WEST virginia legislature

2022 regular session

Introduced

Senate Bill 696

By Senators Karnes and Sypolt

[Introduced February 21, 2022; referred
to the Committee on Finance]

A BILL to amend and reenact §10-1-20 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to aid to libraries by the Library Commission; providing that Library Commission consider the base amount of funding necessary to keep a library operational when determining aid and support.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 1. PUBLIC LIBRARIES.

§10-1-20. Aid to libraries by Library Commission.

The West Virginia Library Commission is hereby authorized and empowered to render such aid and assistance, financial, advisory and/or otherwise, to public, school, county, or regional libraries, whether established or maintained by said Library Commission or not, under such conditions and rules and regulations as the said commission deems necessary to further the interests of the state and best increase the efficiency of the service it is expected to render the public.

Having determined that the development and support of such libraries will further the education of the people of the state as a whole and will thereby aid in the discharge of the responsibility of the state to encourage and foster education, the West Virginia Library Commission is authorized and empowered to pay over and contribute to any board of library directors created and maintained pursuant to the provisions of this article or any special act of the Legislature such sum or sums of money as may be available from funds included in appropriations made for the West Virginia Library Commission for such purpose. The amount of any such payment or contribution by the commission to any such local library board of directors shall be determined in accordance with rules and regulations promulgated by the commission: Provided, That in addition to funding on a per capita basis, the base level of funding necessary to keep a library operational despite losses in population shall be a factor in determining the amount of such payment or contribution. The Library Commission shall have authority to promulgate rules and regulations governing the manner in which such amount or amounts of money shall be accounted for and expended.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require the Library Commission consider the base amount of funding necessary to keep a library operational when determining aid and support.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.