Senate Bill No. 177
(By Senator Unger)
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[Introduced January 23, 2007; referred to the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure; and then to the Committee on
Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §5B-1-2 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended; to amend and reenact §5B-2A-1, §5B-2A-3 and
§5B-2A-4 of said code; to amend and reenact §5D-1-4 of said
code; to amend and reenact §5F-2-1 of said code; to amend said
code by adding thereto a new chapter, designated §5H-1-1 and
§5H-1-2; and to amend and reenact §22-3A-7 of said code,
all
relating to the creation of the Division of Energy within the
Department of Commerce; charging the Division of Energy to
develop energy policies; placing the Office of Coalfield
Community Development within the Division of Energy; creating
the position of Executive Director of the Division of Energy;
charging Executive Director of the Division of Energy to
administer functions of the West Virginia Public Energy
Authority; providing executive director acts under the authority of the Secretary of Commerce; providing the
executive director has authority over the Office of Coalfield
Community Development and the Energy Efficiency Program of the
West Virginia Development Office; providing the Public Energy
Authority, the Office of Coalfield Community Development,
executive director and other public agencies develop an energy
policy and development plan and seek public input thereof;
providing executive director is a nonvoting member of the
Public Energy Authority; requiring submission of an energy
policy and development plan to the Governor and Joint
Committee on Government and Finance; setting forth matters to
be addressed in the energy policy and development plan;
providing that the executive director shall prepare an energy
use database; providing that the executive director shall
promote initiatives to enhance the nation's energy security;
providing that the executive director shall encourage the
development of energy infrastructure and strategic resources
that will ensure the continuity of governmental operations in
situations of emergency, inoperativeness or disaster; and
providing funding for the Division of Energy.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §5B-1-2 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted; that §5B-2A-1, §5B-2A-3 and §5B-2A-4 of
said code be amended and reenacted; that §5D-1-4 of said code be amended and reenacted; that §5F-2-1 of said code be amended and
reenacted; that said code be amended by adding thereto a new
chapter, designated §5H-1-1 and §5H-1-2; and that §22-3A-7 of said
code be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 5B. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 1985.
ARTICLE 1. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE.
§5B-1-2. Agencies, boards, commissions, divisions and offices
comprising the Department of Commerce.
The Department of Commerce consists of the following agencies,
boards, commissions, divisions and offices, including all of the
allied, advisory, affiliated or related entities, which are
incorporated in and administered as part of the Department of
Commerce:
(1) Division of Labor provided in article one, chapter
twenty-one of this code, which includes:
(A) Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission provided
in article three-a, chapter twenty-one of this code; and
(B) Board of Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety
provided in article nine, chapter twenty-one of this code;
(2) Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training provided in
article one, chapter twenty-two-a of this code. The following
boards are transferred to the Office of Miners' Health, Safety and
Training for purposes of administrative support and liaison with
the Office of the Governor:
(A) Board of Coal Mine Health and Safety and Coal Mine Safety
and Technical Review Committee provided in article six, chapter
twenty-two-a of this code;
(B) Board of Miner Training, Education and Certification
provided in article seven, chapter twenty-two-a of this code; and
(C) Mine Inspectors' Examining Board provided in article nine,
chapter twenty-two-a of this code;
(3) The West Virginia Development Office, which includes the
Division of Tourism and the Tourism Commission, provided in article
two, chapter five-b of this code;
(4) Division of Natural Resources and Natural Resources
Commission provided in article one, chapter twenty of this code;
(5) Division of Forestry provided in article one-a, chapter
nineteen of this code;
(6) Geological and Economic Survey provided in article two,
chapter twenty-nine of this code;
and
(7) The Bureau of Employment Programs provided in chapter
twenty-one-a of this code;
and
(8) Division of Energy provided in article one, chapter five-h
of this code.
ARTICLE 2A. OFFICE OF COALFIELD COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT.
§5B-2A-1. Legislative findings and declaration.
