Senate Bill No. 716
(By Senators Unger, Craigo, Bowman, Fanning, Sprouse, McCabe,
Jackson, Kessler, Helmick and Plymale)
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[Originating in the Select Committee on Economic Development;
reported March 30, 2001.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section three, article two, chapter
five-b of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended; to further amend said chapter by
adding thereto two new articles, designated articles three and
seven; and to amend chapter twenty-nine-a of said code by
adding thereto a new article, designated article three-c, all
relating to allowing county economic development authorities
to enter into joint projects; setting forth economic
development vision and goals for the state; performance
measures and indicators; economic development report;
accountability for new and existing programs; elements of an
effective incentive evaluation system; unified development
budget; joint commission on economic development; and rule-
making review for rules relating to economic development.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section three, article two, chapter five-b of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by
amended and reenacted; that said chapter be further amended by
adding thereto two new articles, designated articles three and
seven; and to amend chapter twenty-nine-a of said code by adding
thereto a new article, designated article three-c, all to read as
follows:
CHAPTER 5B. ECONOMIC COMPETITIVENESS ACT.
ARTICLE 2. WEST VIRGINIA DEVELOPMENT OFFICE.
§5B-2-3. Powers and duties of council for community and economic
development.
(a) The council for community and economic development shall
enhance economic growth and development through the development of
a comprehensive economic development strategy for West Virginia.
"Comprehensive economic development strategy" means a plan that
outlines strategies and activities designed to continue, diversify
or expand the economic base of the state as a whole; create jobs;
develop a highly skilled work force; facilitate business access to
capital, including venture capital; advertise and market the
resources offered by the state with respect to the needs of
business and industry; facilitate cooperation among local, regional
and private economic development enterprises; improve
infrastructure on a state, regional and community level; improve
the business climate generally; and leverage funding from sources
other than the state, including federal and private sources.
(b) The council shall develop a certified development
community program and provide funding assistance to the participating economic development corporations or authorities
through a matching grant program. The council shall establish
criteria for awarding matching grants to the corporations or
authorities within the limits of funds appropriated by the
Legislature for the program. The matching grants to corporations
or authorities eligible under the criteria shall be in the amount
of thirty thousand dollars for each fiscal year, if sufficient
funds are appropriated by the Legislature. The West Virginia
development office shall recognize existing county, regional or
multicounty corporations or authorities where appropriate.
In developing its plan, the West Virginia development office
shall consider resources and technical support available through
other agencies, both public and private, including, but not limited
to, the state college and university systems; the West Virginia
housing development fund; the West Virginia economic development
authority; the West Virginia parkways, economic development and
tourism authority; the West Virginia round table; the West Virginia
chamber of commerce; regional planning and development councils;
regional partnership for progress councils; and state
appropriations.
(c) The council shall promulgate rules to carry out the
purposes and programs of the West Virginia development office to
include generally the programs available, and the procedure and
eligibility of applications relating to assistance under the
programs. These rules are not subject to the provisions of chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code, but shall be filed with the secretary of state.
(d) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that the
citizens of the state would benefit from coordinated economic
development efforts and that to encourage cooperation and
coordination, county economic development authorities should share
in the tax revenues derived from joint programs regardless of the
county in which they are located.
(e) Any three or more county development authorities may
contract to share expenses for and revenues derived from joint
economic development projects within their respective geographic
territories. Notwithstanding any other section of the code to the
contrary, county development authorities may contract to distribute
on a pro rata basis proceeds derived from joint economic
development projects.
ARTICLE 3. WEST VIRGINIA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY: A VISION
SHARED.
§5B-3-1. Legislative findings.
(a) Per Capita Income is Low and Growing Slowly. -- West
Virginia's per capita income, one of the most direct indicators of
wealth creation and overall economic strength, is below the
national level. In addition, per capita income in West Virginia is
increasing at a slower pace than the rest of the nation, causing
West Virginians to fall even further behind. Poverty is high
throughout West Virginia and pockets of extreme poverty exist in
the central and southern parts of the state. Every county in the
state has a per capita income below the national average. Many counties still have double-digit unemployment rates. Developing
strategies to deal with these persistent problems will be
fundamental to improving wealth creation and strengthening the
economic base.
(b) The Population is Aging Rapidly. -- West Virginia has the
highest median age in the nation at thirty-eight and one tenth
years. The national average is thirty-four and nine tenths years.
(c) Educational Attainment is Poor, But Improving. --
Educational attainment is a key indicator of workforce quality and
largely dictates the kinds of jobs an area can support. West
Virginia continues to lag behind its neighboring states and the
nation in educational attainment. However, educational attainment
in West Virginia is improving, and high school dropout rates are
very low.
(d) The Economic Structure is Not Improving. -- The national
shift away from a manufacturing-based economy has had profound
impacts on West Virginia. Declines in the manufacturing and mining
sectors have resulted in the loss of tens of thousands of jobs in
the state. While these lost jobs have been largely replaced by the
expanding services, sector jobs that do pay well generally require
specific skills and a higher level of education. The relatively
poor educational attainment in West Virginia means that many
workers are not adequately prepared for these jobs. Therefore,
well-paying jobs may go unfilled despite relatively high
unemployment rates.
(e) Wages in West Virginia are below national averages for all sectors except mining. Average annual earnings in West Virginia
were approximately eighty-two of the national average.
(f) Market restrictions between borders are being reduced or
eliminated and modern communication and transportation networks are
enabling jobs to flow anywhere in the world. Knowledge-based firms
in the new economy locate where educated and skilled workers live,
where opportunities for lifelong learning exist and where the
quality of life is valued.
(g) Most West Virginians have an idea about what has to happen
to make a change in West Virginia and are ready to make the change.
The state needs a clear, shared vision and a strategy that people
can get behind.
(h) West Virginia is steering a new course to succeed in the
new economy. The state needs to adopt forward looking visions to
guide the state in responding to these forces of change and help
ensure a brighter future for all of our citizens and businesses.
§5B-3-2. Legislative intent.
(a) West Virginia: A shared vision statement. -- West
Virginia's strong commitment to future generations has created a
vibrant and diverse economy balancing quality jobs and the state's
irreplaceable natural beauty. West Virginia has a highly skilled
and educated workforce, is a leader in innovation and offers an
excellent quality of life for all residents.
(b) "West Virginia: A vision shared" vision statement is meant
to be used as a touchstone to ensure that actions being undertaken
are in-line and on-course.
(c) It is the intent of the Legislature to set economic
development goals for the state and that the joint commission on
economic development, created in article three-c, chapter twenty-
nine-a of this code, and all agencies under the commission use the
goals in bringing all agencies performing economic development and
workforce investment activities together in improving the economic
situation in this state.
(d) Furthermore, it is the intent of the Legislature that the
state work toward accomplishing three overall goals which include:
(1) The development of a comprehensive statewide economic
development strategy. This article is intended to serve this
purpose;
(2) The effective statewide coordination of economic
development programs. Article three-c, chapter twenty-nine-a is
intended to serve this purpose; and
(3) The development of meaningful agency and program
benchmarks and performance-based evaluations
. Article seven of
this chapter is intended to serve this purpose.
§5B-3-3. Economic issue areas and goals.
(a) The West Virginia council for community and economic
development commissioned an assessment of the economic
competitiveness of the state, solicited input from various
stakeholders and citizens throughout the state and developed an
economic development strategy.
(b) The "West Virginia economic development strategy: A vision
shared!" articulates the fundamental values and goals for the state to rally around to become economically competitive in the twenty-
first century. It is important to keep in mind that this strategy
serves to identify the major issues that must be addressed in West
Virginia and the goals to be achieved to move this state forward
and create a positive future.
(c) The key issue areas that West Virginia must address were
narrowed to the following:
(1) Intellectual infrastructure in the twenty-first century;
(2) New economy: New challenges and new solutions;
(3) Results-based government: Planning for the future; and
(4) Building bridges and empowering citizens.
§5B-3-4. Intellectual infrastructure in the twenty-first century.
(a) Economic prosperity in today's "information age" requires
a highly skilled and productive workforce and worker skills have
been identified as one of the greatest competitive challenges
facing the nation today. Significant shifts that have created this
challenge include changes in the workplace environment due to
information technology, the opening of global competition, the
aging of a great proportion of the workforce and welfare reform.
