CHAPTER 4. THE LEGISLATURE.

ARTICLE 11A. LEGISLATIVE APPROPRIATION OF TOBACCO SETTLEMENT FUNDS.

§4-11A-2. Receipt of settlement funds and required deposit in West Virginia Tobacco Settlement Medical Trust Fund until June 1, 2005, then to Workers' Compensation Debt Reduction Fund; deposit of strategic compensation payments; transfer of trust fund moneys.

(a) The Legislature finds and declares that certain dedicated revenues should be preserved in trust for the purpose of stabilizing the state's health-related programs and delivery systems. It further finds and declares that these dedicated revenues should be preserved in trust for the purpose of educating the public about the health risks associated with tobacco usage and establishing a program designed to reduce and stop the use of tobacco by the citizens of this state and in particular by teenagers.

(b) There is hereby created a special account in the state Treasury, designated the West Virginia Tobacco Settlement Medical Trust Fund, which shall be an interest-bearing account and may be invested in the manner permitted by §12-6-9 of this code, with the interest income a proper credit to the fund. Unless contrary to federal law, 50 percent of all revenues received pursuant to the master settlement agreement shall be deposited in this fund. Funds paid into the account may also be derived from the following sources:

(1) All interest or return on investment accruing to the fund;

(2) Any gifts, grants, bequests, transfers or donations which may be received from any governmental entity or unit or any person, firm, foundation or corporation;

(3) Any appropriations by the Legislature which may be made for this purpose; and

(4) Any funds or accrued interest remaining in the board of Risk and Insurance Management Physicians' Mutual Insurance Company account created pursuant to §33-20F-7 of this code on or after July 1, 2004.

(c) (1) The moneys from the principal in the trust fund may not be expended for any purpose, except that on April 1, 2003, the Treasurer shall transfer to the board of Risk and Insurance Management Physicians' Mutual Insurance Company account created by §33-20F-7 of this code, $24 million from the West Virginia Tobacco Settlement Medical Trust Fund for use as the initial capital and surplus of the Physicians' Mutual Insurance Company created pursuant to said article. The remaining moneys in the trust fund resulting from interest earned on the moneys in the fund and the return on investments of the moneys in the fund shall be available only upon appropriation by the Legislature as part of the state budget and expended in accordance with the provisions of section three of this article.

(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary, on the effective date of the amendment and reenactment of this section during the regular session of the Legislature in 2006, all moneys in the trust fund and any interest or other return earned thereon shall be transferred to the Revenue Shortfall Reserve Fund - Part B created in §11B-2-20 of this code and the trust fund shall be closed. No provisions of the amendments made to this section during the regular session of the Legislature in 2006 may be construed to change the requirements of this section for the deposit of revenues received pursuant to the master settlement agreement into the Workers' Compensation Debt Reduction Fund: Provided, That notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary, beginning with fiscal year 2020 and for each fiscal year thereafter on June 30th, 50% of the interest from this trust fund shall be deposited into the “Tobacco Cessation Initiative Program Special Revenue Account” created in §16-9G-3 of this code, for the purpose of funding the state program established in §16-9G-1 et seq. of this code.

(d) Notwithstanding the preceding subsections to the contrary, the first $30 million of all revenues received after June 30, 2005, pursuant to section IX(c)(1) of the master settlement agreement shall in the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2005, and each fiscal year thereafter, be deposited in the Workers' Compensation Debt Reduction Fund established in the State Treasury in §23-2D-5 of this code. Receipts in excess of $30 million shall be deposited into the Tobacco Settlement Fund provided in section three of this article.

(e) Notwithstanding anything in this code to the contrary, strategic compensation payments received pursuant to section IX(c)(2) of the master settlement agreement, beginning in 2008, shall be deposited in their entirety in the Workers' Compensation Debt Reduction Fund.

(f) Notwithstanding anything in this code to the contrary, on the effective date of the sale of the state's share to the authority as authorized in this article, the deposits and transfers provided in this section shall cease and no longer be required.

CHAPTER 16. PUBLIC HEALTH.

ARTICLE 9G. TOBACCO CESSATION INITIATIVE.

§16-9G-1. Establishment of Tobacco Use Cessation Initiative.

