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Introduced Version House Bill 2174 History

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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
H. B. 2174


(By Delegates Boggs and Campbell)
[Introduced January 9, 2008; referred to the
Committee on Government Organization then Finance.]




A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new article, designated §4-6-1, §4-6-2 and §4-6-3, all relating to creating the Joint Commission on Technology and Advanced Communications; providing for appointment of members of the Senate and House of Delegates to the commission; providing for the appointment of citizen members; meetings, periods of function, powers and duties of the commission; and the recommendation of guidelines.

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 §4-6-1, §4-6-2 and §4-6-3, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 6. JOINT LEGISLATIVE COMMISSION ON TECHNOLOGY AND ADVANCED COMMUNICATIONS.

§4-6-1. Legislative findings; purposes and intent.
The Legislature hereby finds and declares:
(1) That the future economic base of West Virginia is tied to the development and utilization of technology;
(2) That efforts to enhance and promote the expansion and efficient use of technology should be coordinated among the several state and federal agencies, commissions, boards, committees, associations and other entities;
(3) It is anticipated that these efforts will increase statewide awareness of the technology community of this state; promote and enable technology-based economic development by cooperating with economic development organizations and coordinating industry expertise; and make known the vital roles the technology community and workforce have in the future of this state;
(4) That there exists a need to develop and maintain an overall technology policy for the State of West Virginia with respect to: (A) Application of technology to free state employees from repetitive tasks so the employees may focus on more important tasks; (B) application of technology to speed information flow and information management to achieve a faster response time to users of government services, including businesses, individuals and intergovernmental users; (C) minimize transaction costs; and (D) meet the demands of constituents for use of technology; and
(5) That the present and future welfare of the people of the state require, as a public purpose, a continuing effort toward the promotion and development of technology and the technology industry.
§4-6-2. Creation of a Joint Legislative Commission.
(a) There is created a Joint Legislative Commission of the Senate and House of Delegates, named the Joint Legislative Commission on Technology and Advanced Communications, for the purpose of studying and investigating all matters relating to technological advancements pertinent to the state and to promote the development of technology in the State of West Virginia through sound public policies.
(b) The commission shall be comprised of seven members from the West Virginia Senate, a cochairman and six members to be appointed by the Senate President, and seven members of the House of Delegates, a cochairman and six members to be appointed by the Speaker; the Speaker and the President shall appoint minority party members in the same proportion or ratio that minority party members elected to the respective houses bear to the total members elected to each house. The Speaker and President shall designate one of their respective members to cochair the Joint Legislative Commission on Technology and Advanced Communications. The commission shall include four members to be representatives from the technology industry in the state or from major users of technology in this state. The four nonlegislative members shall be appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate. Two members shall be appointed to serve a term of two years and two members shall be appointed to serve a term of four years. The successor of each such appointed member shall be appointed for an overlapping term of four years, except that any person appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term for which the predecessor was appointed shall be appointed only to the remainder of such term. Each member shall serve until the appointment of his or her successor.
(c) The Joint Legislative Commission on Technology and Advanced Communications shall function during the regular legislative session and during the interim, between the sine die adjournment or the extended recess of the regular session of each regular legislative session, until the convening of the next regular session of the Legislature, or reconvening of the Legislature.
(d) Each year the commission shall develop a work plan and identify several topic areas that it will consider. The work plan may include such study topics as those directed by the Legislature through legislation, requested by government agencies and the public, or identified on the commission's own initiative.
(e) Once the work plan is adopted, the commission will create advisory committees to the commission to study those initiatives that are designated. The committees shall be composed of members of the commission who cochair the committees, and persons with expertise in the matters under consideration by the committee. The chairs of the commission shall appoint members of the advisory committee who shall serve until the start of the next legislative session.
§4-6-3. Powers and duties of the commission generally.
(a) The Joint Legislative Commission on Technology and Advanced Communications shall study all aspects of technology and endeavor to stimulate, encourage, promote, and assist in the development of technology in the state, and related public policies. In addition, the commission shall:
(1) Review the annual reports and work plans submitted by the Governor's Office of Technology and the West Virginia Science and Technology Advisory Council concerning the development of access to a statewide public telecommunications network for distance learning, telemedicine, and universal access for governmental entities, e-government, e-commerce and other issues relating to technology, either initiated by those agencies or the committee, or referred to it by either house of the Legislature for study or review;
(2) Exercise leadership to coordinate for the various committees of the Legislature the various activities, studies, and planning activities of the Legislature which relate to any aspect of technological development;
(3) Evaluate the impact of existing statutes and proposed legislation related to technology in the state;
(4) Utilize the Governor's Office of Technology and other resources to investigate, research and consider issues related to technology as may be requested by the Legislature and make recommendations to the Legislature;
(5) Encourage research and development in technology; and
(6) Inventory and consult with existing technology businesses and enterprises as to ways to foster increased business activity and employment opportunities.
(b) Working in cooperation with the Governor's Office of Technology and the Department of Administration, the commission shall recommend guidelines to be used by the Legislature, State Government, and state political subdivisions for technology related purchasing.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create the Joint Commission on Technology and Advanced Communications and include nonlegislative members.

This article is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.

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