COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 2555
(
By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss, and Delegates Staton, Michael,
Martin, Douglas, Hunt and Trump)
(Originating in the Committee on Finance)
[April 3, 1997}
A Bill to amend and reenact sections four and seven, article two,
chapter twenty nine-a of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, and to further
amend said article by adding thereto three new sections,
designated sections ten, eleven and twelve, all relating to
the code of state rules and the secretary of state generally;
providing that the secretary of state is authorized to
maintain the official state register; providing that the
secretary of state provide additional information with the
state register and monitor; requiring the secretary of state
to make available by computer on-line service, the code of
state rules and portions of the state register; requiring the
secretary of state to provide the code of state rules on
diskette to members of the public; providing for timely
updating of the code of state rules; authorizing the secretary of state to propose legislative rules regarding fees for
diskettes and other copies; requiring other state agencies
which file rules in the code of state rules to pay a
percentage of the costs associated with maintaining the code;
creating a special account for receipt of funds; and providing
that legislative rules are valid upon enactment.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections four and seven, article two, chapter twenty
nine-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted; and that said
article be further amended by adding thereto three new sections,
designated sections ten, eleven and twelve, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. STATE REGISTER.
§29A-2-4. Contents of state register deemed a public record.
Every paper filed in the state register shall be a public
record provable and admissible as evidence if otherwise relevant,
of which judicial notice may be taken, either under lawful
certification or by reason of duplication and distribution as a
copy of the state register in accordance with this article. The
office of the secretary of state is the sole repository of the
official version of the code of state rules, and is the sole state
official authorized to maintain, duplicate and distribute the
official version of the code of state rules. Other state agencies
can provide copies of the code of state rules to the public or other agencies, but those agencies may not represent that any
version distributed by them is an official version of the code of
state rules. No agency may alter the format or charge any fee for
distributing copies of any rules to the public or other agency
except as authorized in this article.
§29A-2-7. Publication of state register.
(a) The Legislature intends that the secretary of state offer
to the public convenient and efficient access to copies of the
state register or parts thereof desired by the citizens. The
provisions of this section are enacted in order to provide a means
of doing so pending any other means provided by law or legislative
rule.
(b) Until the first day of January, one thousand nine hundred
eighty-three, the secretary of state may use any procedure he
adopts to fulfill the objects of this section including any of the
procedures provided in this section.
(c) On and after the first day of January, one thousand nine
hundred eighty-three, and the refiling of all rules effective on
the effective date of this section the body of the rules thus
refiled together with (1) those rules made effective from and after
the effective date of this section (2) all proposed rules not yet
effective on and before the first day of January, one thousand nine
hundred eighty-three, (3) all notices and other materials related
to such proposed rules and (4) the chronological index hereinafter provided shall constitute the first biennial permanent state
register and have a publication date of the first day of January,
one thousand nine hundred eighty-three.
(d) (b) All materials filed in the state register after the
effective date of this section shall be indexed daily in
chronological order of filing with a brief description of the item
filed and a columnar cross index to (1) agency and (2) section,
article and chapter of the code to which it relates and by which it
is filed in the state register and (3) such other information in
the description or cross index as the secretary of state believes
will aid a citizen in using the chronological index.
(c) To give users of the code of state rules a means to know
whether the rule is being superseded by a version of the rule that
has become effective, but not yet been final-filed, prepared,
proofed and distributed, or may be superseded by a rule which is
being proposed and promulgated pursuant to article three but not
yet become final, the secretary of state shall provide with each
update of the code of state rules, a copy of the rule monitor and
its cross index which shows the rules that have become effective
but not yet distributed and the rules which may be superseded by a
rule which is being proposed. The copy of the rule monitor
distributed with the updates of the code of state rules shall state
plainly that this version of the rule monitor only shows the status
of the promulgation of rules as of the date of distribution of the update of the code of state rules, and to obtain the most recent
status of the rules, the user should consult the rule monitor in
the most recent publication of the state register. With the first
such distribution to the loose leaf version of the code of state
rules the secretary of state shall also distribute a divider where
the current rule monitor shall be maintained. With the first
distribution, the secretary of state shall also include
instructions, with a copy for insertion in or on the front of each
volume of the loose-leaf versions of the code of state rules, to
users on how the rule monitor can be utilized to determine whether
the version of the rule in the code of state rules currently in
effect. This subsection is not to be construed to require
subscribers to the updates of the code of state rules shall receive
a subscription to the state register.
(e) (d) The secretary of state shall cause to be duplicated in
such number as shall be required, on white paper with two punches
suitable for fastening in two-ring binders, the permanent biennial
state register, the chronological index and other materials filed
in the register, or any part by agency or section, article or
chapter for subscription at a cost including labor, paper and
postage, sufficient in his judgment to defray the expense of such
duplication. The secretary of state shall also offer, at least at
monthly intervals, supplements to the published materials listed
above. Any subscription for monthly supplements shall be offered annually and shall include the chronological index and materials
related to such agency or agencies, or section, article or chapter
of the code as a person may designate. A person may limit the
request to notices only, to notices and rules, or to notices and
proposed rules, or any combination thereof.
