Senate Bill No. 588
(By Senators Caruth, Jenkins and Foster)
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[Introduced February 16, 2006; referred to the Committee
on Health and Human Resources; and then to the Committee on
Finance.]
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A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §7-4-6b, relating to
establishing the Commission for a Drug-Free West Virginia; and
providing for creation of local coordinating councils.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §7-4-6b, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 4. PROSECUTING ATTORNEY, REWARDS AND LEGAL ADVICE.
§7-4-6b. "Local coordinating council"; Commission for a Drug Free
West Virginia.
(a) As used in this section, "Local Coordinating Council"
means a countywide citizen body approved by the Commission for a
Drug Free West Virginia to plan, monitor, and evaluate
comprehensive local alcohol and drug abuse plans.
(b) The Commission for a Drug Free West Virginia is established (referred to in this section as "commission"). The
Prosecuting Attorneys Institute may propose rules for legislative
approval in accordance with the provisions of article three,
chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to administer the commission.
The commission shall consist of twenty members described under
subsection (d) and (e) who have distinguished themselves in their
respective fields and who have experience or an interest in
attempting to eliminate alcohol and other drug abuse in West
Virginia.
(c) The commission's purpose is to improve the coordination of
alcohol and other drug abuse efforts at both the state and local
levels in an effort to eliminate duplication of efforts while
ensuring that comprehensive alcohol and other drug programs are
available throughout West Virginia. The commission's
responsibilities include the following:
(1) Establishing an interagency council on drugs to coordinate
the alcohol and other drug education, prevention, treatment, and
justice programming and funding responsibilities of state agencies,
commissions, and boards including the approval of alcohol and other
drug plans and funding applications by state agencies, commissions,
and boards.
(2) Coordinating the collection of data concerning alcohol and
other drug abuse and the needs, programming, and effectiveness of
state supported programs and services.
(3) Maintaining a system of support to assist local
coordinating councils with technical assistance, guidance, or direct funding resources.
(4) Continuing to assist the development of local coordinating
councils to identify community drug programs, coordinate community
initiatives, design comprehensive, collaborative community
strategies, and monitor anti-drug activities at the local level.
(5) Establishing roles, responsibilities, and performance
standards for the local coordinating councils.
(6) Recommending to the Governor and Legislature long and
short range goals, objectives, and strategies, including
legislative proposals to be implemented on the state and local
level to reduce drug abuse.
(7) Assisting local communities in the development of citizen
based drug related crime control efforts.
(d) The commission shall be comprised of the following voting
members:
(1) The Governor or the Governor's designee.
(2) Fifteen members appointed by the Governor for a two year
term, who have experience or expertise in at least one of the
following areas:
(A) Family relations.
(B) Religion.
(C) Education.
(D) Civic or private organizations.
(E) Business.
(F) Media.
(G) Drug treatment.
(H) Medicine.
(I) Local government.
(J) Judiciary.
(K) Law enforcement.
(L) Self-help organizations.
(M) Youth.
(N) A representative of the interagency council against drugs
established under subsection (c)(1).
(O) Labor.
(e) Four members of the Legislature shall serve as nonvoting
members of the commission. The President of the Senate shall
appoint two Senators, both of whom may not be members of the same
political party. The Speaker of the House of Delegates shall
appoint two Delegates, both of whom may not be members of the same
political party.
(f) The Governor or the Governor's designee shall serve as the
chairman of the commission.
(g) The commission shall meet one time per month at the call
of the chairman.
(h) Eight voting members of the commission constitute a
quorum. The commission is not prohibited from conducting business
as a result of a vacancy in the commission. In the case of a
vacancy, a new appointee shall serve for the remainder of the
unexpired term. A vacancy shall be filled from the same group that
was represented by the outgoing member.
(i) All appointments of the commission's members are renewable.
(j) A member of the commission is entitled to reimbursement
for traveling expenses and other expenses actually incurred in
connection with the member's duties, as provided in the state
travel policies and procedures established by the West Virginia
Department of Administration.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill to
establish the Commission for
a Drug Free West Virginia, and to provide for the creation of local
coordinating councils to plan, monitor, and evaluate local
comprehensive drug abuse programs.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.