H. B. 2598
(By Delegates Beach, Heck, Wallace, Mezzatesta,
Michael, J. Martin and Evans)
[Introduced January 10, 1996; referred to the
Committee on Education then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact article thirty, chapter eighteen of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended, relating to higher education;
reenacting the West Virginia higher education tuition trust
act; stating legislative findings and purpose; definitions;
creating the West Virginia higher education tuition trust
fund; providing for the appointment of a board of directors;
powers; creating higher education tuition trust fund;
provisions for tuition prepayment contract and tuition trust
account contracts; termination of contract; report of
account and annual audit; administration of trust;
conditions precedent to administration of trust; income tax
deduction for purchasers; creating mountain state
scholarship fund; construction; and expiration date.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article thirty, chapter eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 30. WEST VIRGINIA HIGHER EDUCATION TUITION TRUST ACT.
§18-30-1. Title.
This article shall be known and may be cited as the "West
Virginia Higher Education Tuition Trust Act."
§18-30-2. Legislative findings and purpose.
The Legislature hereby finds and declares that it is in the
best interests of the state to encourage its citizens to obtain
a higher education. The Legislature further finds that tuition
costs at institutions of higher education are difficult for many
to either afford or to predict so they can plan for a higher
education.
In light of these findings, the Legislature declares the
purpose of this article and the West Virginia higher education
tuition trust fund created by this article is to encourage
students and their parents to plan for attendance at an
institution of higher education, to enable them to finance the
cost of a higher education in this state by providing economic
protection against rising tuition costs at state institutions of
higher education and economic assistance for attendance at other
institutions of higher education in this state, and to enhance
access to all institutions of higher education to benefit the
state of West Virginia and its people.
§18-30-3. Definitions.
As used in this article, except where the context clearly
requires otherwise:
(a) "Average tuition cost" means the weighted average cost
per semester for full-time, resident, undergraduate attendance at
any state institution of higher education, such weighted average
cost to be arrived at by adding the products of the cost of
tuition at each state institution of higher education for
full-time attendance per semester times its total number of
full-time-equivalent undergraduate students during a fiscal year,
and then dividing that sum by the total number of
full-time-equivalent undergraduate students attending all state
institutions of higher education in that fiscal year;
(b) "Board" means the board of directors of the West
Virginia higher education tuition trust board provided for in
section five of this article;
(c) "Contract" means a tuition prepayment contract or a
tuition trust account contract, or both;
(d) "Fund" means the West Virginia higher education tuition
trust fund created in section seven of this article;
(e) "Institution of higher education" means any public or
private, nonprofit, accredited, degree-granting college or
university;
(f) "Purchaser" means a person who makes or is obligated to make payments pursuant to a tuition prepayment contract or
tuition trust account contract, or both;
(g) "Qualified beneficiary" means any resident of this
state, or any other state, who is named as such in the tuition
prepayment contract or tuition trust account contract;
(h) "Standard tuition unit" means the weighted average
tuition cost divided by the minimum number of credits per
semester required for full-time enrollment to reflect a cost per
credit;
(i) "State institution of higher education" means state
colleges, state universities and any community college as those
terms are defined in section two, article one, chapter eighteen-b
of this code;
(j) "Trust" means the West Virginia higher education tuition
trust created in section four of this article;
(k) "Tuition" means the cost of tuition and all mandatory
fees required of resident, undergraduate students per semester at
state institutions of higher education including, but not limited
to, fees required pursuant to article ten, chapter eighteen-b of
this code;
(l) "Tuition prepayment contract" means a contract entered
into by the trust and a purchaser pursuant to section eight of
this article; and
(m) "Tuition trust account contract" means a contract entered into by the trust and a purchaser pursuant to section
nine of this article.
§18-30-4. West Virginia higher education tuition trust created.
(a) There is created a public body corporate and politic to
be known as the West Virginia higher education tuition trust.
The trust shall be within the office of the state treasurer and
may utilize the services, personnel and equipment of such office,
but shall exercise its prescribed statutory powers, duties and
functions independently of the head of that office.
(b) The purposes, powers and duties of the West Virginia
higher education tuition trust are vested in and shall be
exercised by a board of directors.
§18-30-5. Appointment of board of directors; terms;
compensation; proceedings generally.
