Senate Bill No. 88
(By Senators Facemyer, Williams, Foster and Hall)
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[Introduced February 11, 2009; referred to the Committee on
Agriculture; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §4-11A-3 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended; to amend and reenact §19-1-4 of said code;
and to amend said code by adding thereto a new section,
designated §19-1-4e, all relating to the Tobacco Settlement
Fund; duties of the Commissioner of the Department of
Agriculture; duty to assist farmers to make the transition
from growing tobacco to growing other crops or pursuing other
agriculture-related businesses; creating the Transition
Program for Tobacco Farmers' Fund; and creating the Transition
Program for Tobacco Farmers.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §4-11A-3 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted; that §19-1-4 of said code be amended and
reenacted; and that said code be amended by adding thereto a new
section, designated §19-1-4e, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 4. THE LEGISLATURE.
ARTICLE 11A. LEGISLATIVE APPROPRIATION OF TOBACCO SETTLEMENT FUNDS.
§4-11A-3. Receipt of settlement funds and required deposit in the
West Virginia Tobacco Settlement Fund.
(a) There is
hereby created continued in the State Treasury a
special revenue account, designated the Tobacco Settlement Fund,
which
shall be is an interest-bearing account and may be invested
in the manner permitted by the provisions of article six, chapter
twelve of this code, with the interest income a proper credit to
the fund. Unless contrary to federal law, fifty percent of all
revenues received pursuant to the master settlement agreement shall
be deposited in this fund. These funds shall be available only
upon appropriation by the Legislature as part of the state budget
:
Provided, That for the fiscal year 2000, the first $5 million
received into the fund shall be transferred to the Public Employees
Insurance Reserve Fund created in article two, chapter five-a of
this code.
(b) Appropriations from the Tobacco Settlement Fund are
limited to expenditures for the following purposes:
(1) Reserve funds for continued support of the programs
offered by the Public Employees Insurance Agency established in
article sixteen, chapter five of this code;
(2) Funding for expansion of the federal-state Medicaid
program as authorized by the Legislature or mandated by the federal
government;
(3) Funding for public health programs, services and agencies;
and
(4) Funding for any state-owned or -operated health
facilities;
and
(5) $5 million for the Transition Program for Tobacco Farmers
provided in section four-e, article one, chapter nineteen of this
code.
(c) Notwithstanding anything in this code to the contrary, on
the effective date of the sale of the state's share to the
authority as authorized in this article, the deposits and transfers
provided in this section shall cease and no longer be required.
(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of section two, article
two, chapter twelve of this code, moneys within the Tobacco
Settlement Trust Fund may not be redesignated for any purpose other
than those set forth in this section.
CHAPTER 19. AGRICULTURE.
ARTICLE 1. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
§19-1-4. Duties of commissioner.
The Commissioner of Agriculture shall perform the following
duties:
(a) Devise means of advancing the agricultural interests of
the state and, in the performance of such duty, he or she
shall
have has authority to call upon any state department, or officer of
the state or county, to cooperate in promoting the agricultural
interests of the state. It
shall be is the duty of any such
department, or officer, upon request of the commissioner to render
the assistance desired;
(b) Promote and encourage the organization of
such societies and associations
as that have for their object the improvement and
development of the state's agricultural, horticultural and kindred
interests, especially in production, processing for market and
distribution;
(c) Conduct cooperative work with the United States Department
of Agriculture in inspecting and determining the grade and
condition of farm produce at collecting centers, receiving centers
and shipping points;
(d) Induce the investment of capital in, and immigration into,
this state by the dissemination of information relative to the
soil, climate, health, natural resources, market opportunities and
advantages of the state;
(e) Investigate and report upon the kinds, conditions and
extent of the mineral products of the state and their value;
(f) Take charge of the museum of the Department of
Agriculture, collect, preserve and exhibit
therein in the museum
specimens of agricultural, horticultural and kindred products,
products of the forests, minerals, flora and fauna of the state;
(g) Publish and distribute, from time to time,
such reports
and bulletins concerning agriculture, horticulture and kindred
subjects as may be of value to the farmers of the state and, as
conditions may demand, publish a handbook giving the resources of
the several counties of the state, the varieties of soil and
products, both mineral and vegetable, and the adaptability of the
different sections of the state to the different branches of
agriculture, horticulture and kindred interests;
(h) Assist farmers to make the transition from growing tobacco
to growing other crops or pursuing other agricultural-related
businesses through the Transition Program for Farmers provided in
section four-e of this article;
(h) (i) Submit a biennial report to the Governor and
Legislature containing such information as to the operations of the
department as may be helpful to the agricultural interests of the
state, together with an itemized statement of all receipts and
disbursements during the biennial period covered thereby by the
report and giving the name of every person employed during such the
period, the time employed and the amount paid each employee;
(i) (j) Perform such other duties and exercise such other
powers as are provided in this chapter and by general law; and
(j) (k) Propose rules, including regulatory standards, for
legislative approval in accordance with the provisions of article
three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code for the purpose of
carrying out the requirements of this chapter.
§19-1-4e. Transition program for tobacco farmers; creation of
special revenue account.
(a) The commissioner shall propose rules for legislative
approval in accordance with the provisions of article three,
chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, designed to establish and
implement the transition program for tobacco farmers, no later than
September 1, 2009. The program's primary purpose is to assist
tobacco farmers in the transition from growing tobacco to growing
other crops or pursuing other agricultural-related businesses. In addition to the authority granted in section four-a of this
article, the commissioner is authorized to accept grants and incur
indebtedness to fund the program.
(b) There is created in the State Treasury a special revenue
account, designated the "Transition Program for Tobacco Farmers'
Fund." No later than September 1, 2009, $5 million shall be
transferred from the Tobacco Settlement Fund provided under section
three, article eleven-a, chapter four of this code to the
Transition Program for Tobacco Farmers' Fund which shall be
allocated for use in the program's initial three year phase. The
Transition Program for Tobacco Farmers' Fund may also receive
grants and loans or other sources of funding as provided under
section four-a of this article, at the commissioner's discretion,
and the commissioner shall administer the fund in accordance with
the purposes of the Transition Program for Tobacco Farmers' Fund.
NOTE:
The purpose of this bill is to provide a system
to
assist farmers to make the transition from growing tobacco to
growing other crops or pursuing other agricultural endeavors. The
bill includes provisions which create the "Transition Program for
Tobacco Farmers" as well as the "Transition Program for Tobacco
Farmers' Fund." The bill also provides for use of the Tobacco
Settlement Fund for the program.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
§19-1-4e is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring
have been omitted.
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