H.
B.
4376
(By Delegates Phillips, Huffman, Kessel,
Rowe, Houvouras, Kiss and Spencer)
[Introduced February 7, 1994; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.]
A BILL to amend chapter five-b of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding thereto a new article, designated article two-e, relating to a requirement for a jobs impact statement for certain proposed legislation.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That chapter five-b of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new article, designated article two-e, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2E. JOBS IMPACT STATEMENT.
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5B-2E-1. Short title.
This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Jobs Impact Statement Act."
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5B-2E-2. Declaration of legislative findings and purpose.
The Legislature finds that, in order to maintain and create an economic climate which will sustain and promote the creation and retention of jobs in the state of West Virginia and provide for employment opportunities for as many citizens as possible, it is important to understand the jobs impact of acts of the Legislature. The Legislature further finds that without appropriate information it may enact legislation that would adversely affect the economy and employment in the state of West Virginia.
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5B-2E-3. Written request.
Upon written request by the governor, the presiding officer of either house of the Legislature, or the finance chairman or judiciary chairman of either house of the Legislature, any proposed legislation shall be reviewed by the West Virginia development office, which shall prepare a jobs impact statement in respect of such legislation in accordance with this article. In preparing a jobs impact statement, the director of the West Virginia development office shall have the right and authority, in his or her sole discretion, to seek assistance, input or data from any organization which may in the judgment of the director facilitate the compilation of information contemplated under section four of this article. Such facilitating organization or organizations may include, but shall not be limited to, any public, quasi-public, nonprofit, legislative or executive organization, body, agency or entity.
The West Virginia development office shall return a jobs impact statement not later than twenty days after receipt of a request contemplated by this article. No final action shall be taken by either house of the Legislature on any bill in respect of which a request for a jobs impact statement has been made pursuant to this article, prior to preparation and distribution of such jobs impact statement pursuant to sections four and five of this article.
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5B-2E-4. Jobs impact statement; contents.
(a) General rule. The jobs impact statement shall use generally accepted methodology, shall detail both short-term and long-term job effects of the proposed legislation and shall include the following information where appropriate:
(1) A determination of the probable result of the legislation in terms of the number of West Virginia jobs which will be created, enhanced, retained or eliminated;
(2) A statement of the probable net impact of the legislation on employment levels and employment patterns in West Virginia;
(3) A determination of the relative impact of the legislation on firms of differing sizes;
(4) A determination of the effect of the legislation on the tax base of West Virginia;
(5) A determination of the effect of the legislation on the cost of living;
(6) A description of any increase or decrease in costs to West Virginia and its political subdivisions, including revenues that may be lost because of the legislation and the estimated dollar measure of the costs;
(7) An analysis as to the jobs impact of the legislation upon all persons substantially affected by it, including an analysis containing a description as to which persons will bear the costs of the action and which persons will benefit directly and indirectly from the action.
(b) Omission. A jobs impact statement that omits any information required by subsection (a) of this section shall specifically note its omission, the reason for its omission, the importance of any relevant information so omitted to a complete and realistic assessment of the economic impact of the legislation and the additional time and effort required to obtain any information needed for the assessment.
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5B-2E-5. Availability.
A jobs impact statement requested under section three of this article shall be made available to the governor and each member of the Legislature at the time it is released.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require a jobs impact statement to be completed for certain proposed legislation.
§5B-2E is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.
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