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WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE
2024 REGULAR SESSION
Introduced
House Bill 5625
By Delegate Crouse
[Introduced February 12, 2024; Referred to the Committee on Education]
A BILL to amend and reenact §3-1-9 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, and to amend and reenact §18B-2A-1 of said code, all relating to relating to updating names of institutions of higher education and nondiscrimination in leadership positions.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
(a) Every fourth year at the primary election, the voters of each political party in each state senatorial district shall elect four members consisting of two male members and two female members of the state executive committee of the party. In state senatorial districts containing two or more counties, not more than two elected committee members shall be residents of the same county: Provided, That at each election the votes shall be tallied from highest to lowest without regard to gender or county of residence. The two candidates with the highest votes shall be elected first and the other candidates shall be qualified based on vote tallies, gender, and county of residence. Upon completion of the canvass, the clerk of the county commission from each county shall send the results of the election of members of each state executive committee and certificates of announcement, if any, to the Secretary of State. Upon certification of the election results, the Secretary of State shall make known to each state executive committee the members elected to such committee and the vacancies, if any. The committee, when convened and organized as herein provided, shall appoint three additional members of the committee from the state at large which shall constitute the entire voting membership of the state executive committee: Provided, however, That if it chooses to do so, the committee may, by motion or resolution and in accordance with party rules, expand the voting membership of the committee. When senatorial districts are realigned following a decennial census, members of the state executive committee previously elected or appointed shall continue in office until the expiration of their terms. Appointments made to fill vacancies on the committee until the next election of executive committee members shall be selected from the previously established districts. At the first election of executive committee members following the realignment of senatorial districts, members shall be elected from the newly established districts.
(b) At the primary election, the voters of each political party in each county shall elect two one male and one female member members of the party's executive committee of the congressional district, of the state senatorial district and of the delegate district in which the county is situated, if the county is situated in a multicounty state senatorial or delegate district. Upon completion of the canvass, the clerk of the county commission from each county shall send the results of the election of members of each congressional district, state senatorial district and delegate district executive committee of each party to the Secretary of State. Upon certification of the election results, the Secretary of State shall make known to each state executive committee the members elected to each congressional district, state senatorial district and delegate district executive committee and the vacancies, if any. Upon receipt, the state executive committee shall make known any vacancies to the applicable county executive committee for the purpose of filling said vacancies as provided in subsection (f) of this section. When districts are realigned following a decennial census, members of an executive committee previously elected in a county to represent that county in a congressional or multicounty senatorial or delegate district executive committee shall continue to represent that county in the appropriate newly constituted multicounty district until the expiration of their terms: Provided, That the county executive committee of the political party shall determine which previously elected members will represent the county if the number of multicounty state senatorial or delegate districts in the county is decreased; and shall appoint members to complete the remainder of the term if the number of districts is increased.
(c) At the same time the voters of the county in each magisterial district or executive committee district, as the case may be, shall elect one male and one female member two members of the party's county executive committee except that in counties having three executive committee districts, there shall be elected two male and two female four members of the party's executive committee from each magisterial or executive committee district. Upon completion of the canvass, the clerk of the county commission from each county shall send the results of the election of members of the county executive committee of each party along with the certificates of announcement to the Secretary of State. Upon certification of the election results, the Secretary of State shall make known to each state executive committee the members elected to the county committee and the vacancies, if any. Upon receipt, the state executive committee shall make known any vacancies to the applicable county executive committee for the purpose of filling said vacancies as provided in subsection (f) of this section.
(d) For the purpose of complying with the provisions of this section, the county commission shall create the executive committee districts. The districts shall not be fewer than the number of magisterial districts in the county, nor shall they exceed in number the following: Forty for counties having a population of 100,000 persons or more; 30 for counties having a population of 50,000 to 100,000; 20 for counties having a population of 20,000 to 50,000; and the districts in counties having a population of less than 20,000 persons shall be coextensive with the magisterial districts.
(e) The executive committee districts shall be as nearly equal in population as practicable and shall each be composed of compact, contiguous territory. The county commissions shall change the territorial boundaries of the districts as required by the increase or decrease in the population of the districts as determined by a decennial census. The changes must be made within two years following the census.
(f) All members of executive committees, selected for each political division as herein provided, shall reside within the county or district from which chosen. The term of office of all members of executive committees elected at the primary election in the year 2010 will begin on July 1, following the primary election and continue for four years thereafter, except as provided in subsection (g) of this section. Vacancies in the state executive committee shall be filled by the members of the committee for the unexpired term. Vacancies in the party's executive committee of a congressional district, state senatorial district, delegate district or county shall be filled by the party's executive committee of the county in which the vacancy exists for the unexpired term.