(b) Each day, businesses move across regional, state and
national borders, companies restructure to improve their
competitiveness and workers are told they must acquire and
demonstrate different skills and competencies. The nation has seen
the rapid spread of a new work order in a post-industrial,
information-based economy. What has become unmistakably clear is
the tie between educational attainment and wealth creation. Therefore, new skills must be learned in order to fill the new jobs
being created every day. As this continues to build, workers'
knowledge and skill sets will be even more important as we move
into the twenty-first century economy.
(c) West Virginia needs to invest in our citizens to attract
New Economy workers and businesses. The wage premium on skills and
education is growing. To survive and even thrive in this new job
environment, workers will need to acquire new skills and be
prepared to constantly reinvent themselves. Those who enhance
their skills will experience wage growth. Those who do not will
experience wage stagnation or even real wage decline.
(d) The following goals are established relating to this issue
area that addresses such critical goals as educational attainment,
technical education, worker investment, research and development,
and lifelong learning:
(1) Educational Attainment. -- The level of educational
attainment and income level of people have been inextricably linked
through extensive studies. The more education and training a
person has completed, the higher the income potential that person
possesses. West Virginia needs to focus on reducing high-school
dropouts, increasing the proportion of high school graduates going
on to college, and improving test scores of primary and secondary
students.
Raising standards, assessing progress and ensuring
accountability are effective strategies our state uses to improve
student performance. Reforms in teacher preparation and collaboration with the higher education community also are crucial
for ensuring that secondary school graduates are prepared for post-
secondary education and that teachers are well prepared to help
students meet higher standards. The state should continue striving
to accomplish the following:
(A) To establish high academic standards for student
achievement. Input from higher education institutions is critical
to ensure that K-12 standards match the expectations of higher
education admissions staff and faculty;
(B) To create assessments aligned with state standards. Well-
crafted assessments aligned with state standards provide important
information about student progress toward state standards and can
help teachers target instruction to student weaknesses;
(C) To establish policies to hold schools, educators and
students accountable for student learning. Accountability systems
include clear standards, assessments to measure progress on the
standards, indicators of performance public reports about
performance, rewards for meeting standards, consequences for
persistent failure and assistance for struggling or low-performing
schools, teachers or students. Instead of simply reporting test
scores, accountability systems also measure student performance,
analyze results and suggest strategies for change;
(D) To invest in early childhood development to ensure that
children are ready to learn at an early age;
(E) To make progress in elementary and secondary (K-12)
education reform, including improvements in teacher quality to ensure that students are ready for post-secondary education and the
workplace;
(F) To invest in higher education and encourage it to be more
market-driven and responsive to the needs of the new economy
workers and businesses; and
(G) To establish partnerships between public agencies and the
private sector which help integrate workforce systems with
secondary and post-secondary education and employer-based training
systems to promote skill acquisition and lifelong learning for all
workers.
(2) Community and Technical Education. -- A specific focus on
community and technical education needs to be adopted and
implemented in West Virginia. In particular, the state needs to
move away from the traditionally isolated and limited vocational
programming towards a systematic approach to teaching technical
skills that employers need today. Therefore, a strong community
and technical education system needs to be established that is
responsive to business' needs throughout the state.
(3) Workforce Investment. -- Training, whether it be on-the-
job, skills upgrades or basic employability, is a priority for
employers and training providers alike in the new economy. Many
times, people with jobs are overlooked as needing training, since
education and training are seen as separate items. All residents
of West Virginia need to be trained and retrained for them to
remain competitive. The state should support workforce investment
to raise the skills of New Economy workers and help them with the transition to higher paying jobs. Therefore, the workforce
investment system needs to:
(A) Be more closely aligned with the standards and practices
that are part of a businesses internal human resources systems;
(B) Move beyond initial job preparation and placement to
include ongoing skill development and career progression for
employed worker and for the most disadvantaged in the labor market;
(C) More effectively exploit work-based learning opportunities
by structuring work experience and entry-level jobs for learning;
(D) Develop closer ties with the economic development system
and incorporate market-based strategies into the operations of
organizations so they are more responsive to changing economic
requirements;
(E) Provide post-employment training closely linked to
employers' needs;
(F) Create career pathways to further education and upward
mobility for all workers; and
(G) Be aligned with the advanced technologies, adaptable
workplace structures and higher skill demands of the new economy
workplace.
(4) Research and Development. -- Research and development are
the cornerstones of the new economy. Increased funding needs to be
dedicated to research and development, particularly in the area of
emerging technologies that would benefit the state. The assets
already in place in West Virginia, due largely to federal
facilities, need to be built upon to strategically position the state as a leader in research and development in targeted
technologies. However, it is equally important that higher
education institutions and the private sector become more actively
engaged in collaborative efforts in research and development.
Additionally, technology transfer efforts need to be stepped up
considerably to ensure maximum benefit from current and future
research and development conducted in West Virginia.
(5) Lifelong Learning.-- The role of lifelong learning is
becoming a more critical piece of the overall educational and
training system in the nation. The transition to the new economy
requires all residents and workers to continuing education,
distance learning and other non-traditional approaches to
delivering education services is key to success. The intention of
lifelong learning is to disseminate valuable information to as many
people as possible to maximize the benefit realized by all
residents and workers in the state. Partnerships between public
agencies and the private sector help integrate workforce systems
with secondary and post-secondary education and employer-based
training systems to promote skill acquisition and lifelong learning
for all workers.
§5B-3-5. New economy: new challenges and new solutions.
(a) The economy is changing rapidly. New and different kinds
of jobs are being created every day. The progressive policy
institute defines the new economy as "a knowledge and idea-based
economy where the keys to wealth and job creation are the extent to
which ideas, innovation and technology are embedded in all sectors of the economy". The characteristics of the new economy range from
an increase in knowledge-based jobs and constant technological
innovation to higher levels of entrepreneurial dynamism and
continuous economic churning.
(b) Since much of the focus of the new economy is on people
and their abilities, the future, in many respects, is still rooted
in the past that produced our people. Larger structural trends are
emerging in the structure of production, trade patterns, and the
way organizations deliver value to consumers. The impact of the
new economy permeates the everyday life of all workers and
residents. New challenges have presented themselves in conjunction
with the transformation and thus, new solutions must be instituted.
The new economy is not about passing economic trends or fads;
instead, this profound structural transformation is how the economy
now works.
(c) Now that knowledge is the most important factor of
production, West Virginia must reevaluate the public sector's role
in facilitating the start-up of new businesses, attracting the
workers who power these new businesses and workers to flourish.
(d) The following goals are established relating to this issue
area that addresses such critical goals as diversifying West
Virginia's economy, the formation of capital, increasing
entrepreneurship, integrating technology and restructuring the
state's incentives:
(1) Diversify Economy. -- West Virginia has little choice but
to actively pursue diversification of the state's economy. Still dependent on its industrial heritage, the state has seen job loss
and income loss of extreme proportions over the last two decades.
For example, a concerted effort has to be undertaken on building
the tourism industry--using the competitive advantage of the
natural beauty of the state as the foundation. The services
sector, particularly higher-wage jobs, needs to be the benefactor
of concentrated efforts on upgrading the mix of jobs within West
Virginia. Additionally, the traditional industries already in
place in the state need to become more competitive and continue to
add value to West Virginia's economy, with a key component being
increasing international trade.
(2) Capital Formation. -- Capital formation is an important
commodity in the new economy, since implementing ideas takes not
only time and talent, but money as well. While many types of
business ventures in the New Economy have greater risks, there is
also a greater potential return. Capital formation should be
accomplished through a multiprong approach including seed capital,
venture capital, gap financing and loan guarantees, among others.
(3) Increase Entrepreneurship. -- The majority of new job
creation has been from small-sized and medium-sized businesses in
recent years. This trend is expected to hold strong as the
transition to the new economy continues. Increasing
entrepreneurship needs to be a specific focus, given the rural
nature of the state and the lack of Fortune 500 corporations
headquartered in West Virginia. A new, targeted focus should be
given to small businesses, including such efforts as educational outreach, micro-enterprise lending, technical assistance, tax
credits, minority-owned business development and gap financing.
The value of promoting entrepreneurs is that it keeps decision-
makers in the state who build companies that create both quality
jobs and new wealth for their community.
