WEST virginia Legislature
2017 regular session
By
[
to the Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.
A BILL to amend the Code
of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new article, designated
§15-14-1, §15-14-2, §15-14-3, §15-14-4, §15-14-5, §15-14-6, §15-14-7 and
§15-14-8, all relating to enacting the refugee absorptive capacity act; short
title; definitions; state office within the department of health and human
services which deals with refugees; moratorium applications and cessations;
fiscal impact assessment; reports required; administration and severability.
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 §15-14-1, §15-14-2, §15-14-3, §15-14-4, §15-14-5, §15-14-6, §15-14-7
and §15-14-8, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 14. refugee
absorptive capacity act.
§15-14-1. Short
title.
This article shall be
known and may be cited as the "The West Virginia Refugee Absorptive
Capacity Act."
§15-14-2.
Definitions.
As used in this article:
(a) “Absorptive capacity"
is as determination made by the Governor or by a local government evaluating:
(1) The capacity of the
social service agencies, child welfare agencies, child care facilities,
educational facilities, healthcare facilities, translation and interpreter
services, and law-enforcement agencies of the state or in the jurisdiction of
the local government to meet the existing needs of the community's current
residents considering budgetary and other restraints;
(2) The capacity to
provide medical care to refugees who at the time of resettlement in the state
or in the jurisdiction of the local government are determined to have medical
conditions requiring, or medical histories indicating a need for treatment or
observation, or affecting the public health, both with or without expenditures
by this state, including expenditures under this state's approved Medicaid
state plan in accordance with section 1902(a)(10)(C) of the Social Security
Act, State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), or other public assistance
programs;
(3) The capacity to
provide affordable housing, low-cost housing, or both, considering existing
waiting lists for such housing in the state or in the jurisdiction of the local
government;
(4) The capacity of the
local school district in the jurisdiction of the local government to meet the
needs of the existing or anticipated refugee population, including education of
unaccompanied refugee minors and provision of English language training;
(5) The capacity of the
economy of the state or in the jurisdiction of the local government to absorb
new workers, including the likelihood of refugees placed in the jurisdiction of
the local government becoming employed, self-sufficient, and free from
long-term dependence on public assistance, without causing competition with
local residents for job opportunities, displacing existing local workers, or
adversely affecting the wages or working conditions of the local workforce;
(6) The capacity of
state and local law enforcement in the jurisdiction of the local government to
assure that law and order can be maintained and ensure that the refugee
population and the general public can be protected from crime, including child
abuse, domestic abuse and sex trafficking, as well as threats to national
security; and
(7) The capacity of the
state and local government to provide services considering whether the
jurisdiction of the local government has been highly impacted by the presence
of refugees or comparable populations, including the proportion of refugees and
comparable entrants in the population in the state or in the jurisdiction of
the local government, the amount of secondary migration of refugees to the
state or to the jurisdiction of the local government, and the proportion of
refugees in the state or in the jurisdiction of the local government receiving
cash or medical assistance through public assistance.
(b) "Local
government" or "local governments" refers to either the city
council or county commission that regulates any host community being considered
for refugee resettlement activity.
(c) "Local
educational agency" means:
(1) A public board of education
or other public authority legally constituted within a state for either
administrative control of or direction of, or to perform service functions for,
public elementary or secondary schools in:
(A) A county; or
(B) Such combination of
school districts or counties the state recognizes as an administrative agency
for its public elementary or secondary schools; or
(2) Any other public
institution or agency that has administrative control and direction of a public
elementary or secondary school.
(d) "Refugee
resettlement organization" means any
organization that receives federal
funding
for refugee resettlement, including any replacement designee.
(e) "State office
dealing with refugees" means the
state office within the Department of Health and Human Resources that
administers the refugee program for this state, or the entity or agency to whom
the state has delegated such function and that has been designated and
recognized by the federal government to administer such program.
(f) "State refugee
coordinator" means the official designated by the state office
dealing with refugees.
§15-14-3. State
office within the Department of Health and Human Services dealing with refugees.
