H. B. 2176
(By Delegates McKinley and Richards)
[Introduced February 18, 1993; referred to the
Committee on Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section fourteen, article one,
chapter ten of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to ensuring that
cuts in the budget of the library commission and public
libraries do not exceed mandated cuts in the budgets of
secondary education programs during periods of declining
revenue.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section fourteen, article one, chapter ten of the code
of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. PUBLIC LIBRARIES.
§10-1-14. State library commission. -- Powers and duties.
The commission shall give assistance, advice and counsel to
all school, state-institutional, free and public libraries, and
to all communities in the state which may propose to establish
libraries, as to the best means of establishing and administeringthem, selecting and cataloging books, and other details of
library management, and may send any of its members to aid in
organizing such libraries or assist in the improvement of those
already established.
It may also receive gifts of money, books, or other property
which may be used or held for the purpose or purposes given; and
may purchase and operate traveling libraries under such
conditions and rules as the commission deems necessary to protect
the interests of the state and best increase the efficiency of
the service it is expected to render the public.
It may purchase suitable books for traveling libraries and
distribute them as needed to those persons and places in the
state without adequate public library service. It may collect
books and other suitable library matter and distribute the same
among state institutions desiring the same.
The commission may issue and offer for sale printed
material, such as lists and circulars of information, and in the
publication thereof may cooperate with other state library
commissions and libraries, in order to secure the more economical
administration of the work for which it was formed. It may
conduct courses of library instruction and hold librarians'
institutes in various parts of the state.
The commission shall perform such other service in behalf of
public libraries as it may consider for the best interests of the
state.
When state spending units are required to reduceexpenditures as a result of declining revenues, the library
commission and all school, public institutional and free
libraries served by the library commission shall not be required
to reduce expenditures in excess of the reduction in expenditures
required of secondary education programs.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to ensure that reductions
to the budgets of the library commission and public libraries
required during times of declining revenues do not exceed
reductions required of secondary education programs.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.