Senate Bill No. 317
(By Senators Tomblin (Mr. President) and Buckalew
By Request of the Executive)
____________
[Introduced March 12, 1997; referred to the Committee
on Government Organization; and then to the Committee on
Finance.]
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A BILL to repeal article fourteen, chapter twenty-nine of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one,
as amended; to amend and reenact section one, article two,
chapter five-f of said code; and to amend chapter sixteen of
said code by adding thereto a new article, designated
article five-n, all relating to abolishing the state
commission on aging and creating the bureau of senior
services; providing a purpose, short title and definitions;
appointing a commissioner of the bureau and providing his or
her qualifications, oath, offices, compensation and expenses
and powers and duties; providing for a delegation of duties;
creating the council on aging providing terms of its
meetings, officers meetings; expenses; providing programs
and services for the aging including community care services and prevention of crimes against the elderly; designating a
state agency for handling federal programs; and providing
for donations, records, rules and reports.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article fourteen, chapter twenty-nine of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended,
be repealed; that section one, article two, chapter five-f of
said code be amended and reenacted; and that chapter sixteen of
said code be amended by adding thereto a new article, designated
article five-n, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 5F. REORGANIZATION OF THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH
OF STATE GOVERNMENT.
ARTICLE 2. TRANSFER OF AGENCIES AND BOARDS.
§5F-2-1. Transfer and incorporation of agencies and boards;
funds.
(a) The following agencies and boards, including all of the
allied, advisory, affiliated or related entities and funds
associated with any such agency or board, are hereby transferred
to and incorporated in and shall be administered as a part of the
department of administration:
(1) Building commission provided for in article six, chapter
five of this code;
(2) Public employees insurance agency and public employees
insurance agency advisory board provided for in article sixteen, chapter five of this code;
(3) Council of finance and administration provided for in
article one, chapter five-a of this code;
(4) Employee suggestion award board provided for in article
one-a, chapter five-a of this code;
(5) Governor's mansion advisory committee provided for in
article five, chapter five-a of this code;
(6) Commission on uniform state laws provided for in article
one-a, chapter twenty-nine of this code;
(7) Education and state employees grievance board provided
for in article twenty-nine, chapter eighteen of this code and
article six-a, chapter twenty-nine of this code;
(8) Board of risk and insurance management provided for in
article twelve, chapter twenty-nine of this code;
(9) Boundary commission provided for in article twenty- three, chapter twenty-nine of this code;
(10) Public defender services provided for in article
twenty-one, chapter twenty-nine of this code;
(11) Division of personnel provided for in article six,
chapter twenty-nine of this code;
(12) The West Virginia ethics commission provided for in
article two, chapter six-b of this code;
(13) Consolidated public retirement board provided for in
article ten-d, chapter five of this code; and
(14) The child support enforcement division designated in
chapter forty-eight-a of this code.
(b) The department of commerce, labor and environmental
resources and the office of secretary of the department of
commerce, labor and environmental resources are hereby abolished.
For purposes of administrative support and liaison with the
office of the governor, the following agencies and boards,
including all allied, advisory and affiliated entities shall be
grouped under three bureaus as follows:
(1) Bureau of commerce:
(A) Division of labor provided for in article one, chapter
twenty-one of this code, which shall include:
(i) Occupational safety and health review commission
provided for in article three-a, chapter twenty-one of this code;
and
(ii) Board of manufactured housing construction and safety
provided for in article nine, chapter twenty-one of this code;
(B) Office of miners' health, safety and training provided
for in article one, chapter twenty-two-a of this code. The
following boards are transferred to the office of miners' health,
safety and training for purposes of administrative support and
liaison with the office of the governor:
(i) Board of coal mine health and safety and coal mine
safety and technical review committee provided for in article six, chapter twenty-two-a of this code;
(ii) Board of miner training, education and certification
provided for in article seven, chapter twenty-two-a of this code;
and
(iii) Mine inspectors' examining board provided for in
article nine, chapter twenty-two-a of this code;
(C) The West Virginia development office provided for in
article two, chapter five-b of this code, which shall include:
(i) Enterprise zone authority provided for in article two-b,
chapter five-b of this code; and
(ii) Economic development authority provided for in article
fifteen, chapter thirty-one of this code;
(D) Division of natural resources and natural resources
commission provided for in article one, chapter twenty of this
code. The Blennerhassett historical state park provided for in
article eight, chapter twenty-nine of this code shall be under
the division of natural resources;
(E) Division of forestry provided for in article one-a,
chapter nineteen of this code;
(F) Geological and economic survey provided for in article
two, chapter twenty-nine of this code;
(G) Water development authority and board provided for in
article one, chapter twenty-two-c of this code;
(2) Bureau of employment programs provided for in article one, chapter twenty-one-a of this code.