The state office within
the Department of Health and Human Services which deals with refugees shall:
(a) Meet at least
quarterly with representatives of local governments to plan and coordinate the
appropriate placement of refugees in advance of the refugees’ arrival; at least
thirty days public notice shall be provided, and specific notice shall be
provided to all persons who make a request to receive direct notice through the
means of the person's choosing, including but not limited to certified mail,
regular United States mail, or electronic mail;
(b) Ensure that
representatives of local resettlement agencies, local community service
agencies, and other publicly-funded or tax-exempt agencies that serve refugees
in this state shall meet at least quarterly with representatives of local
governments, including representatives of law-enforcement and local educational
agencies, to plan and coordinate the appropriate placement of refugees in the
host community in advance of the refugees' arrival;
(c) Execute a letter of
agreement with each agency providing refugee resettlement services in this
state. The letter of agreement shall require the parties to mutually consult
and prepare a plan for the initial placement of refugees in a host community
and set forth the continuing process of consultation between the parties. The
provisions of the letter agreement shall be consistent with federal law
regulating the resettlement of refugees;
(d) Provide a
certification that the refugees settled in the state do not pose a security or
health risk to the citizens of the state; and
(e) At least quarterly
transmit copies of the letters of agreement and any initial refugee placement
plans prepared thereunder to the chairman of the House and Senate committees on
Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security and the Judiciary of the Legislature,
respectively, to the chairman of the budget committee of the local government
hosting the host refugee community, to the Secretary of the Department of
Military Affairs and Public Safety, to the Attorney General of the state, to
the head of all local law-enforcement agencies in the state, to the Superintendent
of the West Virginia State Police, to the sheriff of every county in this
state, to the West Virginia Superintendent of Schools, and to the
superintendent of schools for all counties in the state.
(f) On or before July
1,2017, the state refugee coordinator
shall provide to the chairman of the House and Senate committees on Veterans
Affairs and Homeland Security and the Judiciary of the Legislature,
respectively, to the chairman of the budget committee of the local government
hosting the host refugee community, to the Secretary of the Department of
Military Affairs and Public Safety, to the Attorney General of the state, to
the head of all local law-enforcement agencies in the state, to the Superintendent
of the West Virginia State Police, to the sheriff of every county in this
state, to the West Virginia Superintendent of Schools, and to the
superintendent of schools for all counties in the state, the fiscal impact
refugees have had on the state and the economic impact refugees have had on the
state from July 1, 2014, through July 1, 2017.
(g) Within thirty days
of the close of the calendar year, transmit to the chairman of the House and Senate
committees on Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security and the Judiciary of the
Legislature, respectively. to the chairman of the budget committee of the local
government hosting the host refugee community, to the Secretary of the
Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety, to the Attorney General of
the state, to the head of all local law-enforcement agencies in the state, to the
Superintendent of the West Virginia State Police, to the sheriff of every
county in this state, to the West Virginia Superintendent of Schools, and to
the superintendent of schools for all counties in the state, the following data
for the prior fiscal or calendar year:
(1) Copies of
statistical and programmatic information provided to the federal government,
including any Reception and Placement Program Proposal or resettlement
abstract, but this information shall be provided prior to being provided to the
federal government:
(2) Copies of the
written policies of the Refugee Cash Assistance program, including agency
policies regarding eligibility standards, the duration and amount of cash
assistance payments, the requirements for participation in services, the
penalties for noncooperation. and client rights and responsibilities to ensure
that refugees understand what they are eligible for, what is expected of them,
and what protections are available to them;
(3) Copies of any
written public/private Refugee Cash Assistance program operating at any time in
the calendar year;
(4) A report documenting
the number of refugees sanctioned for failure to comply with the requirements
of the Refugee Cash Assistance Program, and the number of determinations
concerning employability, or failure or refusal to carry out job search or to
accept an appropriate offer of employability services or employment, resulting
in denial or termination of assistance;
(5) A certification that
women have the same opportunities as men to participate in all services
provided, including job placement services;
(6) Any reports, either
submitted or received, of crime committed by a refugee who has been resettled
in the state, or crime committed against a refugee who has been resettled in
the state, including incidents of child abuse, female genital mutilation,
domestic abuse, sex trafficking. human trafficking, or terrorism, whether
prosecuted or not; and
(7) A report
delineating:
(A) The total number of
refugees resettled;
