Senate Bill No. 755
(By Senators Chafin and Helmick)
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[Introduced February 18, 2008; 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 §29-22D-1, §29-22D-2,
§29-22D-3 and §29-22D-4, all relating to the establishment of
a Track and Lottery Oversight Committee; selection of its
members; qualifications; terms of office; compensation; and
bonding requirements.
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 §29-22D-1, §29-22D-2,
§29-22D-3 and §29-22D-4, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 22D. TRACK AND LOTTERY OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE.
§29-22D-1. Composition, members; qualifications; appointment;
terms of office.
(a) A track and lottery oversight committee is created
consisting of three members, all of whom must be residents and citizens of this state. The committee has continuous oversight
over track and lottery funds and reports to the Joint Committee on
Government and Finance in order that the public may be better
informed concerning the financial activities of all the
institutions licensed to conduct gaming activities.
(b) The committee members are to be appointed by the President
of the Senate, no later than the first day of July, two thousand
eight. The terms of members first appointed expire as designated
by the President of the Senate at the time of appointment: One at
the end of one year; one the end of two years and one at the end of
three years. Thereafter, members serve overlapping terms of five
years. Members are eligible for successive appointments to the
committee.
(c) Upon the effective date of this section, as vacancies
occur, appointments to fill vacancies shall be made so that at
least one member is appointed from each congressional district
existing as of the first day of January, two thousand eight. No
more than two members of such commission shall belong to the same
political party. On the first day of July of each year, the
commission shall select a chairman from its membership.
(d) Notwithstanding any provision in section four, article
six, chapter six of this code to the contrary, the President of the
Senate may remove any commission member for cause. Vacancies shall
be filled in the same manner as the original appointment, but only for the remainder of the term. No person convicted of a felony or
crime involving moral turpitude is eligible for appointment nor
appointed to the committee.
§29-22D-2. Compensation, expenses and funding.
The board shall pay each member the sum of eighty thousand
dollars per annum and shall reimburse each member for actual and
necessary expenses incurred in the discharge of his or her official
duties:
Provided, That the mileage reimbursement rate will be the
same rate as authorized for members of the Legislature. All such
payments will be made from the State Lottery Fund.
§29-22D-3. Frequency of meetings and quorums.
(a) At least one meeting per month shall be held by the
committee. Additional meetings may be held at the call of the
chairman or majority of the commission members.
(b) A majority of the members constitutes a quorum for the
transaction of business and all actions require a majority vote of
the members present.
§29-22D-4. Oath of office and bonding requirement.
Before entering upon the discharge of the duties as a member,
each member must take and subscribe to the oath of office
prescribed in section five, article IV of the Constitution of West
Virginia and shall enter a bond in the penal sum of one hundred
thousand dollars with a corporate surety authorized to engage in
business in this state, conditioned upon the faithful discharge and performance of the duties of the office. The executed oath and
bond will be filed in the office of the Secretary of State.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to establish a track and
lottery oversight committee and sets forth how its three members
are selected. The bill also sets forth the qualifications of
members, terms of office and compensation and bonding requirements.
The article is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.