The Legislature hereby finds and declares the following:
(a) Coal mining has made and continues to make significant contributions to the economy of West Virginia. These contributions
include the creation of quality jobs that pay high wages and
provide good benefits; the consequent stimulation and support of
mining contractors, suppliers of mining equipment and services,
other mining-related industries and numerous providers of goods and
services that are indirectly related to coal mining and dependent
upon its existence and prosperity; the generation of significant
severance and other tax revenues that support important economic
development, infrastructure and education initiatives in mining
communities and throughout the state; the support of civic,
education and service groups in mining communities; and in the case
of surface-mining operations, including mountaintop mining, the
creation of much-needed flat land for economic development and
recreational uses.
(b) The development and increasing prominence of
surface-mining operations, including mountaintop mining, has
brought increasingly high levels of productivity, safety and
efficiency to the state's mining industry, enabling the recovery of
coal that could not otherwise be mined and marketed profitably,
increasing the severance tax revenues and other economic benefits
described in subsection (a) above and ensuring the competitiveness
of the state's coal industry from a national and international
perspective.
(c) Where implemented, surface-mining operations, particularly mountaintop mining, tend to extract most, if not all, of the
recoverable coal reserves in an accelerated fashion. For a state
long dependent on the employment and revenue coal mining provides,
this reality should be sobering and there is no place in which the
comprehension of this reality is more crucial than the coalfields
of West Virginia. Long dependent primarily on mining, this area
must plan for a future without coal. The state and its
subdivisions have a legitimate interest in securing that future.
(d) The coal industry and those related to the extraction of
mineral resources benefit from the mining of our state's coal
through mining practices which impact its citizens -- some in a
negative way -- and through practices which will extract
significant portions of coal reserves in an accelerated fashion.
Those industries must therefore accept a greater responsibility to
help address the long-term needs of the communities and citizens
impacted by their activities.
(e) Once it becomes public knowledge that a permit is being
sought, the marketability of property may change and the relative
bargaining power of the parties may change with it. The potential
for negative impact on those living in communities near
surface-mining operations may limit the options and bargaining
power of the property owners.
(f) Surface-mining operations, including mountaintop mining,
present unique challenges to the coal mining industry and the state and its citizens, especially those living and working in
communities that rely heavily upon these methods of mining. This
requires that these communities, in conjunction with county
commissions, state, local, county and regional development
authorities, landowners and civic, community and business groups
and interested citizens, develop plans related to the communities'
long-term economic viability.
(g) The
West Virginia Development Office Division of Energy,
as the state agency charged with
economic energy policy and
development activities, shall take a more active role in the
long-term economic development of communities in which these mining
methods are prevalent and shall establish a formal process to
assist property owners in the determination of the fair market
value where the property owner and the coal company voluntarily
enter into an agreement relating to the purchase and sale of such
property.
§5B-2A-3. Definitions.
(a) For the purpose of this article, the following terms have
the meanings ascribed to them:
(1) "Division" means the Division of Environmental Protection
established in article one, chapter twenty-two of this code;
(2) "Office" means the Office of Coalfield Community
Development; and
(3) "West Virginia Development Office" means the office established in article two of this chapter.
(b) Unless used in a context that clearly requires a different
meaning or as otherwise defined herein, terms used in this article
shall have the definitions set forth in this section.
§5B-2A-4. Office of Coalfield Community Development.
(a) The Office of Coalfield Community Development is hereby
established within the
West Virginia Development Office Division of
Energy.
(b) The executive director
shall appoint a chief to
administer the office, who will serve at the will and pleasure of
the executive director of the West Virginia Development Office of
the Division of Energy may appoint a chief to administer the
office, who will serve at the will and pleasure of the Executive
Director of the Division of Energy.
CHAPTER 5D. PUBLIC ENERGY AUTHORITY.
ARTICLE 1. PUBLIC ENERGY AUTHORITY OF THE STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA.
§5D-1-4. West Virginia Public Energy Authority continued; West
Virginia Public Energy Board continued; organization
of authority and board; appointment of board members;
term, compensation and expenses; Director of
Authority; appointment.
(a) The West Virginia Public Energy Authority is continued.
The authority is a governmental instrumentality of the state and a
body corporate. The exercise by the authority of the powers conferred by this article and the carrying out of its purposes and
duties are essential governmental functions and for a public
purpose.