(g) As soon as possible after the certification of the election of the new executive committees, as herein provided, the newly elected executive committee shall convene an organizational meeting within their respective political divisions, on the call of the chair of the corresponding outgoing executive committee or by any member of the new executive committee in the event there is no corresponding outgoing executive committee. During the first meeting the new executive committee shall select a chair, a treasurer and a secretary and other officers as they may desire. Each of the officers shall, for their respective committees, perform the duties that usually appertain to his or her office. The organizational meeting may be conducted prior to July 1, but must occur after the certification of the election of the new executive committees. If the organizational meeting is conducted prior to July 1, the new committee shall serve out the remainder of the outgoing committee' s term and is authorized to conduct official business. A current listing of all executive committees' members shall be filed with the Secretary of State by the end of July of each year. Vacancies in any executive committee shall be filled by the appropriate executive committee as provided in subsection (f) of this section no later than 60 days after the vacancy occurs. The chair of each executive committee shall submit an updated committee list to the Secretary of State within 10 days of a change occurring. Executive committee membership lists shall include at least the member's name, full address, employer, telephone number and term information. An appointment to fill a vacancy does not take effect if the executive committee does not submit the updated list to the Secretary of State within the allotted time period. If the executive committee fails to submit the updated list within the allotted time period, it must make another appointment pursuant to the provisions of this section and resubmit the updated list in a timely manner. If a vacancy on an executive committee is not filled within the 60-day period prescribed by this section, the chair of the appropriate executive committee, as provided in subsection (f) of this section, shall name someone to fill the vacancy. If the chair of a county executive committee fails to fill a vacancy in a congressional district, state senatorial district or delegate district executive committee, and the failure to fill such vacancy prohibits said committee from conducting official business, the chair of the party's state executive committee shall fill such vacancy.
(h) Any meeting of any political party executive committee shall be held only after public notice and notice to each member is given according to party rules and shall be open to all members affiliated with the party. Meetings shall be conducted according to party rule and minutes shall be maintained and shall be open to inspection by members affiliated with the party.
(a) Findings. The Legislature finds that the State of West Virginia is served best when the membership of each governing board includes the following:
(1) The academic expertise and institutional experience of faculty members and a student of the institution governed by the board;
(2) The technical or professional expertise and institutional experience of a classified employee or, as appropriate, nonclassified employee of the institution governed by the board;
(3) An awareness and understanding of the issues facing the institution governed by the board; and
(4) The diverse Diverse perspectives that arise from a membership that is balanced in terms of gender and varied in terms of race and ethnic heritage.
(b) Boards of governors established. (
A board of governors is continued at each of the following institutions: Bluefield State College University, Blue Ridge Community and Technical College, Bridgemont Bridge Valley Community and Technical College, Concord University, Eastern West Virginia Community and Technical College, Fairmont State University, Glenville State College University, Kanawha Valley Community and Technical College, Mountwest Community and Technical College, Marshall University, New River Community and Technical College, Pierpont Community and Technical College, Shepherd University, Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College, West Liberty University, West Virginia Northern Community and Technical College, the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine, West Virginia State University, West Virginia University and West Virginia University at Parkersburg.
(c) Board membership. (
(1) An appointment to fill a vacancy on the board or reappointment of a member who is eligible to serve an additional term is made in accordance with the provisions of this section.
(2) The Board of Governors for Marshall University consists of sixteen persons. The Board of Governors for West Virginia University consists of seventeen persons. The boards of governors of the other state institutions of higher education consist of twelve persons.
(3) Each board of governors includes the following members:
(A) A full-time member of the faculty with the rank of instructor or above duly elected by the faculty of the respective institution;
(B) A member of the student body in good academic standing, enrolled for college credit work and duly elected by the student body of the respective institution; and
(C) A member from the institutional classified employees duly elected by the classified employees of the respective institution or, if the respective institution does not have classified employees, a member from the institutional nonclassified employees duly elected by the nonclassified employees of the respective institution.
(4) For the Board of Governors at Marshall University, thirteen lay members appointed by the Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, pursuant to this section;
(5) For the Board of Governors at West Virginia University, twelve lay members appointed by the Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, pursuant to this section, and additionally:
(A) The Chairperson of the Board of Visitors of West Virginia University Institute of Technology;
(B) A full-time faculty member representing the extension service at the institution or a full-time faculty member representing the health sciences, selected by the faculty senate.
(6) For each board of governors of the other state institutions of higher education, nine lay members appointed by the Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, pursuant to this section.
