Senate Bill No. 329
(By Senators Foster, Jenkins, Prezioso, Yost, Unger, Plymale and
Wells)
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[Introduced January 21, 2010; referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
by
adding thereto a new article, designated §5-26-1 and §5-26-
2, all relating to the creation of the Herbert Henderson
Office of Minority Affairs; establishing the powers and
duties of the office; providing for an executive director,
staff and office; requiring annual reports to the Governor
and the Joint Committee on Government and Finance; and
creating a Minority Affairs Fund.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new article, designated §5-26-1 and §5-26-2,
all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 26. HERBERT HENDERSON OFFICE OF MINORITY AFFAIRS.
§5-26-1. Establishment of Herbert Henderson Office of Minority
Affairs.
(a) There is created and established in the office of the
Governor the Herbert Henderson Office of Minority Affairs. The
office shall:
(1) Provide a forum for discussion of issues that affect the
state's minorities;
(2) Identify and promote best practices in the provision of
programs and services to minorities;
(3) Review information and research that can inform state
policy as to the delivery of programs and services to minorities;
(4) Make recommendations in areas of policy and allocation
of resources;
(5) Pursuant to appropriation of the Legislature, award
grants, loans and loan guaranties for minority affairs programs
and activities in this state; and
(6) Provide recommendations to the Governor and the
Legislature regarding the most appropriate means to provide
programs and services to support minority groups in the state.
(b) The office shall report to the Governor and the Joint
Committee on Government and Finance in January, 2011 and each
year thereafter. The report may include, but is not limited to,
findings and recommendations regarding:
(1) The extent to which programs and services for minorities
are available in the state, and to which funding for providing
those programs and services is available;
(2) The most appropriate means for the planning, delivery and evaluation of existing and needed programs and services for
minority groups in the manner that best promotes diversity and
regional, cultural and ethnic sensitivity;
(3) Recommendations for the coordination of programs and
services to minority groups throughout the state, and with those
of other states and the federal government;
(4) Identifications of governmental and private agencies,
offices, departments or other entities in existence or
recommended for creation that would, alone or in concert, most
effectively improve the delivery of programs and services to
minority groups throughout the state;
(5) Recommendations for changes to law that would
facilitate the achievement of the objectives of the office; and
(6) Such other matters as the office may determine
appropriate to its purposes.
(c) The Governor shall appoint an executive director of the
office to carry out its work and to oversee staff adequate to
fulfill its functions, and shall provide funding and offices for
those purposes.
§5-26-2. Minority Affairs Fund created; purpose.
(a) There is created in the State Treasury a special revenue
fund to be known as the "Minority Affairs Fund" which shall
consist of all gifts, grants, bequests, transfers, appropriations
or other donations or payments received by the Herbert Henderson
Office of Minority Affairs from any governmental entity or unit
or any person, firm, foundation or corporation for the purposes
of this article, and all interest or other return earned from
investment of the fund. Expenditures from the fund shall be made
by the Executive Director of the Herbert Henderson Office of
Minority Affairs to provide matching funds to obtain federal
funds for the delivery of programs and services to minorities in
this state, to award grants, loans and loan guaranties for
minority affairs programs and activities, and for performance of
the duties of the office prescribed in this article.
Expenditures from the fund shall be for the purposes set forth in
this article and are not authorized from collections, but are to
be made only in accordance with appropriation by the Legislature
and in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter
twelve of this code and upon the fulfillment of the provisions of
article two, chapter eleven-b of this code.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create The Herbert
Henderson Office of Minority Affairs.
This article is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.
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