(b) The authority is controlled, managed and operated by a
seven-member board known as the West Virginia Public Energy
Authority Board, which is continued. The seven members include the
Governor or designee; the Secretary of the Department of
Environmental Protection or designee; the Director of the Economic
Development Authority or designee; and four members representing
the general public. The public members are appointed by the
Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, for
terms of one, two, three and four years, respectively.
(c) On the thirty-first day of March, two thousand five, the
terms of all appointed members, appointed prior to the amendment of
this section during the first extraordinary session of the
seventy-seventh Legislature, expire. Not later than the
thirty-first day of March, two thousand five, the Governor appoints
the public members required in subsection (b) of this section to
assume the duties of the office immediately, pending the advice and
consent of the Senate.
(d) The successor of each appointed member is appointed for a
four-year term. A vacancy is filled by appointment by the Governor
in the same manner as the original appointment. A member appointed
to fill a vacancy serves for the remainder of the unexpired term. Each board member serves until a successor is appointed.
(e) No more than three of the public members may at any one
time belong to the same political party. No more than two public
members may be employed by or associated with any industry the
authority is empowered to affect. One member shall be a person
with significant experience in the advocacy of environmental
protection. Board members may be reappointed to serve additional
terms.
(f) All members of the board shall be citizens of the state.
Before engaging in their duties, each member of the board shall
comply with the requirements of article one, chapter six of this
code and give bond in the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars in
the manner provided in article two, chapter six of this code. The
Governor may remove any board member for cause as provided in
article six, chapter six of this code.
(g) The Governor serves as chair. The board annually elects
one of its public members as vice chair, and appoints a
secretary-treasurer who need not be a member of the board.
(h) Four members of the board constitute a quorum and the
affirmative vote of the majority of members present at any meeting
is necessary for any action taken by vote of the board. A vacancy
in the membership of the board does not impair the rights of a
quorum by such vote to exercise all the rights and perform all the
duties of the board and the authority.
(i) The person appointed as secretary-treasurer, including a
board member if so appointed, shall give bond in the sum of fifty
thousand dollars in the manner provided in article two, chapter six
of this code.
(j) Each public member receives the same compensation and
expense reimbursement as is paid to members of the Legislature for
their interim duties as recommended by the Citizens Legislative
Compensation Commission and authorized by law for each day or
portion thereof engaged in the discharge of official duties. All
expenses incurred by the board shall be paid in a manner consistent
with guidelines of the Travel Management Office of the Department
of Administration and are payable solely from funds of the
authority or from funds appropriated to the authority for such
purpose by the Legislature. Liability or obligation is not
incurred by the authority beyond the extent to which moneys are
available from funds of the authority or from such appropriations.
(k)
The Governor may appoint an executive director, with the
advice and consent of the Senate, who serves at the Governor's will
and pleasure. The director In addition to such other duties and
responsibilities as may be prescribed in this code, the Executive
Director of the Division of Energy is responsible for managing and
administering the daily functions of the authority and for
performing all other functions necessary to the effective operation
of the authority.
CHAPTER 5F. REORGANIZATION OF THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH OF STATE
GOVERNMENT.
ARTICLE 2. WEST VIRGINIA VENTURE CAPITAL ACT.
§5F-2-1. Transfer and incorporation of agencies and boards; funds.
(a) The following agencies and boards, including all of the
allied, advisory, affiliated or related entities and funds
associated with any agency or board, are incorporated in and
administered as a part of the Department of Administration:
(1) Building Commission provided in article six, chapter five
of this code;
(2) Public Employees Insurance Agency and Public Employees
Insurance Agency Advisory Board provided in article sixteen,
chapter five of this code;
(3) Governor's Mansion Advisory Committee provided for in
article five, chapter five-a of this code;
(4) Commission on Uniform State Laws provided in article
one-a, chapter twenty-nine of this code;
(5) Education and State Employees Grievance Board provided for
in article twenty-nine, chapter eighteen of this code and article
six-a, chapter twenty-nine of this code;
(6) Board of Risk and Insurance Management provided for in
article twelve, chapter twenty-nine of this code;
(7) Boundary Commission provided in article twenty-three,
chapter twenty-nine of this code;
(8) Public Defender Services provided in article twenty-one,
chapter twenty-nine of this code;
(9) Division of Personnel provided in article six, chapter
twenty-nine of this code;
(10) The West Virginia Ethics Commission provided in article
two, chapter six-b of this code; and
(11) Consolidated Public Retirement Board provided in article
ten-d, chapter five of this code.