(f) On and after the first day of January, one thousand nine
hundred eighty-three, and every (e) Every two years, thereafter the
secretary of state shall offer for purchase succeeding biennial
permanent state registers which shall consist of all rules
effective on the date of publication selected by the secretary of
state, which date shall be at least two years from the last such
publication date, and materials filed in the state register
relating thereto. The cost of the succeeding biennial permanent
state register and for the portion relating to any agency or any
section, article or chapter of the code which may be designated by
a person purchasing the same shall be fixed in the same manner
specified in subsection (e) of this section section eleven of this
article.
(g) (f) The secretary of state may omit from any duplication
made pursuant to subsections (c) and (f) subsection (e) of this
section any rules the duplication of which would be unduly
cumbersome, expensive or otherwise inexpedient, if a copy of such
rules is made available from the original filing of such rule, at
a price not exceeding the cost of duplication, and if the volume from which such rule is omitted includes a notice in that portion of the publication in which the rule would have been located,
stating (1) the general subject matter of the omitted rule, (2)
each section, article and chapter of this code to which the omitted
rule relates, and (3) the means by which a copy of the omitted rule
may be obtained.
(h) All fees and other moneys collected by the secretary of
state pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be deposited
by him in a separate fund in the state treasury and shall be
expended solely for the purposes of this section, unless otherwise
provided by appropriation or other action of the Legislature.
(iI) (g) The secretary of state may propose changes to the
procedures outlined in the section above by proposing a legislative
rule under the provisions of section nine, article three, but may
promulgate no rules containing such changes unless authorized by
the Legislature pursuant to article three.
§ 29A-2-10. Electronic availability.
(a) To promote the convenient access by the citizens of this
state to the state register and the code of state rules, the
secretary of state shall make the rule monitor and the cross
reference of the rule monitor portions of the state register, and
the code of state rules, available to the public, without cost, on
a computer on-line service. The secretary of state shall also make
any agency rule available to any member of the public on a
electronic format by computer diskette. The computer diskette shall be available in a format for conversion to any commonly used
software word processing program currently available to the public.
The secretary of state is authorized, to propose a rule pursuant to
section eleven of this article, to assess any costs of providing
these copies.
(b) The code of state rules available herein shall be updated
by the secretary of state within one hundred twenty days of the
final filing of the rule by any state agency, as provided in
section thirteen of article three of this chapter.
§ 29A-2-11. Secretary of state to assess fees to cover costs of
providing the state rules costs.
(a) To assist the secretary of state to fund the cost of
providing public access of the code of state rules, the secretary
of state is authorized to charge each agency which files a rule for
promulgation in the code of state rules, a fee proportionate to the
total number of pages utilized in the state register and monitor
for each fiscal year. The secretary of state is authorized to
propose a legislative rule, as provided in article three of this
chapter, to provide for the annual assessment of necessary and
reasonable fees associated with providing the code of state rules,
sufficient to cover all costs not covered by copying fees. The
rule shall provide for a formula for establishing a fair and
equatable fee for each agency and excepting certain agencies from
this rule filing fee, if the agency can show that it would undergo
financial hardship because of being required to pay the fee
assessment as required herein.
(b) Each agency with rule-making authority under this chapter
is hereby authorized and directed to transmit to the secretary of state for deposit in the separate fund created in subsection (d),
such charges as assessed by the secretary of state.
(c) The secretary of state may charge copying fee for any
paper copies provided to the public or a state agency. This fee
schedule shall be proposed pursuant to legislative rule as provided
in article three of this chapter.
(d) Any fee established and collected pursuant to this section
shall be deposited in a special account in the state treasury.
Expenditures from said account shall be for the purposes set forth
in this section and are not authorized from collections but are to
be made only in accordance with appropriation by the Legislature in
accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twelve of
this code and upon the fulfillment of the provisions set forth in
article two, chapter five-a of this code: Provided, That for the
fiscal year ending the thirtieth day of June, for the year
following the authorization of the rule and establishment of this
account, expenditures are authorized from collections rather than
pursuant to an appropriation by the Legislature. Amounts collected
which are found from time to time to exceed the funds needed for
purposes set forth in this article may be transferred to other
accounts or funds and redesignated for other purposes by
appropriation of the Legislature.
§ 29A-2-12. Legislative rules valid upon legislative enactment.
Failure of the secretary of state or any state agency to properly and timely meet all form and filing requirements required
by this article does not invalidate any legislative rule properly
enacted by the Legislature.