown on the accounting meters or on the
commission's billing statement.
(f) Until an accounting discrepancy is resolved in favor of the licensed racetrack, the commission may make no credit
adjustments. For any video lottery terminal reflecting a
discrepancy, the licensed racetrack shall submit to the commission
the maintenance log which includes current mechanical meter
readings and the audit ticket which contains electronic meter
readings generated by the terminal's software. If the meter
readings and the commission's records cannot be reconciled, final
disposition of the matter shall be determined by the commission.
Any accounting discrepancies which cannot be otherwise resolved
shall be resolved in favor of the commission.
(g) Licensed racetracks shall remit payment by mail if the
electronic transfer of funds is not operational or the commission
notifies licensed racetracks that remittance by this method is
required. The licensed racetracks shall report an amount equal to
the total amount of cash inserted into each video lottery terminal
operated by a licensee, minus the total value of game credits which
are cleared from the video lottery terminal in exchange for winning
redemption tickets, and remit the amount as generated from its
terminals during the reporting period. The remittance shall be
sealed in a properly addressed and stamped envelope and deposited
in the United States mail no later than noon on the day when the
payment would otherwise be completed through electronic funds
transfer.
(h) Licensed racetracks may, upon request, receive additional
reports of play transactions for their respective video lottery
terminals and other marketing information not considered
confidential by the commission. The commission may charge a reasonable fee for the cost of producing and mailing any report
other than the billing statements.
(i) The commission has the right to examine all accounts, bank
accounts, financial statements and records in a licensed
racetrack's possession under its control or in which it has an
interest and the licensed racetrack shall authorize all third
parties in possession or in control of the accounts or records to
allow examination of any of those accounts or records by the
commission.