WEST virginia legislature

2017 regular session

Introduced

House Bill 2973

By Delegates Howell, Criss, Ward, C. Romine, Atkinson and Sypolt

[Introduced March 13, 2017; Referred
to the Committee on Education.]

A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated §18-2-26b; and to amend said code by adding thereto a new section, designated §18-11-8b, all relating to requiring the regional education service agencies to cease offering firefighter training courses and vesting the responsibility with the WVU Cooperative Extension Service to continue offering the same or equivalent courses

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 §18-2-26b; and that said code be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated §18-11-8b, all to read as follows:

ARTICLE 2. STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION.

§18-2-26b. Regional education service agencies to cease offering firefighter training courses; responsibility for firefighter training courses to be transferred to WVU Cooperative Extension Service.

Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, any regional education service agency providing firefighter training courses to the general public shall cease offering those courses. The RESA shall not discontinue a course upon the effective date of this legislation, but will allow the course to continue until it is completed. The responsibility for continuing the same, or equivalent, courses to the public shall be transferred to the WVU Cooperative Extension Service in the region, as provided in section eight-b, article eleven of this chapter. The RESA shall coordinate with to WVU Extension Service to transfer any personnel providing firefighter training courses, and to transfer any funding related to the firefighter training program.

ARTICLE 11. WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY.

18-11-8b. Cooperative Extensive Service and firefighter training courses.

Upon the effective date of this section, the Cooperative Extension Service shall be designated as the local agency responsible for offering firefighting training courses to the public. The Cooperative Extension Service shall work closely with the regional education service agencies currently offering these courses to ensure the same, or equivalent courses, are offered to the public by the Cooperative Extension Service.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require RESAs to cease offering firefighting courses and to transfer responsibility for providing those services to the WVU Cooperative Extension Service.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.