(A) Of the nine members appointed by the Governor, no more than five may be of the same political party. Of the thirteen members appointed by the Governor to the governing board of Marshall University, no more than eight may be of the same political party. Of the twelve members appointed by the Governor to the governing board of West Virginia University, no more than seven may be of the same political party.
(B) Of the nine members appointed by the Governor, at least five shall be residents of the state. Of the thirteen members appointed by the Governor to the governing board of Marshall University, at least eight shall be residents of the state. Of the twelve members appointed by the Governor to the governing board of West Virginia University, at least seven shall be residents of the state.
(7) In making lay appointments, the Governor shall consider the institutional mission and membership characteristics including the following:
(A) The need for individual skills, knowledge and experience relevant to governing the institution;
(B) The need for awareness and understanding of institutional problems and priorities, including those related to research, teaching and outreach; and
(C) The value of gender, racial and ethnic viewpoint diversity. and
(D) The value of achieving balance in gender and diversity in the racial and ethnic characteristics of the lay membership of each board.
(d) Board member terms. (
(1) The student member serves for a term of one year. Each term begins on July 1.
(2) The faculty member serves for a term of two years. Each term begins on July 1. Faculty members are eligible to succeed themselves for three additional terms, not to exceed a total of eight consecutive years.
(3) The member representing classified employees or, as appropriate, nonclassified employees serves for a term of two years. Each term begins on July 1. Members representing classified employees or, as appropriate, nonclassified employees are eligible to succeed themselves for three additional terms, not to exceed a total of eight consecutive years.
(4) The appointed lay citizen members serve terms of four years each and are eligible to succeed themselves for no more than one additional term, except that citizen members who are appointed to fill unexpired terms are eligible to succeed themselves for two full terms after completing an unexpired term.
(5) A vacancy in an unexpired term of a member shall be filled for the unexpired term within thirty days of the occurrence of the vacancy in the same manner as the original appointment or election. Except in the case of a vacancy, all elections are held and all appointments are made no later than June 30 preceding the commencement of the term. Each board of governors shall elect one of its appointed lay members to be chairperson in June of each year. A member may not serve as chairperson for more than four consecutive years.
(6) The appointed members of the boards of governors serve staggered terms of up to four years except that four of the initial appointments to the governing boards of community and technical colleges that became independent July 1, 2008, are for terms of two years and five of the initial appointments are for terms of four years.
(e) Board member eligibility, expenses. (
(1) A person is ineligible for appointment to membership on a board of governors of a state institution of higher education under the following conditions:
(A) For a baccalaureate institution or university, a person is ineligible for appointment who is an officer, employee or member of any other board of governors within this state; an employee of any institution of higher education within this state; 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; an employee of any affiliated research corporation created pursuant to article twelve of this chapter; an employee of any affiliated foundation organized and operated in support of one or more state institutions of higher education; or a member of the council or commission: Provided, That if an appointee is an employee or board member of an out-of-state higher education institution, there is no apparent conflict of interest caused by the individual serving in both capacities. This subsection does not prevent the representative from the faculty, classified employees or, as appropriate, nonclassified employees, students or the superintendent of a county board of education from being members of the governing boards.
(B) For a community and technical college, a person is ineligible for appointment who is an officer, employee or member of any other board of governors within this state; a member of a board of visitors of any public institution of higher education; an employee of any institution of higher education within this state; an officer or member of any political party executive committee; the holder of any other public office, other than an elected county office, or public employment, other than employment by the county board of education, under the government of this state or any of its political subdivisions; an employee of any affiliated research corporation created pursuant to §18B-12-1 et seq. of this code; an employee of any affiliated foundation organized and operated in support of one or more state institutions of higher education; or a member of the council or commission: Provided, That if an appointee is an employee or board member of an out-of-state higher education institution, there is no apparent conflict of interest caused by the individual serving in both capacities. This subsection does not prevent the representative from the faculty, classified employees or, as appropriate, nonclassified employees or students from being members of the governing boards.
(2) Before exercising any authority or performing any duties as a member of a governing board, 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.
(3) A member of a governing board 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.
(4) The members of the board of governors serve without compensation, but are reimbursed for all reasonable and necessary expenses actually incurred in the performance of official duties under this article upon presentation of an itemized sworn statement of expenses.
(5) The president of the institution shall make available resources of the institution for conducting the business of its board of governors. All expenses incurred by the board of governors and the institution under this section are paid from funds allocated to the institution for that purpose.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to prevent discrimination at institutions of higher education at West Virginia postsecondary institutions.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.
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