Senate Bill No. 531
(By Senators Bowman, Oliverio and Plymale)
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[Introduced February 10, 2010; referred to the Committee on
Health and Human Resources; and then to the Committee on
Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §29-24-5 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to amending the meeting
requirements of the Technology-Related Assistance Revolving
Loan Fund for Individuals With Disabilities Board from four
times per year to as necessary.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §29-24-5 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 24. TECHNOLOGY-RELATED ASSISTANCE REVOLVING LOAN FUND FOR
INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES ACT.
§29-24-5. Power, duties and responsibilities of the board; loans.
(a) The board has the following powers, duties and
responsibilities:
(1) Meet at
such the times
(minimum of four times each fiscal
year) and at places as it determines necessary or convenient to perform its duties. The board shall also meet on the call of the
chairperson or Secretary of Education and the Arts;
(2) Maintain written minutes of its meetings;
(3) Propose rules for legislative promulgation in accordance
with the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this
code for the transaction of its business and to carry out the
purposes of this article. Such rules shall include:
(A) Guidelines, procedures, reporting requirements,
accountability measures and
such other criteria as the board deems
appropriate and necessary to fulfill its governance responsibility
under this article if it elects to contract with a nonprofit,
consumer-driven organization to carry out the purposes of this
article;
(B) An appeals process with regard to the administration of
the fund; and
(C) Rules governing the operation of the fund, including, but
not limited to, eligibility of receipt of funds and all other
matters consistent with and necessary to accomplishing the purpose
of this fund;
(4) Employ personnel on a full-time, part-time or contracted
basis. Board personnel may be members of the State Civil Service
System. Participating agencies shall make staff support and
resources available to the board whenever practicable at the
discretion of the agencies. The compensation of personnel shall be
paid from moneys in the revolving loan fund;
(5) Receive, administer and disburse funds to support purposes
established by this article and contract with nonprofit,
consumer-based groups dealing with individuals with disabilities to
assist in administering programs established by this article;
(6) Maintain detailed records of all expenditures of the
board, funds received as gifts and donations and disbursements made
from the revolving loan fund;
(7) Submit to the Secretary of Education and the Arts and the
Legislature annually a summary report concerning programmatic and
financial status of the revolving loan fund;
(8) Develop and implement a comprehensive set of financial
standards to ensure the integrity and accountability of all funds
received as well as loan funds disbursed; and
(9) Conform to the standards and requirements prescribed by
the State Auditor.
(b) Subject to available funds, the board shall enter into
loan agreements with any qualifying borrower, who demonstrates
that:
(1) The loan will assist one or more individuals with
disabilities in improving their independence, productivity and full
participation in the community; and
(2) The applicant has the ability to repay the loan. Any
necessary loan limitation shall be determined by the board. All
loans must be repaid within
such the terms and at
such the interest
rates as the board
may determine determines to be appropriate. However, no loan may extend beyond sixty months from date of award
and may be paid off anytime without prepayment penalty. The board
shall determine the interest rate to be charged on loans made
pursuant to this article, but in no event may the interest rate on
any
such loans be less than four or more than twenty-one percent
per annum.
(c) The board may authorize loans up to ninety percent of the
cost of an item or items.
(d) The board may award loans to qualifying borrowers for
purposes, including, but not limited to, the following:
(1) To assist one or more individuals with disabilities to
improve their independence through the purchase of technology-
related devices; and
(2) To assist one or more individuals with disabilities to
become more independent members of the community and improve such
individuals quality of life within the community through the
purchase of technology-related devices.
(e) In the event of the failure of the borrower to repay the
loan balance due and owing, the board shall seek to recover the
loan balance by such legal or administrative action available to
it. Persons or representatives of persons who default on a loan
are not eligible for a new loan. The board shall retain ownership
of all property, equipment or devices until the borrower's loan is
paid in full.
(f) A new loan may not be issued to, or on behalf of, a disabled person if a previous loan made to, or on behalf of,
such
that person remains unpaid.
(g) The board may charge a fee for loan applications and
processing. All funds generated by fee charges shall be directly
placed into the revolving loan fund to off-set the costs of
application processing.
The board may accept federal funds granted by Congress or
executive order for the purposes of this chapter as well as gifts
and donations from individuals, private organizations or
foundations. The acceptance and use of federal funds does not
commit state funds and does not place an obligation upon the
Legislature to continue the purposes for which the federal funds
are made available. All funds received in the manner described in
this article shall be deposited in the revolving loan fund to be
disbursed as other moneys in the revolving loan fund.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to amend the meeting
requirements of the Technology-Related Assistance Revolving Loan
Fund for Individuals With Disabilities Board.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.