Additionally, support for entrepreneurism needs to be
encouraged in the commercialization of emerging technologies which
are located around the universities' research centers, the chemical
alliance zone and the polymer alliance zone, as well as other areas
where new technologies are emerging.
(4) Integrate Technology. -- A specific focus on technology,
both as a business sector and as a component of all other business
sectors, should be adopted and implemented. The integration of
technology into West Virginia's economy will have positive effects
on existing businesses, new businesses and business start-ups.
Additionally, all levels of government and education would be
beneficiaries. Technology is a definite linchpin for successful
diversification of the state's economy in the long-term.
(5) Restructure Incentives. -- West Virginia's current
incentive program has been an effective tool for the recruitment of
desired businesses to the state. However, given West Virginia's
dependence on the old economy, state incentives are still aimed at
assisting specific industry groups rather than new economy
businesses. The overall package--both tax and nontax incentives--
needs to be restructured. A more progressive mix of nontax
incentives, such as brownfield redevelopment funding, loan guarantees and regional infrastructure grants should exist. The
existing tax incentives should be reexamined to ensure
competitiveness and new incentives should be added, such as those
aimed at research and development, technology start-ups, small
businesses and business expansions.
§5b-3-6. Results-based government: planning for the future.
(a) In today's economy, it is especially important that
government becomes more responsive, flexible, innovative,
decentralized and accountable. Ultimately, government has to make
the same transition that business has been making in recent years
toward performance-based management and budgeting, which is
oriented and governed by results. Bureaucracies might have worked
in the past, but the new economy demands collaboration,
partnerships and networks. Government alone cannot solve the
problems of today, or implement actions to correct the problems of
yesterday.
(b) Reform efforts are underway all over the nation as
governments realize that institutional obstacles are hindering
economic and community development efforts. Whatever the issue may
be, it has become clear that a combination of citizen involvement
and empowerment has to be merged with government reform efforts to
ensure the most effective results. Methods for sustaining or
directing long-term change have been absent in West Virginia.
Therefore, planning efforts--both comprehensive and strategic--must
be embraced within the state to successfully implement change.
(c) In a recent report by the progressive policy institute entitled "New Economy Task Force Report: Making the New Economy
Grow", it stated: Old economy government is organized around
agencies and bureaucracies that operate like 'stove pipes' with
little information flowing between them and with operations
developed to meet the requirements of agencies, not the needs of
the citizens. New economy government will be organized around
functions and needs of citizens, with information and
communications technologies a key enabler of this reinvented
government. A key next step in reinventing government involves the
widespread application of information technologies to the delivery
of government services--in short, fostering digital government.
Digital government efforts, however, should complement, not
compete, with private sector commercial efforts.
(d) The following goals are established relating to this issue
that addresses such critical goals as continuing government reform
and modernization efforts, developing infrastructure, implementing
a new tax structure, strengthening land-use planning, and improving
the health of the state's residents, decentralizing and
regionalizing decisionmaking, employing public-private
partnerships, modernizing by using technology; simplifying
regulations and removing potential market distortions:
(1) Government Reform. -- West Virginia has been going through
a process of government reform on a myriad of issues in recent
years. However, there are still processes and legislation that
should be improved for the state to be competitive in the future.
Many states around the nation and even some of West Virginia's neighbor states have successfully transitioned from bureaucratic
institutions to results-based government. State government should
focus on achieving the outcomes that citizens expect of government
and directs resources to policies and programs that are effective
in achieving those outcomes. This requires setting goals,
measuring performance and continuously improving. West Virginia
must continue to pursue reform in workers' compensation and the
judicial system. However, government alone cannot bring about all
the changes needed in the state. It must be accomplished through
continuing partnerships.
(2) Infrastructure Development. -- Given the rural nature of
West Virginia, infrastructure development continues to be a
problem. The new economy requires new types of infrastructure,
such as telecommunications, and elevates in importance more
traditional infrastructure, such as commercial air service. West
Virginia must strengthen air service capacity throughout the state,
continue to develop water, sewer and road basic services, along
with affordable housing, and bring the state's telecommunications
infrastructure into a more competitive position.
(3) New Tax Structure. -- Based on the structural
transformation of the economy, the tax structure of West Virginia
needs to be altered. Heavily dependent on extraction and mature
industries, the state's tax system does not lend itself to being
self-supporting in the future. Changes need to take place that are
"friendly" to new economy businesses, with a focus on technology
and small businesses. Key issues include finding ways to achieve a stable and broad revenue base for basic government services such
as education as well as avoiding taxes that discriminate against
new and fast-growing businesses. The challenge facing our state is
to create a tax system that spreads the burden across a wide array
of activities, raises sufficient revenues to support critical
public services and does not discourage or discriminate against
valuable business activities. Additionally, the tax system should
serve to encourage business expansion and entrepreneurship.
(4) Land-Use Planning. -- Land-use planning should not be
confined only to zoning or regulating land usage. Communities,
regions and the state should carefully plan for the future, so as
not to be overwhelmed or unprepared when change arrives. Land-use
planning serves to facilitate discussion about what a place wants
to be and look like in the future. Choices made in a noncritical
situation are usually better thought out and weighed more carefully
than those that must be made when a crisis arises. Carefully
managing development towards what a community, region, or state
wants to be in the future is a must in the new economy, as business
are looking for stable, progressive and well-planned locations.
(5) Healthy Citizens. -- Clearly, one of the most important
determinants of a state's economic health is the health of its
residents as it directly impacts the state's economic future, tax
revenues, infrastructure needs and quality of life. Unfortunately,
West Virginia ranks very poorly in categories concerning health
issue, including death rates and chronic disease. Additionally,
West Virginia has a rapidly aging population which can potentially contribute to increased health issues in the future. It is
important that educational and out-reach efforts are undertaken by
the public, private and nonprofit sectors to improve the health
standards of the resident population which includes the critical
component of safe, decent housing.
(6) Decentralization. -- The state should work toward
decentralizing and regionalizing decisionmaking to allow
communities to address their own challenges and problems. West
Virginia is diverse and complex both in terms of economic
generators and geography one size does not fit all and cannot fit
all in terms of economic development strategy. Local problems are
best solved locally, enabling interventions to be tailored to meet
communities' needs.
(7) Public-Private partnerships. -- Public-private
partnerships between government and other institutions can be
effective means for solving problems and delivering services. Such
partnerships can involve state government working with nonprofit
organizations, the faith community, employers, labor unions and
other nongovernment institutions.
(8) Technology. -- The state government should continue to
modernize with technology to improve and transform service
delivery. Technology can help make state government more
transparent to its citizens and responsive to their needs. This
new policy framework must empower people with information to give
them control over their own lives. It must reinvent and "digitize"
government to create a decentralized, nonbureaucratic, catalytic and results-oriented government. New digital government, where
there is logic in the way tax, revenue and other systems are
implemented, must work so that government reporting requirements
are fully automated citizens' questions can be answered with
response times comparable to what is considered standard of
businesses and citizens can voice their concerns. It is critical
that technology be used to enable citizens to attain a sense of
participation or feeling of investment and ownership in the
governance process.
The internet enables information to be disseminated to the
public immediately, individuals and small businesses can monitor
legislative developments without making a substantial lobbying
investment and citizens are better able to voice their opinions to,
and require greater accountability from those elected to represent
their interests. It is essential that the state use technological
tools to streamline performance and accountability systems for the
next century.
(9) Regulations and market distortions. -- The state needs to
create a regulatory environment that is customer-focused,
responsive and flexible. Such regulatory environments are not
achieved by weakening standards. They are achieved by making the
compliance process simple for businesses to understand and meet.
State government can relieve this burden considerably by offering
businesses a one-stop shop to obtain business licenses apply for
environmental and operational permits and file taxes. Also, the
state should ensure that regulations are performance-based rather than command and control, facilitate cost-effective compliance.
§5B-3-7. Building bridges and empowering citizens.
(a) The economic prosperity experienced throughout much of the
nation has not been as evident in West Virginia. Many other states
have successfully transitioned economically and moved forward to
create new ways of doing things. For West Virginia to move
forward, a new way of thinking and acting must be adopted and
implemented. Across the nation, collaboration at the local and
regional levels is becoming more important as nonprofits take the
lead to fill the gap between what the public and private sectors
are not able to do alone. The regional level make the most sense
for implementation given the critical level of assets that must be
present to create long-term change.
