H. B. 4647
(By Delegates Webster, Spencer, Foster,
Palumbo, Hatfield, Amores and Brown)
[Introduced
February 26, 2004
; referred to the
Committee on Government Organization then the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §31-15-2 and §31-15-3 of the code of
West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to providing a
procedure for the economic development authority to address
employment and economic development problems of minority
populations of this state.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §31-15-2 and §31-15-3
of the code of West Virginia, 1931,
as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 15. WEST VIRGINIA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY.
§31-15-2. Legislative findings.
It is hereby determined and declared as a matter of
legislative finding: (a) That unemployment exists in many areas of
the state and may well come about, from time to time, in other
areas of the state; (b) that in some areas of the state,
unemployment is a serious problem and has been for so long a period of time that, without remedial measures, it may become so in other
areas of the state; (c) that economic insecurity due to
unemployment is a serious menace to the health, safety, morals and
general welfare of the people of the entire state; (d) that
widespread industry unemployment produces indigency which falls
with crushing force upon all unemployed workers and ultimately upon
the state in the form of welfare and unemployment compensation; (e)
that the absence of employment and business opportunities for youth
is a serious threat to the strength and permanence of their faith
in our American political and economic institutions and the
philosophy of freedom on which those institutions are based; (f)
that lack of employment and business opportunities has resulted in
thousands of workers and their families leaving the state to find
such opportunities elsewhere, and that this exodus has adversely
affected the tax base of counties and municipalities resulting in
an impairment of their financial ability to support education and
other local government services; (g) that security against
unemployment and the spread of indigency and economic stagnation
can best be provided by the promotion, attraction, stimulation,
rehabilitation and revitalization of commerce, tourism, industry
and manufacturing; (h) that the present and future health, safety,
morals, right to gainful employment and general welfare of the
people of the state require as a public purpose the promotion and
development of new and expanded coal and other energy production, industrial, commercial, tourist and manufacturing enterprises
within this state; (i) that the means and measures being authorized
for the financing of projects, including the insuring of loans or
other debt issued for working capital or the refinancing of
existing debt of an enterprise, are, as a matter of public policy,
for the public purposes of the several counties, municipalities and
the state; (j) that the device under which private community
industrial development organizations in the state acquire or build
industrial buildings or sites and equip the same with funds raised
through popular subscription, loans or otherwise for lease and sale
to new or expanding industries has proven effective in creating new
employment and business opportunities locally, is in accord with
the American tradition of community initiative and enterprise, and
requires and deserves encouragement and support from the state, as
a means toward alleviation of unemployment and economic distress;
(k) that community industrial development corporations in the state
have invested substantial funds in successful coal production,
industrial projects and are experiencing difficulty in undertaking
additional projects by reason of the partial inadequacy of their
own funds potentially available from local subscription sources and
by reason of limitations of local financial institutions in
providing additional and sufficiently sizable first deed of trust
or mortgage loans or letters of credit and other forms of credit
enhancement; (l) that minority business ownership especially among african-americans in the area of charleston, West Virginia, is
proportionately less than minority business ownership nationwide
and statewide, the unemployment rate for african-americans recently
has been about twice the unemployment rate for caucasians and
significantly higher in some counties with a greater concentration
of african-americans and an urgent need exists to encourage
african-americans and minority business ownership and higher
employment; (m) that an urgent need exists to stimulate a larger
flow of private investment funds from banks, investment houses,
insurance companies and other financial institutions into projects;
(m) (n) that by increasing the number of projects presenting
attractive opportunities for private investment, a larger portion
of the private capital available in this state for investment can
be put to use for the general economic development of the state;
(n) (o) that the availability of financial assistance through the
creation of an insurance fund will promote the economic development
of the state; and that it is in the public interest, in order to
address the needs aforesaid, that a state instrumentality be
created as a public body corporate with full powers to accept
grants, gifts and appropriations, to generate revenues, to borrow
money and issue its bonds, notes, commercial paper, other debt
instruments and security interests to the end that funds obtained
thereby may be used to furnish money and credit to approved
industrial development agencies or enterprises or to promote the establishment of new projects or to retain existing projects.
§31-15-3. Purposes of article.
The purposes of this article shall be to provide for the
formation of a public economic development authority to promote,
assist, encourage and, in conjunction with such banking
corporations or institutions, trust companies, savings banks,
building and loan associations, insurance companies or related
corporations, partnerships, foundations, community based, faith
based organizations or other institutions, to develop and advance
the business prosperity and economic welfare of the state of West
Virginia; to encourage and assist in the location of new business
and industry; to stimulate and assist in the expansion of all kinds
of business activity which will tend to promote the business
development and maintain the economic stability of this state,
provide maximum opportunities for employment, encourage thrift and
improve the standard of living of the citizens of this state; to
cooperate and act in conjunction with other organizations, public
or private, the objects of which are the promotion and advancement
of industrial, commercial, tourist or manufacturing developments in
this state; to borrow moneys and to issue its bonds, notes,
commercial paper, other debt instruments and security interests as
well as creating an insurance fund for credit enhancement purposes;
to furnish money and credit or credit enhancement to approved
industrial development agencies or enterprises in this state or for the promotion of new projects or to retain existing projects or to
financially assist projects by insuring bonds, notes, loans and
other instruments, including, but not limited to, the insuring of
financing of working capital or the refinancing of existing debt of
an enterprise, thereby establishing a source of credit and credit
enhancement not otherwise available therefor; to review, revise or
establish state procurement policies and practices to assure that
they meet federal and state requirements and that they effectively
encourage meaningful participation of African-Americans and other
minority persons in the process of competing for and awarding of
state contracts for goods and services; to encourage the state to
continue to support and expand small business incubator programs,
including the program at institutions of higher education in the
state; to encourage new and minority small business development; to
undertake initiatives to encourage minority business ownership
similar to those efforts used to encourage greater rates of
business ownership among women; to assist community and economic
development corporations to provide effective technical and
business advisory services to minority-owned and -operated
enterprises; to encourage industry, banks and other private
businesses to hire african-americans and other minority persons; to
encourage governmental agencies and bodies and businesses to be
more aggressive in establishing diversity-conscious practices as
employers and for their operations; to enlist traditional and nontraditional lending institutions to be more creative and
favorable to lending in minority communities and to minority
persons, especially for business enterprises; to encourage small
business start-up and expansion and provide funding to assist
minority vendors to meet bid bonding requirements; encourage
workforce investment boards to be accountable for educating poor
and minority persons for jobs better than low-paying service jobs.
Such These purposes are hereby declared to be public purposes for
which public money may be spent and are purposes which will promote
the health, safety, morals, right to gainful employment, business
opportunities and general welfare of the inhabitants of the state.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide a procedure for
the economic development authority to address employment and
economic development problems of minority populations of this state.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.