Introduced Version
Senate Bill 505 History
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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
Senate Bill No. 505
(By Senators Snyder and Wells)
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[Introduced March 12, 2013; referred to the Committee on
Government Organization; and then to the Committee on Finance .]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §29A-2-7 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to publication of the State
Register; providing that the State Register and its
supplements will be available only in electronic format with
limited exceptions; and providing that the fees collected for
the sale of certain records will be deposited in equal amounts
into the General Revenue Fund and the service fees and
collections account.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §29A-2-7 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. STATE REGISTER.
§29A-2-7. Publication of State Register.
(a) The Legislature intends that the Secretary of State offer
to the public access to copies of the State Register and Code of State Rules. The State Register, the Code of State Rules and other
publications documents produced by the Secretary of State's office
shall be available in electronic format on the Secretary of State's
website. A person may request a printed copy of such from the
Secretary of State for a fee.
(b) All materials filed in the State Register shall be indexed
daily as quickly as possible in chronological order of filing with
a brief description of the item filed and a columnar cross index
to:
(1) Agency;
(2) Code citation to which it relates and by which it is filed
in the State Register; and
(3) Other information in the description or cross index as the
Secretary of State believes will aid a person in using the index.
(c) The Secretary of State shall provide post on the website
with each update of the Code of State Rules, a copy of the rule
monitor and its cross index which shows the rules that have become
effective, but not yet distributed and the rules which may be
superseded by a rule which is being proposed. The copy of the rule
monitor distributed with the updates of the Code of State Rules
shall state plainly that this version of the rule monitor only
shows the status of the promulgation of rules as of the date of
distribution of the update of the Code of State Rules, and that to obtain the most recent status of the rules, the user should consult
the rule monitor in the most recent publication and instructions to
users on how to use the rule monitor determining the version of the
rule in the Code of State Rules currently in effect. This
subsection is not to be construed to require that subscribers to
the updates of the Code of State Rules receive a subscription to
the State Register. and a table showing rules which are out for
public comment, and agency-approved, modified and emergency rules.
____(d) The Secretary of State shall produce in an electronic
format the permanent biennial State Register, the chronological
index and other materials filed in the register, or any part by
agency or section, article or chapter for subscription at a cost
including labor, paper and postage, sufficient in the Secretary of
State's judgment to defray the expense of such publication. The
Secretary of State shall also offer, at least at monthly intervals,
supplements to the published materials listed above. Any
subscription for monthly supplements shall be offered annually and
shall include the chronological index and materials related to an
agency or code citation as a person may designate. A person may
limit the request to notices only, to notices and rules, or to
notices and proposed rules, or any combination thereof.
(e) Every two years, the Secretary of State shall offer for
purchase succeeding biennial permanent state registers which shall consist of all rules effective on the date of publication selected
by the Secretary of State, which date shall be at least two years
from the last publication date, and materials filed in the State
Register relating to the rule. The cost of the succeeding biennial
permanent State Register and for the portion relating to any agency
or any code citation which may be designated by a person shall be
fixed in the same manner specified in subsection (d) of this
section.
(f) The Secretary of State may omit from any duplication made
pursuant to subsection (e) of this section any rules the
publication of which would be unduly cumbersome, expensive or
otherwise inexpedient, if a copy of such rules is made available
from the original filing of such rule, at a price not exceeding the
cost of publication, and if the volume from which such rule is
omitted includes a notice in that portion of the publication in
which the rule would have been located, stating:
(1) The general subject matter of the omitted rule;
(2) Each code citation to which the omitted rule relates; and
(3) The means by which a copy of the omitted rule may be
obtained.
(g) (d) The Secretary of State may only propose changes to the
procedures outlined in the above subsection this section by
proposing a legislative rule under the provisions of section nine, article three of this chapter.
(h) The Secretary of State shall promulgate for legislative
approval in accordance with the provisions of article three, of
this chapter a fees schedule for publications described in this
section.
(i) (e) One half of all the fees and amounts collected for the
sale of the State Register, the Code of State Rules and other
copies or data provided by the Secretary of State shall be
deposited in the State General Revenue Fund and one half of the
fees in the service fees and collections account established in
accordance with subsection (f), section two, article one, chapter
fifty-nine of this code for the operations of the office of the
Secretary of State. The Secretary of State shall dedicate
sufficient resources from that fund or other funds to provide the
services required in this article.
(f) A person who is unable to access electronic versions of
documents may review the documents at the office of the Secretary
of State, or may request a printed copy at a cost which is
sufficient, in the judgment of the Secretary of State, to defray
the expenses of publication, including labor, paper and postage:
Provided, That the Secretary of State may waive the fee.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to correct an inconsistency
in the code relating to the deposit of funds from the State Register and to ensure the use of electronic versions of the
Register, rule monitor and index.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.