(b) The term "civic entrepreneurs" has been coined in recent
years to mean local leaders that forge new linkages at the
intersection of business, government, education and community.
Leaders today must bring people together in the broadest and most
inclusive way possible. Decisions can no longer be made by a
handful of people. Instead, hands-on implementation and the
prioritization of community becomes the norm. Successful regions
and states have active leadership from small businesses, big
businesses and the media, while including public officials,
nonprofits, labor unions and education. The broad cross-section
helps to build bridges for change in the future.
(c) In the new economy, critical subjective factors, such as
climate, standard of living and physical attractiveness of a community, have supplanted many of the traditional drivers of
economic development. Knowledge and capitol are mobile, digital
communications enable work to occur where individuals choose to
live and the reduced reliance on natural resources as product
inputs lessens the need to locate businesses near these resources.
(d) The following goals are established relating to this issue
area that addresses such critical goals as enhancing quality of
life, fostering regional cooperation, enabling leadership
development, promoting public-private collaboration, improving the
state's image (internal and external) and increasing nonprofit
capacity:
(1) Enhancing quality of life. -- Quality of life
considerations include:
(A) Whether the physical environment is in good condition;
(B) Whether recreational opportunities are available;
(C) Whether cultural amenities are present;
(D) Whether policies to steer development and check
unrestrained growth exist; and
(E) Whether efforts to revitalize languishing cities and
neighborhoods are under way.
Quality of life can also be measured by the value of certain
community services, such as public education, public health and
safety and support systems for working families. All of these
quality-of-life issues must be addressed to attract new businesses
and workers and to create a sense of place in the new economy.
(2) Regional Cooperation. -- Regional cooperation is sweeping the country in states that are successfully transitioning to the
new economy and have undertaken progressive and thriving community
and economic development efforts. The regional level has been
found to strike the right balance between state and local assets.
Working together, communities are able to facilitate capacity
building, marketing, and problem solving. The resources within a
region surpass any individual jurisdiction, and help to create a
brand recognizable outside of the region itself. In the global
economy, businesses are not concerned with city and county lines
rather, they focus on the resources and civic infrastructure in
place in a region. The state should undertake efforts to reward
and incentivize regional cooperation.
(3) Leadership Development. -- As new collaborative
relationships are formed and new ways of doing things are
established, a simultaneous effort should be underway to develop
quality leaders at the local, regional and state levels. In
today's economy, leadership development must include people from
"all walks of life". In particular, educational efforts should be
undertaken to educate people about the responsibilities and duties
of leadership, as well as the critical role of community and
economic development. It is essential that leadership development
also includes youth, as they are the leaders of tomorrow.
(4) Public-private collaboration. -- As hierarchies and
bureaucracies collapse into networks and linkages, public-private
collaboration is coming to the forefront. Collaboration between
the public and private sectors, starting with the joint commission on economic development, West Virginia workforce investment
commission and West Virginia council for community and economic
development, needs to lead the way for change in West Virginia.
Collaborative relationships that have not previously existed, or
have historically been tension-filled, need to be formed or
strengthened to create a positive future for the state.
(5) Image Improvement. -- The image of West Virginia--both
internal and external--needs to be improved. The problems facing
the state today should be acknowledged, but the natural assets and
the "good news" about the state needs to be communicated both
inside and outside of West Virginia. Many misconceptions and
historic stereotypes can be replaced with positive images and
perceptions through quality marketing and branding activities.
(6) Increase Nonprofit capacity. -- The important role
nonprofits play is often overlooked. The nonprofit system in West
Virginia is underdeveloped and needs a significant boost to assume
its critical role as a bridge between private sector and public
sector efforts. A considerable increase in funding, training, and
support needs to be dedicated to helping nonprofits already in
place around the state and forming more community-based
organizations in areas that are currently underserved.
§5B-3-8. Reexamination of vision and goals.
Every fourth year after the first day of January, two thousand
one, the joint commission on economic development, established
pursuant to article three-c, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code,
shall conduct a thorough examination of the vision and goals set forth in this article and may recommend statutory changes relating
to the vision and goals to the Legislature.
ARTICLE 7. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PERFORMANCE BASED ACCOUNTABILITY.
§5B-7-1. Performance measures and indicators.
(a) Each state agency that has a direct effect on the goals
set forth in article three of this chapter or has information
relating to the indicators listed in this section shall cooperate
with the department of tax and revenue, established in section two,
article one, chapter five-f, and the development office,
established pursuant to section one, article two of this chapter,
by providing any information necessary or beneficial in developing
a statewide economic development report.
It is the ultimate
responsibility of the department of tax and revenue and the
development office to:
(1) Coordinate with the governmental entities in collecting
the data;
(2) Consolidate the data into one report that sets forth in a
clear and understandable format the status of the state with
respect to the goals set forth in article three of this chapter.
At a minimum, the indicators set forth in this section shall be
used in reporting the progress toward achieving the goals;
(3) Report to the joint commission by the first day of October
of each year the progress toward achieving the goals outlined in
this article; and
(4) Make the report available to the public electronically,
including through the internet, and by hard copy for no more than the cost of printing or copying the report
.
(b) With respect to intellectual infrastructure in the twenty-
first century, the performance indicators shall include at least
the following:
(1) High school graduation rate;
(2) Scholastic achievement test scores;
(3) College completion rate;
(4) Rate of graduates in subject matter shortage areas as
determined by the research, information and analysis division of
the bureau of employment programs;
(5) Attendance at two-year colleges;
(6) Drop-out rate;
(7) GED attainment rate;
(8) Primary and secondary education test scores; and
(9) Rate of college graduates staying in West Virginia.
(c) With respect to the new economy: new challenges and new
solutions, the performance indicators shall include at least the
following:
(1) Per capita income;
(2) Unemployment rate;
(3) Exports by state-based firms;
(4) Small business creation rate;
(5) Existing business investments;
(6) Tourism visitation and expenditures;
(7) Retail sales tax revenues; and
(8) Poverty rate.
(d) With respect to results-based government: planning for the
future, the performance indicators shall include at least the
following:
(1) Business tax reform;
(2) Changes in workers' compensation ratings;
(3) Medical costs;
(4) Teen pregnancy;
(5) Investment in local/regional infrastructure development;
(6) Reduction in infant mortality rate; and
(7) Per capita tax burden.
(e) With respect to building bridges and empowering citizens,
the performance indicators shall include at least the following:
(1) Number of nonprofits statewide;
(2) Creation of regional economic development groups;
(3) Consolidation of area governments/services/school
districts;
(4) Number of public/private collaborations statewide;
(5) Changes in national livability ratings; and
(6) Improved external image of the state.
§5B-7-2. Policy and program evaluations.
(a) There is an on-going debate about whether economic
development incentives are a necessary economic development tool or
a wasteful use of scarce public funds. What is needed is a more
comprehensive model of assessment that would evaluate not only the
efficiency of program administration, but also incentive
appropriateness and effectiveness:
(b) Appropriateness. -- This involves understanding the
context in which the program was created and the goals it was
designed to address. In other words, what were the development
problems, opportunities and trends that led to the creation of the
incentive? Questions to answer regarding any new or existing
programs include:
(1) Are the incentives still a relevant strategy in helping to
achieve the objectives of high quality jobs, high performance
enterprises and widely shared prosperity;
(2) What specific objectives are incentives best equipped to
address;
(3) How might incentive outcomes be best measured;
(4) How might they be complemented by other program
initiatives;
(5) Are other economic development tools potentially more
relevant as priority actions; and
(6) If the programs are no longer appropriate (because of
changing circumstances), how might they be changed to better fit
state priorities?
(c) Effectiveness. -- Any evaluation must include a thorough
calculation of the relative costs and benefits of the program or
policy in question. In addition, they must seek to take a tough
look at whether those incentives really made a difference in
company decisions. Questions may include:
(1) Did the actual number of jobs and capital investment match
the anticipated;
(2) What were the public costs per job;
(3) Would the investments have happened outside the incentive;
(4) Using multipliers, what was the secondary job impact;
(5) What were the distributional effects (such as did local
workers get the jobs and did minorities get the jobs);
(6) What was the quality of jobs created or retained; and
(7) What were the fiscal impacts (such as estimated revenue
gains and losses)?