(a) The board of directors shall consist of the secretary of
education and the arts, who shall be the chairman of the board,
the executive secretary of the state board of investments, and
the state superintendent of schools, who shall serve as ex
officio voting members of the board, and six other members with
knowledge, skill and experience in an academic, business or
financial field, who shall be residents of the state appointed by
the governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.
Of the six appointed members, four shall be appointed from
nominations as follows: One shall be a private citizen not employed by or an officer of the state or any political
subdivision thereof appointed from one or more nominees of the
speaker of the House of Delegates; one shall be a private citizen
not employed by or an officer of the state or any political
subdivision thereof appointed from one or more nominees of the
president of the Senate; one shall be a president of a state
institution of higher education who shall be appointed from one
or more nominees of the council of presidents of state colleges
and universities; and one shall represent the interests of
private institutions of higher education located in this state
who shall be appointed from one or more nominees of the West
Virginia association of private colleges. Of these six members
first appointed, two shall be appointed for terms that expire on
the thirty-first day of December, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-six, two shall be appointed for terms that expire on the
thirty-first day of December, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-seven, and two shall be appointed for a term that expires
on the thirty-first day of December, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-eight. Following the expiration of these fixed terms, a
member shall be appointed for a term of three years. A member
shall serve until a successor is appointed, and a vacancy shall
be filled for the balance of the unexpired term in the same
manner as the original appointment. The secretary of education
and the arts, executive secretary of the state board of investments, state superintendent or president of a state
institution of higher education may appoint a designee to serve
as a voting member of the board in such person's absence.
(b) Members of the board shall serve without compensation,
but shall receive reimbursement for reasonable and necessary
expenses actually incurred in the performance of their duties as
board members unless such member is otherwise reimbursed as an
employee of the state.
(c) A majority of the voting members appointed to the board
shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at a
meeting of the board, or the exercise of a power or function of
the trust, notwithstanding the existence of one or more
vacancies. Voting upon action taken by the board shall be
conducted by majority vote of the members present in person at a
meeting of the board, and, if authorized by the bylaws of the
board and when a quorum is present in person at the meeting, by
use of amplified telephonic equipment. The board shall meet at
the call of the chairman and as may be provided in its bylaws.
Meetings of the board may be held anywhere within the state.
(d) The board is subject to the open governmental
proceedings and freedom of information provisions of article
nine-a, chapter six, and chapter twenty-nine-b, respectively, of
this code.
§18-30-6. Powers generally.
In addition to the powers granted by other provisions of
this article, the board has the powers necessary or convenient to
carry out and effectuate the purposes, objectives and provisions
of this article, the purposes and objectives of the trust and the
powers delegated by other laws or executive orders, including,
but not limited to, the power to:
(1) Invest any money of the trust, at the board's
discretion, with the West Virginia state board of investments, or
in any instruments, obligations, securities or property
authorized under article six, chapter twelve of this code for the
investment of state moneys;
(2) Name and use depositories for its money in such manner
as is prescribed for the deposit of state moneys;
(3) Pay money to institutions of higher education on account
of a qualified beneficiary as provided in a contract made with
the trust and to enter into contractual or other arrangements
that are necessary or appropriate with institutions of higher
education in order to fulfill the trust's obligations under
tuition prepayment and tuition trust account contracts;
(4) Administer the higher education tuition trust fund
pursuant to section seven and other provisions of this article;
(5) To make, execute and deliver contracts in accordance
with the provisions of sections eight and nine of this article,
which contracts shall set forth terms and conditions relating to payment, benefits, withdrawal and any other provisions which
clarify the rights and duties of the parties to the contracts;
(6) Employ and delegate to an executive secretary or others
such functions and authority as the board considers necessary or
appropriate, including, but not limited to, the hiring, oversight
and supervision of employees of the trust;
(7) Utilize the services, personnel and equipment of the
treasurer's office for the provision of all or a portion of the
services necessary for the management and operation of the trust;
(8) Contract with others, public or private, for goods and
any services necessary for the management and operation of the
trust, including the office of the attorney general and engage
the services of private consultants, actuaries, managers, legal
counsel and auditors for rendering professional, management and
technical assistance and advice, all payable out of any money of
