(3) "Traumatic brain injury" means an acquired injury to the brain, including brain injuries caused by anoxia due to near drowning. "Traumatic brain injury" does not include brain dysfunction caused by congenital or degenerative disorders, nor birth trauma.

(4) "Spinal cord injury" means a traumatic injury to the spinal cord that results in a permanent loss of sensation and voluntary movement below the level of the lesion.

§18-10K-2. Board created, membership, terms, officers and staff.

(a) There is hereby established the West Virginia traumatic brain and spinal cord injury rehabilitation fund board.

(b) The board shall consist of twenty-three members. The members shall include:

(1) The secretary of the Department of Education and the arts, ex officio, or his or her designee;

(2) The secretary of health and human resources, ex officio, or his or her designee;

(3) The State Superintendent of Schools, ex officio, or his or her designee;

(4) The secretary of the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety, ex officio, or his or her designee;

(5) The director of the bureau of behavioral health within the Department of Health and Human Resources, ex officio, or his or her designee;

(6) The director of the Division of Rehabilitation Services, ex officio, or his or her designee;

(7) The director of the bureau of medical services, ex officio, or his or her designee;

(8) The director of the Office of Emergency Services, ex officio, or his or her designee;

(9) The executive director of the workers' compensation commission, ex officio, or his or her designee;

(10) Seven members appointed by the Governor to represent public and private health organizations or other disability coalitions or advisory groups; and

(11) Seven members appointed by the Governor who are either survivors of traumatic brain or spinal cord injury or family members of persons with traumatic brain or spinal cord injury.

(c) The citizen members shall be appointed by the Governor for terms of three years, except that of the members first appointed, two of the representatives of public and nonprofit private health organizations, disability coalitions or advisory groups and two of the representatives of survivors or family members of persons with traumatic brain or spinal cord injuries shall serve for terms of one year, two of the representatives of each of those respective groups shall serve for terms of two years and the remaining three representatives of each of those respective groups shall serve for terms of three years. All subsequent appointments shall be for three years. Members shall serve until the expiration of the term for which they have been appointed or until their successors have been appointed and qualified. In the event of a vacancy, the Governor shall appoint a qualified person to serve for the unexpired term. No member may serve more than two consecutive three-year terms. State officers or employees may be appointed to the board unless otherwise prohibited by law.

(d) In the event a board member fails to attend more than twenty-five percent of the scheduled meetings in a twelve-month period, the board may, after written notification to that member and the secretary of education and the arts, request in writing that the Governor remove the member and appoint a new member to serve his or her unexpired term.

(e) The board shall elect from its membership a chairperson, treasurer and secretary as well as any other officer as appropriate. The term of the chairperson is for two years in duration and he or she cannot serve more than two consecutive terms.

§18-10K-3. Promulgation of legislative rules.

The board may propose legislative rules for promulgation, in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, necessary for the transaction of its business or to carry out the purposes of this article.

§18-10K-4. Expenses of board.

Members of the board shall receive reimbursement for reasonable and necessary expenses actually incurred in the performance of their duties as members of the board in accordance with state travel regulations. Members with disabilities may receive additional reimbursement for costs associated with personal assistance, interpreters and disability-related accommodations when those costs are incurred in the course of conducting the business of the board. All reimbursement authorized in this section shall be paid from moneys in the fund.

§18-10K-5. Fund created; administration of fund; administrativefees; fund use.

(a) There is created in the State Treasury a special revenue account to be known as the "West Virginia traumatic brain and spinal cord injury rehabilitation fund" which is under the jurisdiction of the Division of Rehabilitation Services. The West Virginia traumatic brain and spinal cord injury rehabilitation fund is subject to the annual appropriation of funds by the Legislature. The West Virginia traumatic brain and spinal cord injury rehabilitation fund may receive any gifts, grants, contributions or other money from any source which is specifically designated for deposit in the fund.

(b) All moneys collected, received and deposited into the State Treasury and credited to the West Virginia traumatic brain and spinal cord injury rehabilitation fund shall be expended by the board exclusively in accordance with the uses and criteria set forth in this article. Expenditures from this fund for any other purposes are void.

(c) The fund shall be administered by the Division of Rehabilitation Services under the Department of Education and the arts. The Division of Rehabilitation Services may retain an amount not to exceed ten percent per annum of the balance of the fund to cover any costs of administration of the fund.

(d) Nothing in this article may be construed to mandate funding for the West Virginia traumatic brain and spinal cord injury rehabilitation fund or to require any appropriation by the Legislature.

(e) Moneys in the fund shall be used to pay for services that will increase opportunities for and enhance the achievement of functional independence, and a return to a productive lifestyle for individuals who have suffered a traumatic brain injury or a spinal cord injury.

(f) Services that are eligible for payment by the fund shall include, but not be limited to:

(1) Case management;

(2) Rehabilitative therapies and services;

(3) Attendant care;

(4) Home accessibility modifications;

(5) Equipment necessary for activities; and

(6) Family support services.

(g) Funds shall be expended according to the priorities and criteria for disbursement established by the board under section six of this article.

§18-10K-6. Criteria and priorities for use of fund.

(a) The board shall establish priorities and criteria for the disbursement of moneys in the fund. When the board determines that additional services should be eligible for payments from the fund, the chairman shall provide written notice to the Division of Rehabilitation Services in the Department of Education and the arts directing that those services be eligible for payment by the fund.

(b) The board shall investigate the needs of citizens with traumatic brain injuries and spinal cord injuries, identify the gaps in services to these citizens, and issue an annual report to the Legislature each year with recommendations for meeting the identified needs, improving coordination of services and summarizing its actions during the preceding year.

(c) Moneys expended for services described under section five of this article shall be as a payer of last resort and only for citizens of this state. An individual shall use comparable benefits and services that are available prior to the expenditure of moneys available to that individual through the fund.

Note: WV Code updated with legislation passed through the 2017 Regular Session
The West Virginia Code Online is an unofficial copy of the annotated WV Code, provided as a convenience. It has NOT been edited for publication, and is not in any way official or authoritative.