(b) The following agencies and boards, including all of the
allied, advisory, affiliated or related entities and funds
associated with any agency or board, are incorporated in and
administered as a part of the Department of Commerce:
(1) Division of Labor provided in article one, chapter
twenty-one of this code, which includes:
(A) Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission provided
in article three-a, chapter twenty-one of this code; and
(B) Board of Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety
provided in article nine, chapter twenty-one of this code;
(2) Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training provided in
article one, chapter twenty-two-a of this code. The following
boards are transferred to the Office of Miners' Health, Safety and
Training for purposes of administrative support and liaison with
the Office of the Governor:
(A) Board of Coal Mine Health and Safety and Coal Mine Safety and Technical Review Committee provided in article six, chapter
twenty-two-a of this code;
(B) Board of Miner Training, Education and Certification
provided in article seven, chapter twenty-two-a of this code; and
(C) Mine Inspectors' Examining Board provided in article nine,
chapter twenty-two-a of this code;
(3) The West Virginia Development Office, which includes the
Division of Tourism and the Tourism Commission provided in article
two, chapter five-b of this code;
(4) Division of Natural Resources and Natural Resources
Commission provided in article one, chapter twenty of this code;
(5) Division of Forestry provided in article one-a, chapter
nineteen of this code;
(6) Geological and Economic Survey provided in article two,
chapter twenty-nine of this code; and
(7) The Bureau of Employment Programs provided in chapter
twenty-one-a of this code;
and
(8) Division of Energy provided in article one, chapter five-h
of this code.
(c) The Economic Development Authority provided in article
fifteen, chapter thirty-one of this code is continued as an
independent agency within the executive branch.
(d) The Water Development Authority and Board provided in
article one, chapter twenty-two-c of this code is continued as an independent agency within the executive branch.
(e) Workers' Compensation Commission provided in article one,
chapter twenty-three of this code is continued as an independent
agency within the executive branch.
(f) The following agencies and boards, including all of the
allied, advisory and affiliated entities, are transferred to the
Department of Environmental Protection for purposes of
administrative support and liaison with the Office of the Governor:
(1) Air Quality Board provided in article two, chapter
twenty-two-b of this code;
(2) Solid Waste Management Board provided in article three,
chapter twenty-two-c of this code;
(3) Environmental Quality Board, or its successor board,
provided in article three, chapter twenty-two-b of this code;
(4) Surface Mine Board provided in article four, chapter
twenty-two-b of this code;
(5) Oil and Gas Inspectors' Examining Board provided in
article seven, chapter twenty-two-c of this code;
(6) Shallow Gas Well Review Board provided in article eight,
chapter twenty-two-c of this code; and
(7) Oil and Gas Conservation Commission provided in article
nine, chapter twenty-two-c of this code.
(g) The following agencies and boards, including all of the
allied, advisory, affiliated or related entities and funds associated with any agency or board, are incorporated in and
administered as a part of the Department of Education and the Arts:
(1) Library Commission provided in article one, chapter ten of
this code;
(2) Educational Broadcasting Authority provided in article
five, chapter ten of this code;
(3) Division of Culture and History provided in article one,
chapter twenty-nine of this code;
(4) Division of Rehabilitation Services provided in section
two, article ten-a, chapter eighteen of this code.
(h) The following agencies and boards, including all of the
allied, advisory, affiliated or related entities and funds
associated with any agency or board, are incorporated in and
administered as a part of the Department of Health and Human
Resources:
(1) Human Rights Commission provided in article eleven,
chapter five of this code;
(2) Division of Human Services provided in article two,
chapter nine of this code;
(3) Bureau for Public Health provided in article one, chapter
sixteen of this code;
(4) Office of Emergency Medical Services and Advisory Council
provided in article four-c, chapter sixteen of this code;
(5) Health Care Authority provided in article twenty-nine-b, chapter sixteen of this code;
(6) Commission on Mental Retardation provided in article
fifteen, chapter twenty-nine of this code;
(7) Women's Commission provided in article twenty, chapter
twenty-nine of this code; and
(8) The Child Support Enforcement Division provided in chapter
forty-eight of this code.