the trust from management and administrative withholding fees in
excess of that needed to ensure actuarial soundness of the trust
funds;
(9) Solicit and accept gifts, grants, loans and other aids
from any person or the federal, state or a local government or
any agency of the federal, state or a local government, and to
participate in any other way in any federal, state or local
government program;
(10) Certify and approve contracts entered into with a private sector investment manager which provide equivalent
benefits, rights and duties to purchasers, beneficiaries, the
trust and state institutions of higher education as a contract
offered by the trust, including provisions relating to
administrative fees, charges and penalties, and the disposition
of amounts resulting therefrom;
(11) Charge, impose and collect administrative fees, charges
and penalties in connection with any refund or transfer to an
institution of higher education outside this state and provide
for reasonable penalties, including default, for delinquent
payment of amounts due under a tuition prepayment or tuition
trust account contract, or for fraud;
(12) Procure insurance against any loss in connection with
the trust's property, assets or activities;
(13) Sue and be sued; have a seal and alter the same at
pleasure; have perpetual succession; make, execute and deliver
any additional contracts, conveyances and other instruments
necessary or convenient to the exercise of its powers; and make
and amend bylaws;
(14) Indemnify or procure insurance indemnifying any member
of the board from personal loss or accountability from liability
resulting from a member's action or inaction as a member of the
board;
(15) Establish policies, procedures and any other criteria necessary or convenient to implement this act;
(16) Impose reasonable limits on the number of participants
in the trust; and
(17) Make transfers of trust moneys to the mountain state
scholarship fund created in section fifteen of this article.
§18-30-7. Higher education tuition trust fund created; assets
generally; expenditures; exemption from taxation;
excess funds.
(a) The higher education tuition trust fund is hereby
created, to be under the jurisdiction and control of the board.
Payments received by the trust from purchasers on behalf of
qualified beneficiaries or from any other source, public or
private, shall be placed in the fund. The fund may be divided
into separate accounts.
(b) Assets of the trust shall not be considered state money.
The assets of the trust shall be preserved, invested and expended
solely pursuant to and for the purposes set forth in this act and
shall not be loaned or otherwise transferred or used by the state
for any purpose other than the purposes of this act: Provided,
That this section shall not be construed to prohibit the trust
from investing in, by purchase or otherwise, bonds, notes or
other obligations of the state, an agency of the state or an
instrumentality of the state.
(c) Unless otherwise provided by resolution of the board, assets of the trust shall be expended in the following order of
priority:
(1) To make payments to institutions of higher education on
account of qualified beneficiaries;
(2) To make refunds upon termination of a contract;
(3) To pay the costs of administration, management and
organization of the trust and the fund not to exceed three
fourths of the amount of any management and administrative
withholding fees per year collected by the trust;
(4) To make transfers of moneys in the fund from management
and administrative withholding fees for tuition trust account
contracts, less any amounts used for the purposes of subdivision
(3) of this subsection, to the mountain state scholarship fund
created in section fifteen of this article; and
(5) To the extent moneys in the fund from management and
administrative withholding fees for tuition prepayment contracts
are in excess of those needed to insure the actuarial soundness
of the trust with regard to these contracts, to make transfers
of such excess funds, less any amounts used for the purposes of
subdivision (3) of this subsection, to the mountain state
scholarship fund created in section fifteen of this article.
(d) Assets of the trust may be invested in such manner as is
prescribed under article six, chapter twelve of this code for the
investment of state funds in any instrument, obligation, security or property considered appropriate by the trust and may
be pooled for investment purposes with investments of the state,
including, but not limited to, state pension funds.
(e) The property of the trust and its income and operation
shall be exempt from all taxation by this state or any of its
political subdivisions.
§18-30-8. Tuition prepayment contract provisions.
(a) A tuition prepayment contract shall provide for the
purchase of tuition guarantees which may be used by a qualified
beneficiary to attend without additional cost any state
institution of higher education to which the qualified
beneficiary is admitted as an undergraduate, except such
increases as shall be mandated due to any nonresident status of
the beneficiary, for such number of semesters or credit hours as
are purchased pursuant to and stated in the tuition prepayment
contract. In the event the qualified beneficiary chooses and is
admitted to a private institution of higher education in this
state, the trust shall pay such institution an amount equal to
the average tuition cost or the cost of the standard tuition
units, whichever has been purchased. In the event the qualified
beneficiary chooses and is admitted to an institution of higher
education located outside this state, the trust shall pay the
institution pursuant to subsection (c), section ten of this
article.