(3) Bureau of environment:
(A) Air quality board provided for in article five, chapter
twenty-two of this code;
(B) Solid waste management board provided for in article
three, chapter twenty-two of this code;
(C) Environmental quality board, or its successor board,
provided for in article three, chapter twenty-two-b of this code;
(D) Division of environmental protection provided for in
article one, chapter twenty-two of this code;
(E) Surface mine board of review provided for in article
four, chapter twenty-two-b of this code;
(F) Oil and gas inspectors' examining board provided for in
article seven, chapter twenty-two-c of this code;
(G) Shallow gas well review board provided for in article
eight, chapter twenty-two-c of this code; and
(H) Oil and gas conservation commission provided for in
article nine, chapter twenty-two-c of this code.
(c) The following agencies and boards, including all of the
allied, advisory, affiliated or related entities and funds
associated with any such agency or board, are hereby transferred
to and incorporated in and shall be administered as a part of the
department of education and the arts:
(1) Library commission provided for in article one, chapter ten of this code;
(2) Educational broadcasting authority provided for in
article five, chapter ten of this code;
(3) University of West Virginia board of trustees provided
for in article two, chapter eighteen-b of this code;
(4) Board of directors of the state college system provided
for in article three, chapter eighteen-b of this code;
(5) Joint commission for vocational-technical-occupational
education provided for in article three-a, chapter eighteen-b of
this code;
(6) Division of culture and history provided for in article
one, chapter twenty-nine of this code; and
(7) Division of rehabilitation services provided for in
section two, article ten-a, chapter eighteen of this code.
(d) The following agencies and boards, including all of the
allied, advisory, affiliated or related entities and funds
associated with any such agency or board, are hereby transferred
to and incorporated in and shall be administered as a part of the
department of health and human resources:
(1) Human rights commission provided for in article eleven,
chapter five of this code;
(2) Division of human services provided for in article two,
chapter nine of this code;
(3) Division of health provided for in article one, chapter sixteen of this code;
(4) Office of emergency medical services and advisory
council thereto provided for in article four-c, chapter sixteen
of this code;
(5) Health care cost review authority provided for in
article twenty-nine-b, chapter sixteen of this code;
(6) Commission on aging provided for in article fourteen,
chapter twenty-nine of this code;
(7) (6) Commission on mental retardation provided for in
article fifteen, chapter twenty-nine of this code;
(8) (7) Women's commission provided for in article twenty,
chapter twenty-nine of this code; and
(9) (8) The child support enforcement division designated in
chapter forty-eight-a of this code.
(e) The following agencies and boards, including all of the
allied, advisory, affiliated or related entities and funds
associated with any such agency or board, are hereby transferred
to and incorporated in and shall be administered as a part of the
department of military affairs and public safety:
(1) Adjutant general's department provided for in article
one-a, chapter fifteen of this code;
(2) Armory board provided for in article six, chapter
fifteen of this code;
(3) Military awards board provided for in article one-g, chapter fifteen of this code;
(4) Division of public safety provided for in article two,
chapter fifteen of this code;
(5) Office of emergency services and disaster recovery board
provided for in article five, chapter fifteen of this code and
emergency response commission provided for in article five-a of
said chapter;
(6) Sheriffs' bureau provided for in article eight, chapter
fifteen of this code;
(7) Division of corrections provided for in chapter
twenty-five of this code;
(8) Fire commission provided for in article three, chapter
twenty-nine of this code;
(9) Regional jail and correctional facility authority
provided for in article twenty, chapter thirty-one of this code;
(10) Board of probation and parole provided for in article
twelve, chapter sixty-two of this code; and
(11) Division of veterans' affairs and veterans' council
provided for in article one, chapter nine-a of this code.
(f) The following agencies and boards, including all of the
allied, advisory, affiliated or related entities and funds
associated with any such agency or board, are hereby transferred
to and incorporated in and shall be administered as a part of the
department of tax and revenue:
(1) Tax division provided for in article one, chapter eleven
of this code;
(2) Appraisal control and review commission provided for in
article one-a, chapter eleven of this code;
(3) Racing commission provided for in article twenty-three,
chapter nineteen of this code;
(4) Lottery commission and position of lottery director
provided for in article twenty-two, chapter twenty-nine of this
code;
(5) Agency of insurance commissioner provided for in article
two, chapter thirty-three of this code;
(6) Office of alcohol beverage control commissioner provided
for in article sixteen, chapter eleven of this code and article
two, chapter sixty of this code;
(7) Division of professional and occupational licenses which
may be hereafter created by the Legislature;
(8) Board of banking and financial institutions provided for
in article three, chapter thirty-one-a of this code;
(9) Lending and credit rate board provided for in chapter
forty-seven-a of this code;
(10) Division of banking provided for in article two,
chapter thirty-one-a of this code; and
(11) The child support enforcement division as designated in
chapter forty-eight-a of this code.