(d) Efficiency. -- A final component of the evaluation would
be to measure the efficiency with which program outcomes have been
achieved. In other words, how simple and costly has administration
been, for both managers and customers? It looks at the costs of
program inputs and the efficiency of administrative processes.
This could also entail looking at the administrative and related
design issues that affected the use of incentives by private firms.
Likewise, what are the trade-offs between administrative targeting
issues and administrative simplicity concerns? How might those
goals be more effectively tackled? Another issue to address would
be the degree of customer satisfaction with the program management.
§5B-7-3. Accountability for new programs.
Any economic development or workforce investment legislation,
rules or programs established through any other method relating to
economic development or workforce investment shall include
provisions outlining outcome based and performance based
accountability. Additionally, the legislation or rules shall
include a description of the benchmark indicators that will be utilized to gauge the progression of productivity against the
performance measurements. These indicators shall compare
effectiveness to national and state data to provide a comparison of
progress by which the state may measure the attainment of the goals
listed above.
§5B-7-4. Accountability recommendations for existing programs.
(a) The department of tax and revenue, established in section
two, article one, chapter five-f, and the development office,
established pursuant to section one, article two of this chapter,
shall report to the joint commission on economic development by the
first day of December, two thousand one, on recommendations on
developing performance-based, accountability evaluation of all
present economic development programs. This evaluation shall
include a description of the benchmark indicators that will be
utilized to gauge the progression of productivity against the
performance measurements. These indicators shall compare
effectiveness to national and state data to provide a comparison of
progress by which the State may measure the attainment of the goals
listed above.
(b) All agencies implementing economic development programs
shall cooperate with the department of tax and revenue and the
development office, by providing the information needed to
accomplish the objective set forth in subsection (a) of this
section.
§5B-7-5. Elements of an effective incentive evaluation system.
(a) A well-constructed incentive evaluation system shall be integrated into the planning, operation, monitoring and improvement
of a program. Economic development agencies, as defined by the
joint commission, should develop an operational plan that defines
how the incentive program will be organized, staffed and conducted
on a daily operational basis. That plan should incorporate a well-
defined scheme for monitoring and evaluation as a key component of
the program's ongoing activities. The monitoring and evaluation
component of the operating plan should:
(1) Identify programs or activities to be evaluated;
(2) Articulate reasons for conducting the evaluation;
(3) Develop goals to be achieved by the evaluation;
(4) Indentify actors and their respective roles in the
evaluation;
(5) Identify planned uses of the evaluation results;
(6) Establish decision rules for judging program performance;
(7) Describe resource constraints;
(8) Identify data needs and sources;
(9) Determine analytic tools to be used; and
(10) Designate the performance time period to be assessed.
(b) Monitoring and evaluation tools may include:
(1) Collecting outcome data that are directly related to the
policy goals that programs aim to achieve; and
(2) Developing data collection and analysis techniques that
look beyond job creation to wages of jobs, the impacts of
development on quality of life and the availability of jobs to
unemployed or underemployed individuals in different ethnic groups or geographic areas. The data collection and analysis techniques
may include the following:
(A) Define clearly the basic purpose and policy goals of
incentives.
(B) Develop better program planning, designing and
implementing effective performance monitoring and evaluation;
(C) Set realistic expectations and benchmarks against which
program outcomes may be measured;
(D) Ensure that sufficient management attention and resources
are allocated to monitoring and evaluation responsibilities;
(E) Design monitoring systems to allow for simultaneous
assessment of individual project impacts, program evaluation and
portfolio (or agencywide) reviews; and
(F) Invest in training for economic development practitioners
to enhance their skills in the design of performance monitoring and
evaluation.
§5B-7-6. Unified economic development budget.
(a) In West Virginia, there is not a comprehensive
understanding of how much is spent on economic development. The
reason for this is that investments in economic development include
both line-item expenditures and off-budget tax incentives, as well
as a range of interest subsidies, public agency commitments,
financings by quasi-public corporations and other activities. One
strategy for addressing this knowledge gap is the creation of a
unified (or integrated) economic development budget. Such a budget
allows the governor, Legislature, state agencies and citizenry to better see what is presently being spent on economic development.
The unified economic development budget offers answers to some
initial questions around economic development such as: What do we
spend on economic development? What are our spending priorities?
What types of firms, industries and communities are assisted by
these tax preferences?
(b) The department of tax and revenue, established in section
two, article one, chapter five-f, and the development office,
established pursuant to section one, article two of this chapter,
in cooperation with all other agencies involved in economic
development programs, shall establish an unified economic
development budget for inclusion in a separate section, entitled
"economic development", of the executive budget operating detail.
The unified economic development budget shall include both line
item expenditures and off-budget tax incentives.
All other state
agencies shall cooperate with the department of tax and revenue and
the development office by providing all information requested for
the purpose of completing the unified economic development budget.
(c) The unified economic development budget should include:
(1) Only those expenditures whose primary purpose is economic
development. This means we count only conscious public policy and
state expenditure decisions directed toward improving the economic
well-being of the state as a whole, and it regions, towns and
neighborhoods. Programs that seek to accomplish this end can be
structured to focus principally on a number of different goals
including increasing employment and per capita incomes, expanding the tax base, spreading growth to poorer areas, modernizing
existing industry, training workers with specific job skills,
developing and commercializing new technologies, attracting and
retaining business or promoting minority enterprise;
(2) Economic development programs that may be based in any
number of agencies or organizations including public agencies,
quasi-public corporations, private enterprise or nonprofits;
(3) Both on-budget and off-budget economic development
spending. Direct on-budget programs might provide grants, loans,
customized training and infrastructure improvements. Off-budget
activities typically take place in the form of tax expenditures,
including, but not limited to, tax relief, credits and incentives;
(4) Other changes in the tax code that further the state's tax
competitiveness and economic development goals; and
(5) Any other items requested by the joint commission on
economic development.
§5B-7-7. Study of decreasing required number of reports.
The department of tax and revenue, established in section two,
article one, chapter five-f, and the development office,
established pursuant to section one, article two of this chapter,
shall perform a study of any economic development reports that are
required of any state governmental agency by any law or rule.
Prior to the first day of December, two thousand one, the
department shall report back to the commission on the findings of
the study and recommendations for the elimination of any required
reports due to duplication, obsolescence or for any other reason.
CHAPTER 29A. STATE ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES ACT.
ARTICLE 3C. JOINT COMMISSION ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT RULE MAKING.
§29A-3C-1. Definitions.
As used in this article:
(a) "Commission" means the joint commission on economic
development; and
(b) "Board" means the council for community and economic
development, the development office and the tourism commission, all
established pursuant to article two, chapter five-b of this code,
the economic development authority established pursuant to article
fifteen, chapter thirty-one of this code, the bureau of employment
programs established pursuant to article four, chapter twenty-one-a
of this code or the workforce investment commission established
pursuant to article two-c, chapter five-b, West Virginia jobs
investment trust, regional planning and development councils, West
Virginia rural development council, governor's office of
technology, West Virginia clearinghouse for workforce education.
"Board" also shall mean any other agency that promulgates rules
relating to economic development or workforce development, except
that this definition shall apply only with respect to the
promulgation of a rule relating to economic development or
workforce development if the agency is not specifically listed
under this definition. Whether or not the rules relate to economic
development or workforce development shall be determined solely by
the commission. Nothing in this article shall be construed to give any agency authority to promulgate rules if the agency is not
otherwise given authority to promulgate rules by this code.
§29A-3C-2. Economic development and workforce investment rules to
be promulgated only in accordance with this article
and other applicable provisions.
(a) In addition to other rule-making requirements imposed by
articles three, three-a and three-b of this chapter or any other
provision of
law and except to the extent specifically exempted by
the provisions of this chapter or other applicable law, every
economic development or workforce investment rule, as determined by
the commission (including any amendment of or rule to repeal any
other rule), shall be promulgated by the board in accordance with
this article and shall be and remain effective only to the extent
that it has been or is promulgated in accordance with this article
and other applicable provisions of code.
(b) Nothing in the article shall be construed to eliminate the
requirement that economic development and workforce investment
rules be promulgated in accordance with article three, three-a or
three-b of this chapter. Legislative rules related to economic
development and workforce investment, as determined by the
commission, shall be filed with the commission prior to being filed
with the legislative rule-making review committee created in
article three of this chapter or the legislative oversight
commission on education accountability created in article three-a
of this chapter.
