H. B. 2082
(By Delegates Mezzatesta and Williams)
[Introduced January 9, 2003; referred to the
Committee on Education then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact sections two and five, article one-b,
chapter eighteen-b of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, all relating to
education; higher education; the higher education policy
commission; commission membership; the chancellor for higher
education; commission staff; and compensation.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections two and five, article one-b, chapter eighteen-b
of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one,
as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1B. HIGHER EDUCATION POLICY COMMISSION.
§18B-1B-2. Composition of commission; terms and qualifications of
members; vacancies; eligibility for reappointment;
oath of office; removal from office.
(a) The commission is comprised of
nine eleven members, all of whom are entitled to vote. One is the secretary of education and
the arts, ex officio. One is the state superintendent of schools.
Provided, That if the state superintendent of schools desires not
to serve, the state board of education shall submit to the governor
the names of three nominees, which may include members of the state
board of education. The governor shall select from the nominees a
member to serve on the commission. The three nominees shall be
persons who are knowledgeable in the area of public education
policy, are able to represent the state board of education and who
understand and are committed to achieving the goals and objectives
as set forth in the institutional compacts and in section one-a,
article one of this chapter. One is the chief executive officer of
the West Virginia Business Roundtable. One is an additional member
of the Roundtable selected by its membership.
(b) The other
seven nine members of the commission shall be
citizens of the state, appointed by the governor, by and with the
advice and consent of the Senate.
Provided, That Prior to
appointment, the governor shall interview
each any candidate to
assure that the person selected understands and is committed to
achieving the goals and objectives as set forth in the
institutional compacts and in section one-a, article one of this
chapter. The governor shall invite the president of the Senate,
the speaker of the House of Delegates, the chairs of the Senate and
House of Delegates committees on finance and education and such other legislative leaders as the governor may determine to
participate in interviewing potential candidates. Each member
appointed to the commission by the governor shall represent the
public interest and shall be committed to the legislative intent
and goals set forth in section one-a, article one of this chapter.
(c) The governor may not appoint any person to be a member of
the commission who is an officer, employee or member of an advisory
board of any state college or university, an officer or member of
any political party executive committee, the holder of any other
public office or public employment under the government of this
state or any of its political subdivisions or an appointee or
employee of any governing board or an immediate family member of
any employee under the jurisdiction of the commission or any
governing board. Of the members appointed by the governor from the
public at large, no more than
four six thereof
shall may belong to
the same political party and at least
two three shall be appointed
from each congressional district.
(d) The governor shall appoint seven members to the commission
on the first day of July, two thousand, or as soon thereafter as is
practicable and the original terms of all members shall commence on
the first day of July, two thousand.
(e) (d) The terms of the members appointed by the governor
shall be for overlapping terms of four years, except, of the
original appointments, one shall be appointed to a term of one year, two shall be appointed to a term of two years, two shall be
appointed to a term of three years and two shall be appointed to a
term of four years. Each subsequent are for staggered four-year
terms. Any appointment which is not for the purpose of filling a
vacancy in an unexpired term shall be for a term of four years.
(f) (e) The governor shall appoint a member to fill any
vacancy among the
seven nine members of the commission appointed by
the governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate,
which member appointed to fill such vacancy shall serve for the
unexpired term of the vacating member. The governor shall fill the
vacancy within thirty days of the occurrence of the vacancy.
(g) (f) No member appointed by the governor shall be eligible
to serve more than two consecutive terms.
(h) (g) Before exercising any authority or performing any
duties as a member of the commission, each member shall qualify as
such by taking and subscribing to the oath of office prescribed by
section five, article IV of the constitution of West Virginia and
the certificate thereof shall be filed with the secretary of state.
(i) (h) No A member of the commission appointed by the
governor may
not be removed from office by the governor except for
official misconduct, incompetence, neglect of duty or gross
immorality, and then only in the manner prescribed by law for the
removal of the state elective officers by the governor.
§18B-1B-5. Employment of chancellor for higher education; office; powers and duties generally; employment of vice
chancellors.
(a) The commission, created pursuant to section one of this
article, shall employ a chancellor for higher education who
shall
be is the chief executive officer of the commission and who
shall
serve serves at its will and pleasure.
The vice chancellor for
administration shall serve as the interim chancellor until a
chancellor is employed.
(b) The commission shall set the qualifications for the
position of chancellor and shall conduct a thorough nationwide
search for qualified candidates. A qualified candidate is one who
meets at least the following criteria:
(1) Possesses an excellent academic and administrative
background;
(2) Demonstrates strong communication skills;
(3) Has significant experience and an established national
reputation as a professional in the field of higher education;
(4) Is free of institutional or regional biases; and
(5) Holds or retains no other administrative position within
the system of higher education while employed as chancellor.
(c) The chancellor shall be compensated on a basis
in excess
of, but not to exceed twenty percent greater than, the base salary
of any president of a state institution of higher education or the
administrative head of a governing board equal to the compensation of the state superintendent of schools, as set by the state board
of education according to the provisions of section one, article
three, chapter eighteen of this code.
(d) With the approval of the commission, the chancellor may
employ a vice chancellor for health sciences who
shall serve serves
at the will and pleasure of the chancellor. The vice chancellor
for health sciences shall coordinate the West Virginia university
school of medicine, the Marshall university school of medicine, and
the West Virginia school of osteopathic medicine and also shall
provide assistance to the governing boards on matters related to
medical education and health sciences. The vice chancellor for
health sciences shall perform all duties assigned by the
chancellor, the commission and state law. In the case of a vacancy
in the office of vice chancellor of health sciences, the duties
assigned to this office by law are the responsibility of the
chancellor or a designee.
