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WEST virginia legislature
2024 regular session
Introduced
House Bill 5608
By Delegate Young
[Introduced February 12, 2024; Referred to the Committee on Health and Human Resources then the Judiciary then Finance]
A BILL to amend §5-16-18 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to the use of legal cannabis sales profits to offset employee contributions to the Public Employees Insurance program.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
(a) All employers operating from state general revenue or special revenue funds, or federal funds, or any combination of those funds, shall budget the cost of insurance coverage provided by the Public Employees Insurance Agency to current and retired employees of the employer as a separate line item titled PEIA in its respective annual budget and are responsible for the transfer of funds to the director for the cost of insurance for employees covered by the plan. Each spending unit shall pay to the director its proportionate share from each source of funds. Any agency wishing to charge General Revenue Funds for insurance benefits for retirees under §5-16-13 of this code shall provide documentation to the director that the benefits cannot be paid for by any special revenue account or that the retiring employee has been paid solely with General Revenue Funds for 12 months prior to retirement.
(b) If the general revenue appropriation for any employer, excluding county boards of education, is insufficient to cover the cost of insurance coverage for the employer’s participating employees, retired employees, and surviving dependents, the employer shall pay the remainder of the cost from its "personal services" or "unclassified" line items. The amount of the payments for county boards of education shall be determined by the method set forth in §18-9A-24 of this code: Provided, That local excess levy funds shall be used only for the purposes for which they were raised: Provided, however, That after approval of its annual financial plan, but in no event later than December 31 of each year, the finance board shall notify the Legislature and county boards of education of the maximum amount of employer premiums that the county boards of education shall pay for covered employees during the following fiscal year.
(c) All other employers not operating from the state General Revenue Fund shall pay to the director their share of premium costs from their respective budgets. The finance board shall establish the employers’ share of premium costs to reflect and pay the actual costs of the coverage including incurred but not reported claims.
(d) The contribution of the other employers that are counties, cities, or towns in the state; any separate corporation or instrumentality established by one or more counties, cities, or towns, as permitted by law; any corporation or instrumentality supported in most part by counties, cities or towns; any public corporation charged by law with the performance of a governmental function and whose jurisdiction is coextensive with one or more counties, cities, or towns; any comprehensive community mental health center or comprehensive mental health facility established, operated, or licensed by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Resources pursuant to §27-2A-1 et seq. of this code, and which is supported in part by state, county, or municipal funds; and a combined city-county health department created pursuant to §16-2-1 et seq. of this code for their employees shall be the percentage of the cost of the employees’ insurance package as the employers determine reasonable and proper under their own particular circumstances.
(e) The employee's proportionate share of the premium or cost shall be withheld or deducted by the employer from the employee’s salary or wages as and when paid and the sums shall be forwarded to the director with any supporting data as the director may require. If the sale of recreational cannabis is legalized in West Virginia, 50% of the profits from the sale of recreational cannabis shall be used to offset the employee’s proportionate share of the premium or cost, as set forth in this section.
(f) All moneys received by the Public Employees Insurance Agency shall be deposited in a special fund or funds as are necessary in the State Treasury and the Treasurer is custodian of the fund or funds and shall administer the fund or funds in accordance with the provisions of this article or as the director may from time to time direct. The Treasurer shall pay all warrants issued by the State Auditor against the fund or funds as the director may direct in accordance with the provisions of this article. All funds received by the agency, shall be deposited, as determined by the director, in any of the investment pools with the West Virginia Investment Management Board, with the interest income or other earnings a proper credit to all such funds for the benefit of the Public Employees Insurance Agency.
(g) The Public Employees Insurance Agency may recover an additional interest amount from any employer that fails to pay in a timely manner any premium or minimum annual employer payment, as defined in §5-16D-1 et seq. of this code, which is due and payable to the Public Employees Insurance Agency or the Retiree Health Benefit Trust. The agency may recover the amount due plus an additional amount equal to 2.5 percent per annum of the amount due. Accrual of interest owed by the delinquent employer commences upon the 31st day following the due date for the amount owed and shall continue until receipt by the Public Employees Insurance Agency of the delinquent payment. Interest shall compound every 30 days.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to the use of legal cannabis sales profits to offset employee contributions to the Public Employees Insurance program if the sale of recreational cannabis is legalized in West Virginia.
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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