H. B. 2957
(By Delegates Beach, Perry, Shaver, Varner,
Eldridge, Argento and Williams)
[Introduced March 5, 2009; referred to the
Committee on Political Subdivisions then Government
Organization.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §19-8-1 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to requiring the County Extension
Service Committee to collect applicable data regarding the
locations of all cemeteries within West Virginia by County
Extension Agents and/or supervised designees of such agents,
with the Historic Preservation Section of the Division of
Culture and History acting as the repository for said data.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §19-8-1 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 8. COOPERATIVE EXTENSION WORKERS.
§19-8-1. County Extension Service Committee; composition;
organization; duties and responsibilities; employment
and compensation of extension workers.
The county extension service committee shall be composed of: (a) The President of the County Farm Bureau; (b) the President of
the County Extension Homemakers Council; (c) the president of the
county 4-H leaders' association; (d) a county commissioner
designated by the president of the county commission; (e) a member
of the county board of education designated by the president of the
county board of education; (f) a county representative of the
grange; and (g) two members who are residents of the county to be
appointed by the Board of Advisors of West Virginia University for
staggered terms of three years each beginning on July 1, and in
making these appointments the board of advisors shall appoint one
member designated by any other active farm organization in the
county not already represented by virtue of this section. If any
of the above-named organizations do not exist in the county, the
Board of Advisors of West Virginia University may appoint an
additional member for each such vacancy. The committee shall
annually elect from its membership a Chairperson and a secretary.
It shall each year be the duty and responsibility of the
county extension service committee:
(1) To enter into a memorandum of agreement with the
Cooperative Extension Service of West Virginia University for the
employment of county cooperative extension workers.
(2) To prepare a memorandum of agreement with the county
commission and with the county board of education for their
financial support of extension work.
(3) To give guidance and assistance in the development of the
county cooperative extension service program and in the preparation
of the annual plan of work for the county.
(4) To collect longitudinal, latitudinal, and proper cemetery
name data through county extension agents and/or supervised
designees of such agents regarding the locations of all cemeteries
within West Virginia, including those cemeteries otherwise
referenced in section six, article five-a, chapter thirty-five of
this code. This data shall be collected with global positioning
system devices, and provided to the Director of the Historic
Preservation Section of the Division of Culture and History. This
section shall also serve as a repository for said data.
Such county cooperative extension service committee may on or
before July 1 of each year file with the county commission a
written memorandum of agreement with the cooperative extension
service of West Virginia University for the employment for the next
fiscal year of county extension agents, extension homemaker agents,
associate or assistant agents, and clerical workers.
The county cooperative extension service committee may also
file on or before July 1 of each year with the county board of
education a written memorandum of agreement with the cooperative
extension service of West Virginia University for the employment
for the next fiscal year of 4-H club or youth development agents,
associate or assistant agents, and clerical workers.
If such agreement or agreements are so filed, the county
commission and the county board of education of such county, or
either of them, may annually enter into such agreement or
agreements for the employment for the next fiscal year of such
county extension agents, extension homemaker agents, 4-H Club or
youth development agents, associate or assistant agents, and
clerical workers, or any of them, as may be nominated by the
cooperative extension service of West Virginia University, and
approved in writing by at least five members of the county
extension service committee.
Salaries and expenses of all such county extension workers
shall be paid by the cooperative extension service, the county
commission, and the board of education, or jointly out of such
appropriations as are made by the Legislature, the county
commission and the board of education, separately or in conjunction
with such federal acts as do now, or may hereafter, provide funds
for such purpose. That part of salaries, travel and general office
expense to be provided by the county commission according to the
approved memorandum shall be paid from general county funds.
Whenever the cooperative extension service is required by law
or legislative intent to grant a salary increase to its employees,
the state budget shall include such additional funds as may be
necessary to fully fund such salary increase. It is the intent of
this section that the cooperative extension service shall not be dependent upon county or federal funds or upon the other funds of
the institution or the governing board to meet the costs of such a
salary increase required by law or legislative intent regardless of
the source of the employee's base salary.
Provided, That However,
any decrease by the county of base salary levels of county
extension employees, as exists on June 30 of the year preceding the
year the salary increase is authorized, shall not be funded by the
state.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require the county
extension service committee to collect applicable data regarding
the locations of all cemeteries within West Virginia by county
extension agents and/or supervised designees of such agents, with
the Historic Preservation Section of the Division of Culture and
History acting as the repository for said data.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.