(g) The following agencies and boards, including all of the
allied, advisory, affiliated or related entities and funds
associated with any such agency or board, are hereby transferred
to and incorporated in and shall be administered as a part of the
department of transportation:
(1) Road commission provided for in article two, chapter
seventeen of this code;
(2) Division of highways provided for in article two-a,
chapter seventeen of this code;
(3) Parkways, economic development and tourism authority
provided for in article sixteen-a, chapter seventeen of this
code;
(4) Division of motor vehicles provided for in article two,
chapter seventeen-a of this code;
(5) Driver's licensing advisory board provided for in
article two, chapter seventeen-b of this code;
(6) Aeronautics commission provided for in article two-a,
chapter twenty-nine of this code;
(7) State rail authority provided for in article eighteen,
chapter twenty-nine of this code; and
(8) Port authority provided for in article sixteen-b,
chapter seventeen of this code.
(h) Except for such powers, authority and duties as have
been delegated to the secretaries of the departments by the provisions of section two of this article, the existence of the
position of administrator and of the agency and the powers,
authority and duties of each administrator and agency shall not
be affected by the enactment of this chapter.
(i) Except for such powers, authority and duties as have
been delegated to the secretaries of the departments by the
provisions of section two of this article, the existence, powers,
authority and duties of boards and the membership, terms and
qualifications of members of such boards shall not be affected by
the enactment of this chapter and all boards which are appellate
bodies or were otherwise established to be independent decision
makers shall not have their appellate or independent decision- making status affected by the enactment of this chapter.
(j) Any department previously transferred to and
incorporated in a department created in section two, article one
of this chapter by prior enactment of this section in chapter
three, acts of the Legislature, first extraordinary session, one
thousand nine hundred eighty-nine, and subsequent amendments
thereto, shall henceforth be read, construed and understood to
mean a division of the appropriate department so created.
Wherever elsewhere in this code, in any act, in general or other
law, in any rule or regulation, or in any ordinance, resolution
or order, reference is made to any department transferred to and
incorporated in a department created in section two, article one of this chapter, such reference shall henceforth be read,
construed and understood to mean a division of the appropriate
department so created, and any such reference elsewhere to a
division of a department so transferred and incorporated shall
henceforth be read, construed and understood to mean a section of
the appropriate division of the department so created.
(k) When an agency, board or commission is transferred under
a bureau or agency other than a department headed by a secretary
pursuant to this section, that transfer shall be construed to be
solely for purposes of administrative support and liaison with
the office of the governor, a department secretary or a bureau.
The bureaus created by the Legislature upon the abolishment of
the department of commerce, labor and environmental resources in
the year one thousand nine hundred ninety-four shall be headed by
a commissioner or other statutory officer of an agency within
that bureau. Nothing in this section shall be construed to
extend the powers of department secretaries under section two of
this article to any person other than a department secretary and
nothing herein shall be construed to limit or abridge the
statutory powers and duties of statutory commissioners or
officers pursuant to this code. Upon the abolishment of the
office of secretary of the department of commerce, labor and
environmental resources, the governor may appoint a statutory
officer serving functions formerly within that department to a position which was filled by the secretary ex officio.
CHAPTER 16. PUBLIC HEALTH.
ARTICLE 5N. SENIOR SERVICES.
§16-5N-1. Purpose of chapter.
The purpose of this chapter is to create a bureau in state
government which promotes services to enhance the health, safety
and welfare of West Virginia's senior population and serves as
the primary agency within state government to provide services to
the senior population.
§16-5N-2. Short title.
This chapter may be cited as the "Senior Services Act of
1997."
§16-5N-3. Definitions.
(a) "Bureau" means the bureau of senior services.
(b) "Care management" means the planning, arrangement for
and coordination of appropriate community-based, in-home services
and alternative living arrangements for the frail elderly,
disabled or terminally ill.
(c) "Care services" means housekeeping, personal care,
chore, escort/transportation, meals, in-home nursing, day care
and/or respite services.
(d) "Commissioner" means the bureau of senior services'
commissioner.
(e) "Community care" means a system of community-based, in-home services and alternative living arrangements which provide
a full range of preventive, maintenance and restorative services
for the frail elderly, disabled or terminally ill.
(f) "Comprehensive assessment" means the assessment of
needs, counseling in the development of a case plan, arrangements
for services and on-going monitoring of the frail elderly,
disabled or terminally ill client's situation to ensure that
needed services are received.
(g) "Continuum of care" means a system of services which has
a primary emphasis on in-home care and community service and
which includes services such as nursing, medical, transportation
and other health and social services available to an individual
in an appropriate setting over an extended period of time as a
result of such individual's changing health status.
(h) "Council" means the West Virginia Council on Aging.