(b) In addition, a tuition prepayment contract shall set
forth in a clear, understandable manner all of the following:
(1) A management fee not to exceed three percent per year as
to amounts under a tuition prepayment contract;
(2) The amount of withholding fee not to exceed twenty
percent of accrued earnings where a refund is made or where the
benefits of a contract are transferred to an institution of
higher education located outside this state, unless such
institution has a reciprocal agreement with the board of trustees
and the board of directors and the qualified beneficiary is
enrolled in a program covered by the agreement;
(3) The amount of the payment or payments required from the
purchaser on behalf of the qualified beneficiary, which payments
may be in lump sum or periodic;
(4) The terms and conditions for making the payment,
including, but not limited to, the date or dates upon which the
payment, or portions of the payment, shall be due, and provisions
for making payments in lump sums, periodic sums or payroll
deductions;
(5) Provisions for late payment charges and for default;
(6) The name and age of the qualified beneficiary under the
contract. The purchaser, with the approval of and on conditions
determined by the trust, may subsequently substitute another
person for the qualified beneficiary originally named, but may not sell or otherwise transfer the contract without the prior
approval of the trust;
(7) The name of the person entitled to terminate the
contract, which, as provided by the contract, may be the
purchaser, the qualified beneficiary, or a person to act on
behalf of the purchaser or qualified beneficiary, or any
combination of these persons;
(8) The terms and conditions under which the contract may be
terminated or transferred out of state in accordance with section
ten of this article, and the amount of the refund to which the
person terminating the contract, or specifically the purchaser or
designated qualified beneficiary if the contract so provides,
shall be entitled upon termination. The contract shall
specifically state whether the trust shall refund any investment
income attributable to the payments;
(9) The period of time from the beginning to the end of
which the qualified beneficiary may receive the benefits under
the contract: Provided, That such time shall be extended for
such amount of time as the qualified beneficiary is on active
duty in the military services of the United States at a time
within which a Federal Selective Service Act is in effect;
(10) All other rights and obligations of the purchaser and
the trust; and
(11) Other terms, conditions and provisions as the trust considers in its sole discretion to be necessary or appropriate.
(c) The form of any tuition prepayment contract to be
entered into by the trust shall first be approved by the board.
(d) A tuition prepayment contract shall be exempt from the
Uniform Securities Act, chapter thirty-two of this code.
(e) A tuition prepayment contract may provide that, if after
a number of years specified in the contract the contract has not
been terminated or the qualified beneficiary's rights under the
contract have not been exercised and after the trust has made a
reasonable effort to locate the purchaser and qualified
beneficiary or the agent of either, the rights of the qualified
beneficiary, the purchaser or the agent of either shall be
considered terminated.
§18-30-9. Tuition trust account contract provisions.
(a) A tuition trust account contract shall provide for the
establishment of a trust account with the trust by the purchaser
on behalf of a qualified beneficiary which shall be transferred
on a semester basis to any institution of higher education to
which the qualified beneficiary is admitted to meet the cost of
tuition and all mandatory fees for so many semesters as the
qualified beneficiary is in attendance and funds in the account
are available therefor.
(b) In addition, a tuition trust account contract shall set
forth in a clear, understandable manner all of the following:
(1) A management fee not to exceed three percent per year as
to amounts under a tuition trust account contract;
(2) The amount of withholding fee not to exceed twenty
percent of accrued earnings where a refund is made or where the
benefits of a contract are transferred to an institution of
higher education located outside this state, unless such
institution has a reciprocal agreement with the board of trustees
and the board of directors and the qualified beneficiary is
enrolled in a program covered by the agreement;
(3) The name and age of the qualified beneficiary under the
contract. The purchaser, with the approval of and on conditions
determined by the trust, may subsequently substitute another
person for the qualified beneficiary originally named, but may
not sell or otherwise transfer the contract without the prior
approval of the trust;
(4) The name of the person entitled to terminate the
contract, which, as provided by the contract, may be the
purchaser, the qualified beneficiary, or a person to act on
behalf of the purchaser or qualified beneficiary, or any
combination of these persons;
(5) The terms and conditions under which the contract may be
terminated or transferred out of state in accordance with section
ten of this article, and the amount of the refund to which the
person terminating the contract, or specifically the purchaser or designated qualified beneficiary if the contract so provides,
shall be entitled upon termination. The contract shall
specifically state whether the trust shall refund any investment
income attributable to the payments;
(6) All other rights and obligations of the purchaser and
the trust; and
(7) Other terms, conditions and provisions as the trust
considers in its sole discretion to be necessary or appropriate.
