H. B. 3321
(By Delegates Wooton and Moore)
[Introduced March 23, 2009; referred to the
Committee on Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §5B-2-12 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to the frequency of funding of the
courtesy patrol program out of the Tourism Promotion Fund.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §5B-2-12 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. WEST VIRGINIA DEVELOPMENT OFFICE.
§5B-2-12. Tourism Promotion Fund created; use of funds.
There is hereby continued in the State Treasury the special
revenue fund known as the Tourism Promotion Fund created under
prior enactment of section nine, article one of this chapter.
(a) The Legislature finds that a courtesy patrol program
providing assistance to motorists on the state's highways is one of
the most beneficial methods to introduce a tourist visiting the
state of the state's hospitality and good will. For that reason, $4,700,000 of the moneys deposited in the fund each year shall be
deposited in a special revenue account in the State Treasury to be
known as the Courtesy Patrol Fund. Expenditures from the fund
shall be
distributed in equal monthly installments and shall used
solely to fund the courtesy patrol program providing assistance to
motorists on the state's highways
: Provided, That at the beginning
of each year a sum shall be set aside in the fund for the purchase
of the vehicles necessary to accomplish the purpose of this
program. This sum is in excess to the equal monthly installments
and shall be distributed as necessary to purchase these vehicles.
Amounts collected in the fund which are found, from time to time,
to exceed funds needed for the purposes set forth in this
subdivision may be transferred to other accounts or funds and
redesignated for other purposes by appropriation of the
Legislature:
Provided, That the sum for the purchase of vehicles
shall be set aside prior to any determination of potential excess
funds.
(b) If there are funds remaining after the
sum set aside for
the purchase of vehicles and the monthly distribution required in
subdivision (a) of this section, a minimum of five percent of the
moneys deposited remaining in the fund each year shall be used
solely for direct advertising for West Virginia travel and tourism:
Provided, That no less than twenty percent of these funds be
expended, with the approval of the Director of the Division of Natural Resources, to effectively promote and market the state's
parks, state forests, state recreation areas and wildlife
recreational resources. Direct advertising means advertising which
is limited to television, radio, mailings, newspaper, magazines,
the Internet and outdoor billboards or any combination thereof.
(c) The balance of the moneys deposited in the fund shall be
used for direct advertising within the state's travel regions as
defined by the commission. The funds shall be made available to
these districts beginning July 1, 1995, according to legislative
rules authorized for promulgation by the Tourism Commission.
(d) All advertising expenditures over $25,000 from the Tourism
Promotion Fund require prior approval by recorded vote of the
commission. No member of the commission or of any committee
created by the commission to evaluate applications for advertising
or other grants may participate in the discussion of, or action
upon, an application for or an award of any grant in which the
member has a direct financial interest.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require monthly
distribution of the funds required to be transferred from the
Tourism Promotion Fund to fund the Courtesy Patrol and, after a set
aside for the purchase of vehicles and amounts found to be in
excess of the monthly distribution may be redesignated for other
purposes by the Legislature.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
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