(i) The following agencies and boards, including all of the
allied, advisory, affiliated or related entities and funds
associated with any agency or board, are incorporated in and
administered as a part of the Department of Military Affairs and
Public Safety:
(1) Adjutant General's Department provided in article one-a,
chapter fifteen of this code;
(2) Armory Board provided in article six, chapter fifteen of
this code;
(3) Military Awards Board provided in article one-g, chapter
fifteen of this code;
(4) West Virginia State Police provided in article two,
chapter fifteen of this code;
(5) Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management and
Disaster Recovery Board provided in article five, chapter fifteen
of this code and Emergency Response Commission provided in article
five-a of said chapter;
(6) Sheriffs' Bureau provided in article eight, chapter
fifteen of this code;
(7) Division of Corrections provided in chapter twenty-five of
this code;
(8) Fire Commission provided in article three, chapter
twenty-nine of this code;
(9) Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority provided
in article twenty, chapter thirty-one of this code;
(10) Board of Probation and Parole provided in article twelve,
chapter sixty-two of this code; and
(11) Division of Veterans' Affairs and Veterans' Council
provided in article one, chapter nine-a of this code.
(j) The following agencies and boards, including all of the
allied, advisory, affiliated or related entities and funds
associated with any agency or board, are incorporated in and
administered as a part of the Department of Revenue:
(1) Tax Division provided in article one, chapter eleven of
this code;
(2) Racing Commission provided in article twenty-three,
chapter nineteen of this code;
(3) Lottery Commission and position of Lottery Director
provided in article twenty-two, chapter twenty-nine of this code;
(4) Agency of Insurance Commissioner provided in article two,
chapter thirty-three of this code;
(5) Office of Alcohol Beverage Control Commissioner provided
in article sixteen, chapter eleven of this code and article two,
chapter sixty of this code;
(6) Board of Banking and Financial Institutions provided in
article three, chapter thirty-one-a of this code;
(7) Lending and Credit Rate Board provided in chapter
forty-seven-a of this code;
(8) Division of Banking provided in article two, chapter
thirty-one-a of this code;
(9) The State Budget Office provided in article two of this
chapter;
(10) The Municipal Bond Commission provided in article three,
chapter thirteen of this code;
(11) The Office of Tax Appeals provided in article ten-a,
chapter eleven of this code; and
(12) The State Athletic Commission provided in article five-a,
chapter twenty-nine of this code.
(k) The following agencies and boards, including all of the
allied, advisory, affiliated or related entities and funds
associated with any agency or board, are incorporated in and
administered as a part of the Department of Transportation:
(1) Division of Highways provided in article two-a, chapter
seventeen of this code;
(2) Parkways, Economic Development and Tourism Authority provided in article sixteen-a, chapter seventeen of this code;
(3) Division of Motor Vehicles provided in article two,
chapter seventeen-a of this code;
(4) Driver's Licensing Advisory Board provided in article two,
chapter seventeen-b of this code;
(5) Aeronautics Commission provided in article two-a, chapter
twenty-nine of this code;
(6) State Rail Authority provided in article eighteen, chapter
twenty-nine of this code; and
(7) Port Authority provided in article sixteen-b, chapter
seventeen of this code.
(l) Except for powers, authority and duties that have been
delegated to the secretaries of the departments by the provisions
of section two of this article, the position of administrator and
the powers, authority and duties of each administrator and agency
are not affected by the enactment of this chapter.
(m) Except for powers, authority and duties that have been
delegated to the secretaries of the departments by the provisions
of section two of this article, the existence, powers, authority
and duties of boards and the membership, terms and qualifications
of members of the boards are not affected by the enactment of this
chapter. All boards that are appellate bodies or are independent
decision makers shall not have their appellate or independent
decision-making status affected by the enactment of this chapter.
(n) Any department previously transferred to and incorporated
in a department by prior enactment of this section means a division
of the appropriate department. Wherever reference is made to any
department transferred to and incorporated in a department created
in section two, article one of this chapter, the reference means a
division of the appropriate department and any reference to a
division of a department so transferred and incorporated means a
section of the appropriate division of the department.