(c) The form of any tuition trust account contract to be
entered into by the trust shall first be approved by the board.
(d) A tuition trust account contract shall be exempt from
the Uniform Securities Act, chapter thirty-two of this code.
(e) A tuition trust account contract may provide that, if
after a number of years specified in the contract the contract
has not been terminated or the qualified beneficiary's rights
under the contract have not been exercised and after the trust
has made a reasonable effort to locate the purchaser and
qualified beneficiary or the agent of either, the rights of the
qualified beneficiary, the purchaser, or the agent of either
shall be considered terminated.
§18-30-10. Contract termination; refund; transfer of benefits
to institutions outside this state; penalty;
exception.
(a) A tuition prepayment contract and tuition trust account contract shall authorize a termination of the contract when any
one of the following occurs:
(1) The qualified beneficiary dies or is certified by a
qualified physician to be permanently totally disabled. In such
event, notwithstanding any other provisions of this article, the
total investment plus all accrued interest, if any, shall be
refunded to the person authorized under the contract to receive
the refund;
(2) The qualified beneficiary is not admitted to an
institution of higher education after making proper application
or fails to meet the standards for continued admission to an
institution of higher education;
(3) The qualified beneficiary certifies to the trust, after
he or she has a high school diploma or has reached the age of
majority, that he or she has decided not to attend an institution
of higher education and requests, in writing, before the
fifteenth day of July of the year in which the qualified
beneficiary receives a high school diploma or reaches the age of
majority, that the contract be terminated;
(4) The qualified beneficiary offers proof of the completion
of the requirements for a degree pursuant to a two-year program
at an institution of higher education and chooses no further
attendance at an institution of higher education;
(5) The qualified beneficiary is on active duty in the military services of the United States at a time within which a
Federal Selective Service Act is in effect; or
(6) Other circumstances, determined by the trust and set
forth in the contract, occur.
(b) Such refund shall be an amount equal to the sum of
payments and, if the contract so provides, accrued interest,
minus applicable management and withholding fees and any amounts
transferred to an institution of higher education prior to
termination of the contract.
(c) A tuition prepayment contract and tuition trust account
contract shall authorize a person who is entitled under the
contract to transfer the benefits of the contract and to direct
the payment of such benefits, less any withholding fee stated in
the contract, to an institution of higher education located
outside this state: Provided, That such withholding fee shall
not be applied to a qualified beneficiary enrolled in a program
at an institution of higher education with which the board of
trustees and board of directors has a reciprocal agreement and
such program is covered by the agreement.
§18-30-11. Report of account; annual audit.
The board shall annually prepare or cause to be prepared an
accounting of the trust, including all administrative costs and
the actuarial soundness of the trust, and shall transmit a copy
of the accounting to the governor, the president of the Senate, the speaker of the House of Delegates and the respective minority
leaders of the Senate and House of Delegates. The board shall
also make available the accounting of the trust to the purchasers
of the trust. The accounts of the board shall be subject to
annual audits by the legislative auditor or a certified public
accountant appointed by the legislative auditor.
§18-30-12. Administration of trust.
(a) The trust shall be administered in a manner reasonably
designed to be actuarially sound such that the assets of the
trust will be sufficient to defray the obligations of the trust.