§29A-3C-3. Limitations on authority to exercise rule-making power.
(a) Except when, and to the extent, that this chapter or any
other provision of law now or hereafter made expressly exempts the
board, or a particular grant of the rule-making power, from the
provisions of this article, every grant of rule-making authority to
the board heretofore provided shall be construed and applied to be
effective only:
(1) If heretofore lawfully exercised in accordance with the
prior provisions of this chapter and the resulting rule has not
been revoked or invalidated by the provisions hereof or by the
board; or
(2) If exercised in accordance with the provisions hereof.
(b) The board shall not be considered to have the power and
authority to promulgate a legislative rule without compliance with
this article unless: (1) The provision of this code, heretofore or
hereafter enacted, granting such power and authority, expressly
exempts its exercise from legislative rule-making review prior to
promulgation or (2) the grant of such power and authority is
exempted from the application of this chapter by the express
provisions of this chapter. To the extent any such grant of power
and authority, not so exempt, shall be considered to exceed the
limits and provisions of this article, such power and authority to
promulgate legislative rules is revoked.
§29A-3C-4. Rules of procedure required.
In addition to other rule-making requirements imposed by law:
(a) The board shall adopt procedural rules governing the formal and informal procedures prescribed or authorized by this
chapter. Procedural rules shall include rules of practice before
the board, together with forms and instructions.
(b) To assist interested persons dealing with it, the board,
shall so far as considered practicable, supplement its rules with
descriptive statements of its procedures.
§29A-3C-5. Filing of proposed procedural rules and interpretive
rules.
(a) When the board proposes a procedural rule or an
interpretive rule, the agency shall file in the state register a
notice of its action, including the text of the rule as proposed.
(b) All proposed rules filed under subsection (a) of this
section shall have a fiscal note attached itemizing the cost of
implementing the rules as they relate to this state and to persons
affected by the rules and regulations. Such fiscal note shall
include all information included in a fiscal note for either house
of the Legislature and a statement of the economic impact of the
rule on the state or its residents. The objectives of the rules
shall be clearly and separately stated in the fiscal note by the
agency issuing the proposed rules. No procedural or interpretive
rule shall be void or voidable by virtue of noncompliance with this
subsection.
§29A-3C-6. Notice of proposed rulemaking.
When the board proposes to promulgate a rule other than an
emergency rule, it shall file with the secretary of state, for
publication in the state register, a notice of its action, including therein any request for the submission of evidence to be
presented on any factual determinations or inquiries required by
law to promulgate such rule. At the time of filing the notice of
its action, the board shall also file with the secretary of state
a copy of the full text of the rule proposed and a fiscal note as
defined in subsection (b), section five of this article. If the
board is considering alternative draft proposals, it may also file
with the secretary of state the full text of such draft proposals.
The notice shall fix a date, time and place for the receipt of
public comment in the form of oral statements, written statements,
and documents bearing upon any findings and determinations which
are a condition precedent to the final approval by the board of the
proposed rule and shall contain a general description of the issues
to be decided. If no specific findings and determinations are
required as a condition precedent to the final approval by the
board of the approved rule, the notice shall fix a date, time and
place for the receipt of general public comment on the proposed
rule.
If findings and determinations are a condition precedent to
the promulgation of such rule, then an opportunity for general
public comment on the merits of the rule shall be afforded after
such findings and determinations are made. In such event, notice
of the hearing, or of the period for receiving public comment on
the proposed rule shall be attached to and filed as a part of the
findings and determinations of the board when filed in the state
register.
In any hearing for public comment on the merits of the rule,
the board may limit presentations to written material. The time,
date and place fixed in the notice shall constitute the last
opportunity to submit any written material relevant to any hearing,
all of which may be earlier submitted by filing with the board.
After the public hearing or the close of the public comment period,
whichever is later, the board shall not permit the filing or
receipt of, nor shall it consider, any attempted ex parte
communications directed to it in the form of additional comment,
prior to the submission of its final board-approved rule to the
joint commission on economic development.
The board may also, at its expense, cause to be published as
a Class I legal publication in every county of the state any notice
required by this section.
Any citizen or other interested party may appear and be heard
at such hearings as are required by this section.
§29A-3C-7. Filing findings and determinations for rules in state
register; evidence considered public record.
(a) Incident to fixing a date for public comment on a proposed
rule, the board shall promulgate the findings and determinations
required as a condition precedent thereto and state fully and
succinctly the reasons therefor and file such findings and
determinations in the state register. If the board amends the
proposed rule as a result of the evidence or comment presented
pursuant to section six, such amendment shall be filed with a
description of any changes and statement listed for the amendment.
(b) The statement of reasons and a transcript of all evidence
and public comment received pursuant to notice are public records
and shall be carefully preserved by the board and be open for
public inspection and copying for a period of not less than five
years from the date of the hearing.
§29A-3C-8. Notice of hearings.
Notices of hearings required by sections six and seven of this
article shall be filed in the state register not less than thirty
nor more than sixty days before the date of such hearing or the
last day specified therein for receiving written material. Any
hearing may be continued from time to time and place to place by
the board which shall have the effect of extending the last day for
receipt of evidence or public comment. Notice of such continuance
shall be promptly filed thereafter in the state register.
§29A-3C-9. Adoption of procedural and interpretive rules.
A procedural and interpretive rule, shall be considered by the
board for adoption not later than six months after the close of
public comment and a notice of withdrawal or adoption shall be
filed in the state register within that period. Failure to file
such notice shall constitute withdrawal and the secretary of state
shall note such failure in the state register immediately upon the
expiration of the six-month period.
A procedural or interpretive rule may be amended by the board
prior to final adoption without further hearing or public comment.
No such amendment may change the main purpose of the rule. If the
fiscal implications have changed since the rule was proposed, a new fiscal note shall be attached to the notice of filing. Upon
adoption of the rule (including any such amendment), the board
shall file the text of the adopted procedural or interpretive rule
with its notice of adoption in the state register and the same
shall be effective on the date specified in the rule or thirty days
after such filing, whichever is later.
§29A-3C-10. Proposal of legislative rules.
When the board proposes a legislative rule, other than an
emergency rule, it shall be considered to be applying to the
Legislature for permission, to be granted by law, to promulgate
such rule as approved by the board for submission to the
Legislature or as amended and authorized by the Legislature by law.
When proposing a legislative rule, other than an emergency
rule, and after filing the notice of proposed rulemaking required
by the provisions of section six of this article, the board shall
then proceed as in the case of a procedural and interpretive rule
to the point of, but not including, final adoption. In lieu of
final adoption, the board shall finally approve the proposed rule,
including any amendments, for submission to the Legislature and
file such notice of approval in the state register and with the
joint commission on economic development, as well as with the
legislative rule-making review committee or the oversight
commission on education accountability, whichever is appropriate.
Such final approval of the rule under this section is
considered to be approval for submission to the Legislature only
and does not give any force and effect to the proposed rule. The rule shall have full force and effect only when authority for
promulgation of the rule is granted by an act of the Legislature
and the rule is promulgated pursuant to the provisions of section
fifteen of this article.
§29A-3C-11. Creation of a joint commission on economic
development.
(a) There is hereby created a joint commission of the
Legislature known as the joint commission on economic development
to review all economic development and workforce investment related
legislative rules of the board prior to the submission of the rules
to the legislative rule-making review committee or the legislative
oversight commission on education accountability, whichever is
appropriate. The commission shall be composed of sixteen members.
These members shall include: the chairmen of the Senate and House
of Delegates finance committees; the chairmen of the Senate and
House of Delegates judiciary committees; the chairmen of the Senate
and House of Delegates education committees; the chairmen of the
Senate and House of Delegates health committees; four additional
members of the Senate appointed by the president of the Senate; and
four additional members of the House of Delegates appointed by the
speaker of the House of Delegates. No more than three of the four
members appointed by the president of the Senate and the speaker of
the House of Delegates, respectively, may be members of the same
political party. In addition, the president of the Senate and the
speaker of the House of Delegates shall be ex officio nonvoting
members of the commission and shall designate the cochairmen. The members shall serve until their successors shall have been
appointed as heretofore provided. Members of the commission shall
receive such compensation and expenses as provided in article two-
a, chapter four of this code. Such expenses and all other expenses
including those incurred in the employment of legal, technical,
investigative, clerical, stenographic, advisory and other personnel
shall be paid from an appropriation to be made expressly for the
joint commission on economic development, but if no such
appropriation be made, such expenses shall be paid from the
appropriation under "Account No. 103 for Joint Expenses", but no
expense of any kind whatever payable under said account for joint
expenses shall be incurred unless first approved by the joint
committee on government and finance. The commission shall meet at
any time both during sessions of the Legislature and in the
interim.