(o) When an agency, board or commission is transferred under
a bureau or agency other than a department headed by a secretary
pursuant to this section, that transfer is solely for purposes of
administrative support and liaison with the Office of the Governor,
a department secretary or a bureau. Nothing in this section
extends the powers of department secretaries under section two of
this article to any person other than a department secretary and
nothing limits or abridges the statutory powers and duties of
statutory commissioners or officers pursuant to this code.
CHAPTER 5H. WEST VIRGINIA ENERGY POLICY AND DEVELOPMENT ACT.
ARTICLE 1. ENERGY DEVELOPMENT OFFICE OF THE STATE OF WEST
VIRGINIA.
§5H-1-1. Short title.
This chapter shall be known and cited as the "West Virginia
Energy Policy and Development Act."
§5H-1-2. Purpose; office of executive director for energy development; director to be member of Public Energy
Authority; Director with Assistance of the Public
Energy Authority and Office of Coalfield Development
to submit energy policy and development plan; contents
of energy policy and development plan; and executive
director to promote energy initiatives.
(a) The Division of Energy is hereby created as a state agency
under the Department of Commerce. The Division of Energy may
receive federal funds. The Division of Energy shall be
administered by an executive director, who shall be appointed by
the Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and
shall continue to serve until his or her successor is appointed and
qualified as provided. The executive director shall be selected
with special preference and consideration given to his or her
training, experience, capacity and interest in energy policy and
development activities. Creation of this division and position is
intended to provide leadership for developing energy policies
emphasizing the increased efficiency of energy use, the increased
development and production of new and existing domestic energy
sources, the increased awareness of energy use on the environment
and the economy, dependable, efficient, and economical statewide
energy systems capable of supporting the needs of the state,
increased energy self-sufficiency where the ratio of indigenous to
imported energy use is increased, reduce the ratio energy consumption to economic activity, and maintain low-cost energy.
The state government polices and development plans shall also
provide direction for the private sector.
(b) The executive director shall administer the daily
operations of the Public Energy Authority provided under the
provisions of section one, article one, chapter five-d, et seq., of
this code. The executive director shall also have authority over
the Office of Coalfield Community Development, created by the
provisions of section one, article two-a, chapter five-b, et seq.,
of this code, and the energy efficiency program existing under the
West Virginia Development Office which are hereby transferred to
the Division of Energy. The executive director shall effectuate
coordination of these entities relative to the purposes provided in
this article.
(c) The Public Energy Authority, in addition to
responsibilities as prescribed elsewhere in this code or by law,
shall develop an energy policy. The Public Energy Authority shall
report back to the Governor and the Joint Committee on Government
and Finance before the first day of December, two thousand seven,
with an energy policy. The energy policy shall be a five-year plan
setting forth the state's energy policies and shall provide a
direction for the private sector. Prior to the expiration of the
energy policy, the Public Energy Authority shall begin review of
the policy and submit a revised energy policy to the Governor and the Joint Committee on Government and Finance six months before the
expiration of the policy.
(d) The executive director shall be a nonvoting, ex officio
member of the Public Energy Authority and as such shall attend and
participate in all official meetings and public hearings conducted
under the auspices of the authority.
(e) In conjunction with the Public Energy Authority, the
executive director shall prepare and submit an annual energy
development plan to the Governor and the Joint Committee on
Government and Finance on or before the first day of December of
each year. The development plan shall relate to the Division of
Energy's implementation of the energy policy and the activities of
the Division of Energy during the previous year. The development
plan shall include any recommended legislation. The Office of
Coalfield Community Development, the energy efficiency program, the
Department of Environmental Protection, and the Public Service
Commission, in addition to their other duties prescribed by this
code, shall assist the Public Energy Authority and the executive
director in the development of an energy policy and related
development plans. The energy development plan shall set forth the
plans for implementing the state's energy policy and shall provide
a direction for the private sector.
