Senate Bill No. 305
(By Senator Schoonover)
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[Introduced February 8, 1994; referred to the Committee
on Labor; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend article three-a, chapter twenty-one of the code
of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
twenty, relating to the occupational safety and health act;
charging fees for services to public employers; creating a
special revenue fund for fees and other appropriations;
authorizing the labor commissioner to make disbursements
pursuant to an approved expenditure schedule; and requiring
the commissioner to maintain accurate records as to costs of
administering the act.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article three-a, chapter twenty-one of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section
twenty, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3A. OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT.
§21-3A-20. Public employer fees; special revenue fund;
commissioner expenditures authorized under an approved plan;
required record of administrative costs.
In order to operate the division of occupational health and
safety and to enforce this article, there is hereby created a
special revenue account to be known as the "Occupational Safety
and Health Fund." This fund shall consist of appropriations made
by the Legislature and moneys transferred in accordance with the
provisions of this section from other state government agencies,
departments, divisions and units and from such local government
units as are covered by this article for the provision of
occupational safety and health services. The commissioner is
authorized to establish a fee for the provision of occupational
safety and health services not to exceed one dollar and fifty
cents per employee per month. Each affected agency, department,
division and unit is hereby authorized and directed to transmit
to the division for deposit in said special fund such charges as
are made by the division for services rendered. Disbursements
from the fund shall be made in accordance with an approved
expenditure schedule, as provided by article two, chapter five-a
of this code, and shall be made under the direct supervision of
the commissioner. The commissioner shall maintain accurate
records that reflect the cost of administering the provisions of
this article.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to finance the
enforcement arm and other operations of the labor commissioner's
division of occupational safety and health. State governmententities and local government units covered by the state's
occupational safety and health act would be charged a fee, not to
exceed $1.50 per employee per month, for services rendered by the
division. Fees and other legislative appropriations would be
deposited in and expended from a special revenue fund to be
administered by the labor commissioner pursuant to specified
standards.
Section twenty is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.