(b) The commission may adopt such rules of procedure as it
considers necessary for the submission, presentation and
consideration of rules.
(c) The commission may originate bills in either house of the
Legislature or both the Senate and the House of Delegates as
determined by the commission. However, the commission may only
exercise this authority during a legislative session.
(d) The joint commission on economic development may explore
how West Virginia can:
(1) Invest in systems that build workforce skills and promote
lifelong learning to ensure a competitive workforce;
(2) Enhance the infrastructure, communications and
transportation needed to support the knowledge-based industries and
electronic commerce;
(3) Reengineer government to deliver services more
efficiently, using technology, privatization and partnerships with
the private sector;
(4) Align state tax systems to meet the demands of the twenty-
first century economy;
(5)Develop more uniform regulatory and tax systems to reduce
complexity, eliminate market distortions and better protect
consumers;
(6) Support entrepreneurs by streamlining business
regulations, providing timely decisions and assisting firm in their
search for venture capital;
(7) Promote university policies that encourage research and
development and build intellectual infrastructure;
(8) Address quality-of-life concerns to attract new businesses
and workers; and
(9) Accomplish the goals set forth in article three, chapter
five-b and any other goal related to economic development or
workforce investment that the commission considers important.
§29A-3C-12. Additional powers and duties; subpoena powers.
(a) In addition to the powers and duties conferred upon the
commission pursuant to the provisions of this article, the
commission shall make a continuing investigation, study and review
of the practices, policies and procedures of the board and of any and all matters related to economic development or workforce
investment in the state and shall make annual reports to the
Legislature of the results of such investigation, study and review.
(b) These reports shall describe and evaluate in a concise
manner:
(1) The major activities of the board for the fiscal year
immediately past, including important policy decisions reached on
initiatives undertaken during that year.
(2) Other information considered by the commission to be
important, including recommendations for statutory, fiscal or other
reform and reasons for such recommendations.
Further, these reports may specify in what manner said
practices, policies and procedures may or should be modified to
satisfy said constitutional requirement and to improve the quality
of education at all levels in this state.
The commission may meet as often as may be necessary and
employ such professional, clerical and technical personnel as it
considers necessary to perform effectively the duties herein
prescribed.
(C) For purposes of carrying out its duties, the commission is
hereby empowered and authorized to examine witnesses and to
subpoena such persons and books, records, documents, papers or any
other tangible things as it believes should be examined to make a
complete investigation. All witnesses appearing before the
commission shall testify under oath or affirmation and any member
of the commission may administer oaths or affirmations to such witnesses. To compel the attendance of witnesses at such hearings
or the production of any books, records, documents, papers or any
other tangible thing, the commission is hereby empowered and
authorized to issue subpoenas, signed by one of the cochairmen.
Such subpoenas shall be served by any person authorized by law to
serve and execute legal process and service shall be made without
charge. Witnesses subpoenaed to attend hearings shall be allowed
the same mileage and per diem as is allowed witnesses before any
petit jury in this state.
If any person subpoenaed to appear at any hearing shall refuse
to appear or to answer inquiries there propounded, or shall fail or
refuse to produce books, records, documents, papers or any other
tangible thing within his control when the same are demanded, the
commission shall report the facts to the circuit court of Kanawha
County or any other court of competent jurisdiction and such court
may compel obedience to the subpoena as though such subpoena had
been issued by such court in the first instance.
§29A-3C-13. Submission of legislative rules to the joint
commission on economic development.
(a) When the board finally approves a proposed legislative
rule relating to economic development or workforce investment, as
determined by the commission, for submission to the Legislature
prior to the submission of the rule to the legislative rule-making
review committee or to the legislative oversight commission on
education accountability, whichever is appropriate, the board shall
submit to the joint commission on economic development at its offices or at a regular meeting of such commission twenty copies
of: (1) The full text of the legislative rule as finally approved
by the board, with new language underlined and with language to be
deleted from any existing rule stricken-through but clearly
legible; (2) a brief summary of the content of the legislative rule
and a description and a copy of any existing rule which the agency
proposes to amend or repeal; (3) a statement of the circumstances
which require the rule; (4) a fiscal note containing all
information included in a fiscal note for either house of the
Legislature and a statement of the economic impact of the rule on
the state or its residents; and (5) any other information which the
commission may request or which may be required by law.
(b) The commission shall review each proposed legislative rule
and, in its discretion, may hold public hearings thereon. Such
review shall include, but not be limited to, a determination of:
(1) Whether the board has exceeded the scope of its statutory
authority in approving the proposed legislative rule;
(2) Whether the proposed legislative rule is in conformity
with the legislative intent of the statute which the rule is
intended to implement, extend, apply, interpret or make specific;
(3) Whether the proposed legislative rule conflicts with any
other provision of this code or with any other rule adopted by the
same or a different agency;
(4) Whether the proposed legislative rule is necessary to
fully accomplish the objectives of the statute under which the
proposed rule was promulgated;
(5) Whether the proposed legislative rule is reasonable,
especially as it affects the convenience of the general public or
of persons particularly affected by it;
(6) Whether the proposed legislative rule could be made less
complex or more readily understandable by the general public; and
(7) Whether the proposed legislative rule was promulgated in
compliance with the requirements of this article and with any
requirements imposed by any other provision of this code.
(c) After reviewing the legislative rule, the commission shall
recommend that the Legislature:
(1) Authorize the board to promulgate the legislative rule; or
(2) Authorize the board to promulgate part of the legislative
rule; or
(3) Authorize the board to promulgate the legislative rule
with certain amendments; or
(4) Recommend that the rule be withdrawn.
The commission shall file notice of its action in the state
register, with the board proposing the rule, with legislative rule-
making review or with the legislative oversight commission on
education accountability, whichever is appropriate: Provided,
That
when the commission makes the recommendations of subdivision (2),
(3) or (4) of this subsection, the notice shall contain a statement
of the reasons for such recommendation.
§29A-3C-14. Submission of legislative rules to legislative rule-
making review or to the legislative oversight commission on
education accountability.
For each rule considered, the cochairmen of the joint
commission on economic development shall submit to the legislative
rule-making review committee or the legislative oversight
commission on education accountability, whichever is appropriate,
the recommendations of the joint commission relating to the
economic development or workforce investment rule.
§29A-3C-15. Adoption of legislative rules; effective date.
(a) Except as the Legislature may by law otherwise provide,
within sixty days after the effective date of an act authorizing
promulgation of a legislative rule, the board shall promulgate the
rule only in conformity with the provisions of law authorizing and
directing the promulgation of such rule.
(b) A legislative rule authorized by the Legislature shall
become effective thirty days after such filing in the state
register or on the effective date fixed by the authorizing act or
if none is fixed by law, such later date not to exceed ninety days,
as is fixed by the board.
(c) The secretary of state shall note in the state register
the effective date of an authorized and promulgated legislative
rule, and shall file such legislative rule in the state register in
lieu of the proposed legislative rule previously filed.
§29A-3C-16. Withdrawal or modification of proposed rules.
(a) Any legislative rule proposed by the board may be
withdrawn any time before passage of a law authorizing or
authorizing and directing its promulgation, but no such action
shall be construed to affect the validity, force or effect of a law enacted authorizing or authorizing and directing the promulgation
of an authorized legislative rule or exercising compliance with
such law. The board shall file a notice of any such action in the
state register.
(b) At any time before a proposed legislative rule has been
submitted by the joint commission on economic development to the
Legislature, the board may modify the proposed rule to meet the
objections of the commission. The board shall file in the state
register a notice of its modifying action including a copy of the
modified rule, but shall not be required to comply with any
provisions of this article requiring opportunity for public comment
or taking of evidence with respect to such modification. If a
legislative rule has been withdrawn, modified and then resubmitted
to such commission, the rule shall be considered to have been
submitted to such commission on the date of such resubmission.