(e) With the approval of the commission, the chancellor shall
employ a vice chancellor for community and technical college
education and work force development who serves at the will and
pleasure of the chancellor. The duties of this position include
serving as the chief executive officer of the West Virginia council
for community and technical college education created pursuant to
article two-b of this chapter, and such other duties as assigned by
law or by the commission. Any reference in this code to the vice chancellor for community and technical colleges means the vice
chancellor for community and technical college education and work
force development.
which vice chancellor for community and
technical colleges shall become the vice chancellor for community
and technical college education and work force development. It is
the duty and responsibility of the vice chancellor for community
and technical college education and work force development to:
(1) Provide assistance to the commission, the chancellor and
the governing boards on matters related to community and technical
college education;
(2) Advise, assist and consult regularly with the
institutional presidents; institutional boards of governors or
boards of advisors, as appropriate; and district consortia
committees of the state institutions of higher education involved
in community and technical college education; and
(3) Perform all duties assigned by the chancellor, the
commission and state law.
(f) With the approval of the commission, the chancellor shall
employ a vice chancellor for administration pursuant to section
two, article four of this chapter.
(g) With the approval of the commission, the chancellor may
employ a vice chancellor for state colleges who
shall serve serves
at the will and pleasure of the chancellor. It is the duty and
responsibility of the vice chancellor for state colleges to:
(1) Provide assistance to the commission, the chancellor and
the state colleges on matters related to or of interest and concern
to these institutions;
(2) Advise, assist and consult regularly with the
institutional presidents and institutional boards of governors of
each state college;
(3) Serve as an advocate and spokesperson for the state
colleges to represent them and to make their interests, views and
issues known to the chancellor, the commission and governmental
agencies;
(4) Perform all duties assigned by the chancellor, the
commission and state law.
In addition, the vice chancellor for state colleges has the
responsibility and the duty to provide staff assistance to the
institutional presidents and governing boards to the extent
practicable.
(h) Apart from the offices of the vice chancellors as set
forth in this section and section two, article four of this
chapter, the chancellor shall determine the organization and
staffing positions within the office that are necessary to carry
out his or her powers and duties and may employ necessary staff.
Compensation for the staff may not be more than seventy-five
percent of the chancellor's salary nor more than ten percent of the
highest paid employee of the state department of education established in section nine, article three, chapter eighteen of
this code.
(i) The chancellor may enter into agreements with any state
agency or political subdivision of the state, any state higher
education institution or any other person or entity to enlist staff
assistance to implement the powers and duties assigned by the
commission or by state law.
(j) The chancellor
shall be is responsible for the
day-to-day
daily operations of the commission and
shall have has the following
responsibilities:
(1) To carry out policy and program directives of the
commission;
(2) To develop and submit annual reports on the implementation
plan to achieve the goals and objectives set forth in section
one-a, article one of this chapter and in the institutional
compacts;
(3) To prepare and submit to the commission for its approval
the proposed budget of the commission including the offices of the
chancellor and the vice chancellors;
(4)
On and after the first day of July, two thousand one, To
assist the governing boards in developing rules, subject to the
provisions of section six, article one of this chapter:
Provided,
That nothing in this chapter requires the rules of the governing
boards to be filed pursuant to the rule-making procedures provided in article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code. The
chancellor
shall be is responsible for ensuring that any policy
which is required to be uniform across the institutions is applied
in a uniform manner;
(5) To perform all other duties and responsibilities assigned
by the commission or by state law.
(k) The chancellor shall be reimbursed for all actual and
necessary expenses incurred in the performance of all assigned
duties and responsibilities.
(l) The chancellor is the primary advocate for higher
education and, with the commission, advises the Legislature on
matters of higher education in West Virginia. As the primary
advocate for higher education, the chancellor shall work closely
with the legislative oversight commission on education
accountability and with the elected leadership of the state to
ensure that they are fully informed about higher education issues
and that the commission fully understands the goals for higher
education that the Legislature has established by law.
(m) The chancellor may design and develop for consideration by
the commission new statewide or regional initiatives in accordance
with the goals set forth in section one-a, article one of this
chapter and the public policy agenda articulated by the commission.
(n) The chancellor shall work closely with members of the
state board of education and with the state superintendent of schools to assure that the following goals are met:
(1) Development and implementation of a seamless
kindergarten-through-college system of education; and
(2) Appropriate coordination of missions and programs. To
further the goals of cooperation and coordination between the
commission and the state board of education, the chancellor shall
serve as an ex officio, nonvoting member of the state board of
education.
NOTE: The purposes of this bill are to: (1) Increase the
number of the higher education policy commission from 9 to 11
members; (2) to delete current code that vests discretion with the
state superintendent whether to serve on the board; (3) to include
the chief executive officer or the West Virginia Business
Roundtable and an additional member of the roundtable to serve on
the commission; (4) to set the chancellor's salary at the same
level of the state superintendent of schools; (5) to provide that
the chancellor's staff can make no more than 75% of the
chancellor's salary; and (6) to make stylistic changes in accord
with current and preferred word usage.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
Email
Webmaster | © 2024 West Virginia Legislature **