(B) The total number of
refugees under the age of eighteen resettled;
(C) The total number of
refugees between the ages of eighteen and forty resettled;
(D) The total number of
refugees between the ages of forty and sixty-five resettled;
(E) The total number of
refugees over the age of sixty-five;
(F) The total number of
refugees who are women and men, respectively;
(G) The public
assistance benefit programs that the refugees have applied for or enrolled
into;
(H) The total number of
refugee minors enrolled in a public school;
(I) The total of refugee
minors accessing English language learner services;
(J) The education levels
of the refugees resettled by gender:
(K) The locations by zip
code of initial resettlement for refugees resettled that year;
(L) The locations by zip
code of refugees who have migrated from the zip code at which
they
were initially resettled;
(M) The numbers of
refugees resettled with and without family already residing in the United
States;
(N) The number of
refugees for which the President of the United States, the Secretary of State,
the Attorney General, or the Secretary of Homeland Security exercised
discretionary authority granted by Section 212(d)(3)(B)(i) of the Immigration
and Nationality Act, 79 Fed. Reg. 6913 not to apply the material support
inadmissibility provisions of Section 212(a)(3)(B) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act to admit the refugee into the United States;
(O) The fiscal impact
refugees have on the state;
(P) The economic impact
refugees have on the state;
(Q) The process by which
the refugees entering the state were determined to not pose a security risk to
the citizens of the state:
(R) For each and every
refugee a description as to what vaccinations the refugee has received and the
diseases for which the refugee has been screened;
(S) For each and every
refugee their five previous employers and incomes;
(T) The total number of
refugees needing translation services throughout the year; and
(U) A certification that
all of the requirements found in this section have been met.
§15-14-4. Moratorium.
(a) The State Office for
Refugees or the Governor shall accept an application from a local government to
a moratorium on new refugee resettlement activities in a host community that
lacks sufficient absorptive capacity.
(b) A host community
lacks sufficient absorptive capacity where the local government, after
consultation with the state refugee coordinator, holds a public hearing and
issues findings based on the factors in subsection (a), section two of this
article that further resettlement of refugees in the host community would
result in an adverse impart to existing residents.
(c) Upon notice of a
determination made pursuant to subsection (b), the State Office for Refugees or
the Governor shall thereafter suspend additional resettlement of refugees in
that community until the state refugee coordinator and the local government
have jointly determined that sufficient absorptive capacity for refugee
resettlement exists to implement the initial refugee placement plan prepared
for the host refugee community.
(d) The period of
validity of a moratorium described in subsection (c) or any extension thereof
may not exceed one year.
§15-14-5. Fiscal
impacts.
(a) The state office in
the Department of Health and Human Services which deals with refugees may
collect fees stated in this section and each year shall assess the fiscal
impact refugees have on the state.
(b) On or before July 1
of each year. the state refugee coordinator shall make a determination
regarding the total fiscal impact on the state that is not reimbursable through
the federal government or otherwise.
(c) The amount each
refugee resettlement organization must reimburse to the state shall be proportional
to the number of refugees the refugee resettlement organization has facilitated
bringing into the state.
(d) The amount each
refugee resettlement organization must reimburse to the state will be
transmitted to every refugee resettlement organization each and every year
before July 1 of each year.
(e) Payment pursuant to
this section shall he made on or before August 1 of each year.
§15-14-6. Executive
order.
The Governor may issue
findings based on the factors in section two of this article that further
resettlement of refugees in the state would result in an adverse impact to
existing residents of the state and issue an executive order declaring that the
state, through any entity or designee, will not, until revocation of the executive
order, participate in the resettlement of refugees.
§15-14-7.
Administration of article.
Nothing in this article
creates a new agency for administering the implementation of this article. The Department of Health and Human Services,
as referenced in the West Virginia Refugee Resettlement Program Plan (the Plan)
along with persons and programs referenced in the Plan shall enforce this
article. This is the same plan signed by
the governor on July 28, 2016. This is
the same plan that was created pursuant to the provisions of the United States
code of Federal Regulations 45CFR 400.5.
§15-14-8.
Severability.
If any section,
subsection, subdivision, paragraph, sentence clause or phrase of this article
is for any reason held to be invalid, unlawful or unconstitutional, that
decision does not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this article
or any part thereof.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is
to enact the refugee absorptive capacity act; short title; definitions; state
office for refugees; moratorium applications and cessations; fiscal impact
assessment; and reports required.
Strike-throughs indicate language
that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring
indicates new language that would be added.