§29A-3C-17. Emergency legislative rules; procedure for
promulgation; definition.
(a) The board may, without hearing, find that an emergency
exists requiring that emergency rules be promulgated and promulgate
the same in accordance with this section. Such emergency rules,
together with a statement of the facts and circumstances
constituting the emergency, shall be filed in the state register
and shall become effective immediately upon such filing. Such
emergency rules may adopt, amend or repeal any legislative rule,
but the circumstances constituting the emergency requiring such
adoption, amendment or repeal shall be stated with particularity and be subject to de novo review by any court having original
jurisdiction of an action challenging their validity.
If the board
files an economic development or workforce investment emergency
rule, as determined by the commission, twenty copies of emergency
rules and of the required statement of the facts and circumstances
constituting the emergency shall be filed forthwith with the joint
commission on economic development prior to filing with the
legislative rule making review committee or the legislative
oversight commission on education accountability.
An emergency rule shall be effective for not more than fifteen
months and shall expire earlier if any of the following occurs:
(1) The secretary of state, acting under the authority
provided for in section eighteen of this article, disapproves the
emergency rule because: (A) The emergency rule or an amendment to
the emergency rule exceeds the scope of the law authorizing or
directing the promulgation thereof; (B) an emergency does not exist
justifying the promulgation of the emergency rule; or (C) the
emergency rule was not promulgated in compliance with the
provisions of this section. An emergency rule may not be
disapproved pursuant to the authority granted by paragraphs (A) or
(B) of this subdivision on the basis that the secretary of state
disagrees with the underlying public policy established by the
Legislature in enacting the supporting legislation. An emergency
rule which would otherwise be approved as being necessary to comply
with a time limitation established by this code or by a federal
statute or regulation may not be disapproved pursuant to the authority granted by paragraphs (A) or (B) of this subdivision on
the basis that the board has failed to file the emergency rule
prior to the date fixed by such time limitation. When the
supporting statute specifically directs the board to promulgate an
emergency rule, or specifically finds that an emergency exists and
directs the promulgation of an emergency rule, the emergency rule
may not be disapproved pursuant to the authority granted by
paragraph (B) of this subdivision. An emergency rule may not be
disapproved on the basis that the Legislature has not specifically
directed the board to promulgate the emergency rule, or has not
specifically found that an emergency exists and directed the
promulgation of an emergency rule.
(f) The joint commission on economic development may review
any emergency rule to determine: (1) Whether the board has exceeded
the scope of its statutory authority in promulgating the emergency
rule; (2) whether there exists an emergency justifying the
promulgation of such rule; and (3) whether the rule was promulgated
in compliance with the requirements and prohibitions contained in
this section. The commission may recommend to the board, the
Legislature, or the secretary of state such action as it may
consider proper.
(g) For the purposes of this section, an emergency exists when
the promulgation of a rule is necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, safety or welfare or is
necessary to comply with a time limitation established by this code
or by a federal statute or regulation or to prevent substantial harm to the public interest.
§29A-3C-18. Disapproval of emergency rules by the secretary of
state; judicial review.
(a) Upon the filing of an emergency rule by the board, under
the provisions of section seventeen of this article, the secretary
of state shall review such rule and, within forty-two days of such
filing, shall issue a decision as to whether or not such emergency
rule should be disapproved.
(b) The secretary of state shall disapprove an emergency rule
if he determines:
(1) That the emergency rule or an amendment to the emergency
rule exceeds the scope of the law authorizing or directing the
promulgation thereof; or
(2) That an emergency does not exist justifying the
promulgation of the emergency rule or the filing of an amendment to
the emergency rule; or
(3) That the emergency rule or an amendment to the emergency
rule was not promulgated in compliance with the provisions of
section seventeen of this article.
(c) If the secretary of state determines, based upon the
contents of the rule or the supporting information filed by the
board, that the emergency rule should be disapproved, he may
disapprove such rule without further investigation, notice or
hearing. If, however, the secretary of state concludes that the
information submitted by the board is insufficient to allow a
proper determination to be made as to whether the emergency rule should be disapproved, he may make further investigation,
including, but not limited to, requiring the board or other
interested parties to submit additional information or comment or
fixing a date, time and place for the taking of evidence on the
issues involved in making a determination under the provisions of
this section.
(d) The determination of the secretary of state shall be
reviewable by the supreme court of appeals under its original
jurisdiction, based upon a petition for a writ of mandamus,
prohibition of certiorari, as appropriate. Such proceeding may be
instituted by:
(1) The board;
(2) A member of the Legislature; or
(3) Any person whose personal property interests will be
significantly affected by the approval or disapproval of the
emergency rule by the secretary of state.
§29A-3C-19. Legislative review of procedural rules, interpretive
rules and existing legislative rules.
The joint commission on economic development may review any
procedural rules, interpretive rules or existing legislative rules
and may make recommendations concerning such rules to the
Legislature, or to the board, or to both the Legislature and the
board.
§29A-3C-20. Prior rules.
Any rule lawfully promulgated prior to the effective date of
this chapter shall remain in full force and effect until:
(1) Such rule is expressly made ineffective by the provisions
of this chapter; or
(2) Such rule should expire by reason of failure to refile the
same as provided in section five of article two or expires pursuant
to its own terms and provisions lawfully made before the effective
date of this section; or
(3) Such rule is repealed by the lawful act of the board, in
conformity with this chapter; or
(4) Such rule is invalidated by an act of the Legislature or
the force and effect of another law.
§29A-3C-21. Severability of legislative rules.
Unless there is a provision in a legislative rule specifying
that the provisions thereof shall not be severable, the provisions
of every legislative rule, whether enacted before or subsequent to
the effective date of this section, shall be severable so that if
any provision of any rule section or amendment thereto is held to
be unconstitutional or void, the remaining provisions of the rule
shall remain valid, unless the court finds the valid provisions are
so essentially and inseparably connected with and so dependent upon
the unconstitutional or void provision that the court cannot
presume the Legislature would have enacted the remaining valid
provisions without the unconstitutional or void one, or unless the
court finds the remaining valid provisions, standing alone, are
incomplete and are incapable of being executed in accordance with
the legislative intent: Provided, That if any legislative rule has
its own severability clause, then that severability clause shall govern and control with respect to that section, in lieu of the
provisions of this section. The provisions of this section shall
be fully applicable to all future amendments to legislative rules,
with like effect as if the provisions of this section were set
forth in extenso and every such amendment were reenacted as a part
thereof, unless such amendment to the legislative rule contains its
own severability clause.
§29A-3C-22. Joint commission on economic development studies.
(a) The joint commission on economic development shall
undertake the following studies:
(1) The feasibility of establishing common regional
configurations for such purposes as local workforce investment
areas, regional educational service agencies and for all other
purposes the commission considers feasible. The study should
review the existing levels of cooperation between state and local
economic developers; complete an analysis of possible regional
configurations and outline example of other successful regional
systems or networks found throughout the world. If the study
determines that the common regional configurations are feasible,
the commission shall recommend legislation establishing common
regional designations for all purposes the commission considers
feasible. In making the designation of regional areas, the study
shall take into consideration but not be limited to the following:
(A) Geographic areas served by local educational agencies and
intermediate educational agencies;
(B) Geographic areas served by post-secondary educational institutions and area vocational education schools;
(C) The extent to which such local areas are consistent with
labor market areas;
(D) The distance that individuals will need to travel to
receive services provided in such local areas; and
(E) The resources of such local areas that are available to
effectively administer the activities or programs;
(2) The effectiveness and fiscal impact of incentives for
attracting and growing businesses, especially technology-intensive
companies; and
(3) A comprehensive review of West Virginia's existing
economic and community development resources and the recommendation
of an organizational structure, including but not limited to the
reorganization of the bureau of commerce and the development
office, that would allow the state to successfully compete in the
new global economy.
(b) The joint commission shall complete the studies set forth
in this section and any other studies it determines to undertake
prior to the first day of December of each year and may make
recommendations, including recommended legislation for introduction
during the regular session of the Legislature.
________
FINANCE COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS
On page eight, section three, line one, by striking out the
words "It is important to keep in mind that this" and inserting in
lieu thereof the word "The";
And,
On page twenty-nine, section one, lines fifteen and sixteen,
by striking out the words "area governments/services/school
districts" and inserting in lieu thereof the words "area/region
services".
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