Senate Bill No. 531
(By Senators Anderson, Whitlow, Wagner and Chafin)
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[Introduced February 19, 1996; referred to the Committee
on Government Organization; and then to the Committee on
Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section twelve, article sixteen-b,
chapter seventeen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to requiring
the public port authority to fund the Bluestone Junction
tourist train project; requiring the public port authority
to issue bonds; and requiring that revenues derived from the
project be set aside for the payments and expenses
associated with issuing the bonds.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section twelve, article sixteen-b, chapter seventeen of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one,
as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 16B. PUBLIC PORT AUTHORITY.
§17-16B-12. Division of tourist trains and transportation;
duties.
(a) The division of tourist trains and transportation shall
develop a plan to assess the feasibility, financial and
otherwise, of establishing a statewide intermodal network of
tourist transportation, so as to coordinate, link and supervise
the various means of transportation including highway, rail,
waterway and air and such plan shall also include, if feasible,
the development of a comprehensive strategy and state plan for
tourist transportation.
(b) The division shall cooperate and assist the efforts of
public and private groups, agencies and political subdivisions in
establishing components of the tourist transportation plan.
(c) The division shall specifically work to establish and
fund a pilot project for the purpose of creating a tourist train
network in the area from Bluefield, West Virginia, to Bramwell,
West Virginia, to Matoaka, West Virginia, and to Pocahontas,
Virginia. The division shall fund the project by grants to the
Mercer County tourist train authority and by issuing bonds. One
million five hundred thousand dollars shall be available to the Mercer County tourist train authority for the project within
thirty days of the date this bill passes. The division shall
create a special fund to be named the Bluestone Junction tourist
train project fund. All tolls, rents, fees charges and revenues
derived by the Mercer County tourist train authority from the
operation of the project shall be deposited into the fund. Any
payments and expenses associated with the issuance of the bonds
issued by the division shall be paid from moneys derived from the
fund.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require the public
port authority to fund the Bluestone Junction Tourist Train
Project through grants and through the issuance of bonds. The
revenues derived from the project shall be used for payments and
expenses related to the issuance of the bonds.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.