Committee Substitute
House Bill 2285 History
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COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 2285
(By Delegate Pettit and Houvouras)
(Originating in the House Committee on Finance)
[March 26, 1993]
A BILL to amend chapter thirty-one of the code of West Virginia,
one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding
thereto a new article, designated article sixteen, relating
to economic and industrial development; creating the steel
advisory commission and a steel futures program in the
department of commerce, labor and environmental resources;
providing for the termination of the advisory commission and
program in seven years.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That chapter thirty-one of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by
adding thereto a new article, designated article sixteen, to read
as follows:
ARTICLE 16. WEST VIRGINIA STEEL FUTURES PROGRAM.
§31-16-1. Legislative intent; purpose and administration.
The Legislature recognizes that the steel industry plays a
significant role in West Virginia's economy, and the industry's
survival and success is of significant importance to theresidents and the tax base of the state, and because of this
significant economic role, there is hereby created in the West
Virginia department of commerce, labor and environmental
resources a steel advisory commission and a new program entitled
"The Steel Futures Program." The purpose of the commission and
the program is to preserve and improve the economy of the state
by promoting employment and increased productivity and thereby
ensuring continued economic development consistent with these
goals, and the maintenance of a high standard of living for the
residents of the state. The commission, through the steel
futures program, may supplement any other enterprise assistance
program administered by the West Virginia department of commerce,
labor and environmental resources and shall be administered so as
to provide financial and technical assistance as provided in this
article to increase the competitiveness of existing steel and
steel-related industries within the state and to encourage
establishment and development of new steel and steel-related
industries within the state.
§31-16-2. Steel advisory commission; membership, appointment,
terms, quorum and selection officers.
(a) There is hereby created the West Virginia steel advisory
commission to be housed within the department of commerce, labor
and environmental resources, which shall consist of eleven
members. The secretary of commerce, labor and environmental
resources or his or her designee shall be a member of the
commission and shall serve as its chairperson. Six members shall
be appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the
Senate. At least four of the members appointed by the governorshall be senior management representatives of steel manufacturing
companies that employ over fifty people. One of the members
appointed by the governor shall be a member of the United
Steelworkers of America. One of the members appointed by the
governor shall be a member of the Independent Steelworkers Union.
One member shall be appointed by the University of West Virginia
board of trustees and one member shall be appointed by the board
of directors of the state college system:
Provided,
That of the
members appointed by these educational bodies, one shall be
appointed to represent a school of engineering and one shall be
appointed to represent a school of business administration. Of
the remaining members, the president of the Senate and the
speaker of the House of Delegates shall appoint one member from
their respective houses who shall serve as ex officio non-voting
members. No more than five of the governor's appointees shall be
of the same political party. Prior to making appointments, the
governor shall solicit recommendations from individuals
representing the steel industry and labor organizations
representing steelworkers. The governor shall make appointments
based upon the knowledge and experience of the individual in the
steel industry.
(b) Within ninety days after the effective date of this
section, the governor, the University of West Virginia board of
trustees and the board of directors of the state college system,
the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of
Delegates shall make their respective initial appointments to the
commission. The terms of office for nonlegislative appointed
members shall be for seven years. Each member shall hold officefrom the date of his or her appointment until the end of the term
for which he or she was appointed. Members may be reappointed.
Vacancies shall be filled in the manner provided for original
appointments. A member shall continue in office until his or her
successor takes office or until a period of sixty days has
elapsed, whichever occurs first. The terms of legislative
members shall be for the term for which they were elected.
(c) Notwithstanding the terms of office stated for members
in subsection (b) of this section, each member serves at the
pleasure of his appointing authority and the appointing authority
may remove his or her appointee at any time and for any reason.
(d) Five members constitute a quorum and an affirmative vote
of five members is necessary to transact business of the
commission. In the event of the absence of a member appointed by
the president of the Senate or by the speaker of the House of
Delegates, the president of the Senate or the speaker of the
House of Delegates may become a member, as the case may be, or a
member of the Senate or of the House of Delegates, who is of the
same political party as the member originally appointed and who
is designated by the president of the Senate or by the speaker of
the House of Delegates.
(e) Before entering upon the duties of office, each member
shall take the oath of office prescribed by the constitution.
(f) Members of the commission shall receive no compensation
but shall be reimbursed for their necessary and actual expenses
incurred in the course of duties as members of the commission.
(g) The commission shall provide for the election of
officers. The commission shall meet at least three timesannually or upon the call of the chairperson or upon the request
of three or more members.
(h) The West Virginia department of commerce, labor and
environmental resources, as requested by the commission, shall
provide the commission with meeting space and staff services and
other technical assistance. The West Virginia department of
commerce, labor and environmental resource development office
shall assist the commission with the costs of production and
distribution of commission reports. If the commission
determines, by a majority vote, to have any study conducted by a
third party, the funds for the study shall be derived from
contributions from the steel industry or other interested
parties.
§31-16-3. Responsibilities of commission.
The West Virginia steel industry advisory commission shall
conduct an examination of existing federal and state laws which
currently affect the production and consumption of West Virginia
steel and shall study problems which the West Virginia steel
industry currently faces including unfair competition from
foreign industries, the economic factors affecting the West
Virginia steel industry, and other matters relevant to the future
of the steel industry in this state.
§31-16-4. Steel futures program.
The Commission shall develop and recommend a strategy for
financial and technical assistance to steel and steel-related
industries in the state. The strategy shall include investment
policies with regard to these industries. In administering the
program, the commission shall consult with appropriaterepresentatives of steel, and steel-related industries,
appropriate representatives of any union that represents workers
in these industries, and other persons with expert knowledge of
these industries. The commission shall consult with the chairman
of the public service commission to foster development of public
and private cooperative efforts that result in energy savings and
reduced energy costs for steel and steel-related industries. The
commission, shall consult with the air pollution control
commission, division of solid waste management, the water
resources board, groundwater conservation agencies and other
agencies with which the steel industry must interact to assist in
adherence to regulations in a manner conducive to economic
viability. Assistance may be made available to steel and steel-
related industries undertaking projects the commission determines
to have long-term implications for and broad applicability to the
economy of this state when the secretary finds:
(a) The undertaking of projects by the industries will
benefit the people of the state by creating or preserving jobs
and employment opportunities; and
(b) The undertaking of projects by the industries will allow
them to compete more effectively in the marketplace.
Projects eligible to receive assistance under the steel
futures program may include, but are not limited to, the
following:
(a) Research and development specifically related to steel
and steel-related industries and feasibility studies for business
development within these industries;
(b) Employee training;
(c) Labor and management relations; and
(d) Technology-driven capital investment.
Financial and technical assistance may be in the form and
conditioned upon terms as stipulated by each enterprise
assistance program administered by the department of commerce,
labor and environmental resources as the secretary considers
appropriate. No later than the thirtieth day of June of the
first year after the effective date of this section, and no later
than the thirtieth day of June of each year thereafter, the
commission shall submit a report to the governor and Legislature
describing projects of the steel futures program, results
obtained from completed projects of the program and program
projects for the next fiscal year.
§31-16-5. Continuation of program.
The steel advisory commission and the steel futures program
shall continue to exist until the first day of July , two
thousand:
Provided,
That prior to such termination date the
joint committee on government organization shall conduct a
performance review of the commission, and program.