(b) The trust board shall annually evaluate and cause to be
evaluated by a nationally recognized actuary the actuarial
soundness of the trust and determine the additional assets
needed, if any, to defray the obligations of the trust. If there
are not funds sufficient to ensure the actuarial soundness of the
trust as determined by the nationally recognized actuary, the
trust shall adjust payments of subsequent purchasers to ensure
its actuarial soundness. If there are insufficient numbers of
new purchasers to ensure the actuarial soundness of the tuition
prepayment contracts of the trust, the available assets of the
trust attributable to the tuition prepayment contracts shall be
immediately prorated among the then existing tuition prepayment
contracts, and these shares shall be applied, at the option of
the person to whom the refund is payable or would be payable under the contract upon termination of the contract, either
towards the tuition prepayment contract for a qualified
beneficiary or disbursed to the person to whom the refund is
payable or would be payable under the contract upon termination.
§18-30-13. Conditions precedent to administration of trust;
disclaimer; enforcement.
(a) Before the trust can enter into a tuition prepayment
contract or tuition trust account contract with purchasers, it
shall provide the Legislature with a report outlining any ruling
or opinion rendered by the Internal Revenue Service regarding the
federal tax consequences of any benefits or refunds received from
the trust under the applicable contract. This ruling or opinion
rendered by the Internal Revenue Service may be a ruling or
opinion sought by the trust or a ruling or opinion that relates
to similar contracts in another state.
(b) Before entering into a tuition prepayment contract or
tuition trust account contract with purchasers, the state shall
solicit answers to appropriate ruling requests from the federal
Securities and Exchange Commission regarding the application of
federal security laws to the trust. No contracts may be entered
without the trust making known to the Legislature the status of
the request.
(c) Nothing in this article or in a contract entered into
pursuant to this article may be construed as a promise or guarantee by the trust or the state that a person will be
admitted to a particular institution of higher education, will be
allowed to continue to attend an institution of higher education
after having been admitted or will be graduated from an
institution of higher education.
(d) The board, state institutions of higher education,
purchasers and qualified beneficiaries may enforce this article
and any contract entered into pursuant to this article in the
circuit court of Kanawha County.
§18-30-14. Income tax deduction for purchasers.
As provided in section twelve-a, article twenty-one, chapter
eleven of this code, the purchaser may subtract for state income
tax purposes from federal adjusted gross income the following
payments made by the purchaser in the tax year:
(1) The amount of payment made under a tuition prepayment
contract or tuition trust account contract, or both; and
(2) The amount of payment made under a contract with a
private sector investment manager, broker-dealer or agent
approved by the securities division of the state auditor of this
state or the federal Securities and Exchange Commission for the
private placement of contracts under this article, such contract
to be certified and approved by the board to provide equivalent
benefits, rights and duties to purchasers, beneficiaries, the
trust and institutions of higher education as a tuition prepayment contract or a tuition trust account contract.
§18-30-15. Mountain state scholarship fund created.
There is created in the state treasury under the
jurisdiction and control of the board a mountain state
scholarship fund for the purpose of providing scholarships for
residents of this state to attend any state institution of
higher education. This scholarship fund shall be administered
pursuant to rules promulgated by the board of trustees and the
board of directors: Provided, That certain funds may be set
aside to enable and to help ensure that any group of people
determined to be underrepresented at state institutions of higher
education know about, apply and qualify for such scholarships.
The mountain state scholarship fund account shall be separate
from all other accounts of the board.
§18-30-16. Liberal construction; severability.
(a) This article shall be construed liberally to effectuate
the legislative intent, the purposes of the article, and as
complete and independent authority for the performance of each
and every act and thing authorized in the article, and all powers
granted herein shall be broadly interpreted to effectuate such
intent and purposes and not as to limitation of powers.
(b) If any section, subsection, paragraph, clause or
provision of this article shall be adjudged unconstitutional or
ineffective, no other section, subsection, paragraph, clause or provision of this article shall on account thereof be considered
invalid or ineffective, and the applicability or invalidity of
any section, subsection, paragraph, clause or provision of this
article in any one or more instances or under any one or more
circumstances shall not be taken to affect or prejudice its
applicability or validity in any other instance or under any
other circumstance.
§18-30-17. Expiration of act.
This article is repealed effective the first day of January,
two thousand, if the trust has not entered into a tuition
prepayment contract or tuition trust account contract with a
purchaser before that date.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to reenact the West
Virginia Higher Education Tuition Trust Act which was enacted in
1988, and expired in 1992.
Article 30 has been completely rewritten; therefore,
strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.