(f) The Public Energy Authority shall hold public hearings and
meetings with notice to receive public input regarding proposed energy policies and development plans. The energy policy and
development plans required by subsections (c) and (e) of this
section shall address increased efficiency of energy use,
traditional and alternative energy, water as a resource and a
component of energy production, energy distribution systems, the
siting of energy facilities, the increased development and
production of new and existing domestic energy sources, increased
awareness of energy use on the environment and the economy, energy
infrastructure, the development and implementation of renewable,
clean, technically innovative and advanced energy projects in this
state. Projects may include, without limitation, solar and wind
energy, low-impact hydro power, geothermal, biomass, landfill gas,
fuel cells, renewable hydrogen fuel technologies, waste coal,
coal-mine methane, coal gasification to ultraclean fuels, solid
waste to fuel grade ethanol, and coal liquefaction technologies.
(g) The executive director may propose rules for legislative
approval in accordance with the provisions of article three,
chapter twenty-nine-a, designed to implement an energy policy and
development plan in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
(h) The energy policy and development plan required by
subsections (c) and (e) of this section shall identify and report
on the energy infrastructure in this state and include without
limitation energy infrastructure related to protecting the state's
essential data, information systems and critical government services in times of emergency, inoperativeness, or disaster. In
consultation with the Director of the Division of Homeland Security
and Emergency Management, the executive director shall encourage
the development of energy infrastructure and strategic resources
that will insure the continuity of governmental operations in
situations of emergency, inoperativeness or disaster.
(i) In preparing or revising the energy policy and development
plan, the executive director, the Public Energy Authority and the
Office of Coalfield Community Development may rely upon internal
staff reports or the advice of outside advisors or consultants and
may procure such services with the consent of the Secretary of
Commerce. The executive director may also involve national, state,
and local government leadership and energy experts.
(j) The executive director shall prepare an energy use
database, including without limitation, end-use applications and
infrastructure needs for different classes of energy users
including residential, commercial and industrial users, data
regarding the interdependencies and sources of electricity, oil,
coal, water, and gas infrastructure, data regarding energy use of
schools and state-owned facilities, and collect data on the impact
of the energy policy and development plan on the decisions and
strategies of energy users of the state.
(k) The executive director shall promote collaboration between
the state's universities and colleges, private industry and nonprofit organizations to encourage energy research and leverage
available federal energy research and development resources.
(l) The executive director shall promote initiatives to
enhance the nation's energy security through research and
development directed at transforming the state's energy resources
into the resources that fuel the nation.
CHAPTER 22. ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES.
ARTICLE 3A. OFFICE OF EXPLOSIVES AND BLASTING.
§22-3A-7. Funding.
(a) The office shall assess each operator permitted under the
provisions of this chapter a fee on each quantity of explosive
material used for any purpose on the surface-mining operations.
(b) The office shall propose a legislative rule for
promulgation in accordance with article three, chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code, establishing the fees required by this
section. The fees shall be calculated to generate sufficient money
to be distributed equally to provide for the operation of this
office and
the office of coalfield community development Division
of Energy as provided for in article
two-a one, chapter
five-b
five-h of this code.
(c) The office shall deposit all moneys received from these
fees into a special revenue fund to be known as the "Mountaintop
Removal Fund" in the State Treasury to be expended by the offices
in the performance of their duties. The expenditure of moneys in the fund is not authorized from collections, but shall be
appropriated by the Legislature.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create the Division of
Energy and the position of executive director to coordinate
governmental activities intended to develop an energy policy and
development plan including innovative alternative and traditional
sources of energy. Towards these ends the bill contains provisions
addressing the following: (1) Providing the executive director
acts under the authority of the Secretary of Commerce; (2)
providing the executive director administers daily operations of
the Public Energy Authority, the Office of Coalfield Community
Development, and the energy efficiency program of the Department of
Commerce; (3) requiring the Public Energy Authority develop an
energy policy; (4) providing the executive director is a nonvoting
member of the authority; (5) requiring the executive director to
develop a development plan implementing the energy policy; (6)
requiring the submission of an energy policy and development plan
to the Governor and Joint Committee on Government and Finance; (7)
setting forth the matters to be addressed in the energy policy
statement; (8) requiring the development of an energy use database;
and (9) authorizing the executive director to promote energy
initiatives and provides for funding.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
§5H-1-1 and §5H-1-2 are new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.
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