(a) The purpose of this article is to direct a portion of the dedicated funding of the Tobacco Master Settlement proceeds to fund state programs for the reduction of all forms of tobacco, tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, or vapor products use in West Virginia. The Bureau for Public Health’s Division of Tobacco Prevention shall administer the program, and the Tobacco Use Prevention and Cessation Task Force shall monitor the division’s programs and activities and recommend programs and initiatives focused on reduction of tobacco, tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, and vapor products use, with a primary focus on reduction of the initiation of use of all tobacco, tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, and vapor products, as defined in §16-9a-1.

(b) Evidence-based recommendations from the United States Department of Health and Human Services Treating Tobacco Use Dependence Guidelines and the 2018 American College of Cardiology Expert Consensus Decision Pathway on Tobacco Cessation Treatment strongly indicate that tobacco, tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, and vapor products use is a chronic relapsing substance use disorder that requires repeated coordinated interventions. It is important that clinicians and health care systems consistently identify and document tobacco, tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, and vapor products use status, including exposure to second hand smoke, and treat every tobacco, tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, and vapor products user seen in a health care setting by strongly recommending the use of effective tobacco, tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, and vapor products dependence counseling and medication treatments. Joint actions by all providers creates a culture within the health care community in which failure to intervene is not considered customary care. The expert panel concluded that the most successful way to motivate clinicians to intervene is to provide them with evidence-based training that has multiple concurrent treatment options, and to ensure they have ample institutional support to use these options.

§16-9G-2. Tobacco Use Prevention and Cessation Task Force.

(a) The West Virginia Tobacco Use Prevention and Cessation Task Force is created for the purpose of recommending and monitoring the establishment and management of programs that are found to be effective in the reduction of tobacco, tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, and vapor products use by all state citizens, with a strong focus on the prevention of children and young adults use of tobacco, tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, and vapor products. The task force shall meet quarterly to study, monitor, and recommend funding and initiation of programs that reduce tobacco, tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, and vapor products consumption in West Virginia, and to initiate studies and processes to provide the most efficient and effective use of the funds dedicated for this purpose. The task force shall include a variety of persons in the health care field, including individuals certified from one of the programs accredited by the Council for Tobacco Treatment Training Programs or received a National Certificate in Tobacco Treatment Practice, advocates, and citizens, with the intention of the Legislature to create a dynamic and innovative group to focus, monitor, and facilitate state resources towards this goal.

(b) The task force shall have the following members:

(1) The Director of the Bureau for Public Health or his or her designee, who shall serve as chair;

(2) The Superintendent of the Department of Education or his or her designee;

(3) Four members to be appointed by the Governor:

(A) A representative of a nationwide nonprofit organization dedicated to the elimination of cancer;

(B) A representative of a nonprofit national organization that funds cardiovascular medical research;

(D) A physician, licensed under §30-3-1 et seq. or §30-14-1 et seq. with expertise in health impacts associated with tobacco, tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, or vapor products consumption;

(E) A representative of a national voluntary health organization whose mission is to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease through education, advocacy, and research;

(F) A representative who is certified from one of the programs accredited by the Council for Tobacco Treatment Training Programs or has received a National Certificate in Tobacco Treatment Practice, who has advanced education in evidence-based tobacco treatment competencies, skills, and practices;

(G) A representative from a national youth tobacco, tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, or vapor products prevention organization;

(H) A representative from West Virginia Bureau for Behavioral Health/West Virginia Prevention First Network; and

(I) Two citizen members that through professional or medical experience or advocacy are committed to work and advocate for cessation of tobacco, tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, and vapor products consumption in all forms in the state.

(c) The task force shall meet at least quarterly at the call of the chair. The Director of the Division of Tobacco Prevention shall attend each task force meeting and shall provide staff support services for the task force. The task force shall monitor the Division of Tobacco Prevention’s programs and make recommendations to the division on expenditures and programs which are being administered by that office. The task force shall report annually to the Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Resources Accountability by December 1^st, which shall include at a minimum, the following:

(1) An assessment of each program administered by the Division of Tobacco Prevention towards reducing tobacco, tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, and vapor products consumption and include an overview of its budget for the prior year and how state moneys and any other funding or grants received by the office are being expended that year;

(2) Review and analysis the types of tobacco, tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, and vapor products consumption practices in the state and identify emerging trends related to tobacco, tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, or vapor products delivery devices and related activities impacting tobacco, tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, and vapor products use, with particular emphasis on youth consumption trends and practices; and,

(3) Recommend for legislation or implementation of legislation, public policies; and funding of programs that can further facilitate a reduction in tobacco, tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, or vapor products usage in our state.