(i) "Disabled" means a person who has temporary or permanent
impairments which cause him or her to need or who is likely, in
the foreseeable future, to need services within the continuum of
care.
(j) "Frail elderly" means any person sixty years of age or
older, with limitations which restrict the person's ability to
perform the normal activities of daily living and which impede
individual capacity to live independently.
(k) "Sliding fee scale" means a fee for services provided based on an individual client's ability to pay.
§16-5N-4. Appointment; term of office, reporting.
The bureau shall be under the supervision of a commissioner
of the bureau of senior services. The commission shall be
appointed by the governor, by and with the advice and consent of
the Senate, and shall hold his or her office subject to the will
and pleasure of the governor.
The commissioner shall report directly to the governor or
his or her designee.
§16-5N-5. Qualifications.
The commissioner shall be selected with special reference to
his or her training and experience in senior issues.
He or she shall not be a candidate for or hold any other
public office or trust, nor shall he or she be a member of a
political committee. If he or she becomes a candidate for a
public office or becomes a member of a political committee, his
or her office as commissioner shall be immediately vacated. The
commissioner shall devote his or her entire time to the duties of
his or her office.
§16-5N-6. Oath.
The commissioner, before entering upon the duties of his or
her office, shall take and subscribe to the oath prescribed by
Article IV, Section 5 of the State Constitution. The oath shall
be filed with the secretary of state.
§16-5N-7. Offices.
The commissioner shall keep his or her offices open at all
reasonable times for the transaction of public business.
§16-5N-8. Compensation; traveling expenses.
Notwithstanding the provisions of section two-a, article
seven, chapter six of this code, the commissioner of the bureau
of senior services shall receive a yearly salary of sixty-five
thousand dollars and the necessary traveling expenses incident to
the performance of his or her duties. Requisition for traveling
expenses shall be accompanied by a sworn itemized statement which
shall be filed with the auditor and preserved as a public record.
§16-5N-9. Powers and duties generally.
The commissioner shall be the executive and administrative
head of the bureau and shall have the power and duty to:
(a) Exercise general supervision of the bureau;
(b) Make and promulgate rules and regulations for the
effective and expeditious performance and discharge of the duties
and responsibilities placed upon him or her by law;
(c) Conduct and encourage other organizations to conduct
studies of the problems of the state's older people;
(d) Encourage, promote and aid in the establishment of local
programs and services for the aging;
(e) Conduct programs of public education on the problems of
the aging;
(f) Review state programs for the aging, and annually make
recommendations to the governor and the Legislature for
improvements in and additions to such programs;
(g) Encourage and assist governmental and private agencies
to coordinate their efforts on behalf of the aging in order that
such efforts be effective and the duplication and wasting of
effort be eliminated;
](h) Coordinate statewide local and voluntary efforts to
serve the aging and make use of their wisdom and capacities, with
due regard to the development of programs at the local level;
(i) Supervise fiscal affairs and responsibilities of the
bureau;
(j) Keep an accurate and complete record of all bureau
proceedings; record and file all bonds and contracts and assume
responsibility for the custody and preservation of all papers and
documents of the bureau;
(k) Make recommendations and an annual report to the
governor concerning the condition, operation and functioning of
the bureau;
(l) Invoke any legal or special remedy for the enforcement
of orders or the provisions of this chapter;
(m) Exercise any other power necessary to standardize
administration, expedite bureau business, assure the
establishment of fair rules and regulations and promote the efficiency of the service;
(n) Provide at bureau expense a program of continuing
professional, technical and specialized instruction for the
personnel of the bureau.
§16-5N-10. Delegation of commissioner's duties.
All powers and duties vested in the commissioner may be
delegated by him or her to his or her appointees and employees;
but the commissioner shall be responsible for their acts.
§16-5N-11. Creation and composition of the West Virginia council
on aging.
There is hereby created the "West Virginia Council on
Aging," which shall serve as an advisory board to the
commissioner. The council shall be composed of four government
members: The director of health, the director of the bureau of
medical services, commissioner of the bureau of human resources,
and the director of the West Virginia division of rehabilitation
services, and ten citizen members appointed by the governor with
the advice and consent of the Senate. No more than five of the
citizen members shall belong to the same political party.
§16-5N-12. Terms of citizen representative; vacancies.
The citizen representatives of the council shall be
appointed for terms of four years each, and until their
successors are appointed and qualified. The citizen
representatives appointed pursuant to section two, article fourteen, chapter twenty-nine of this code to the state
commission on aging shall continue to serve the remainder of
their term or until their successors are appointed and qualified.
Vacancies shall be filled for the remainder of any unexpired term
in the same manner as an original appointment.
§16-5N-13. Officers; meetings.
A majority of the members of the council shall constitute a
quorum for the transaction of business. The council shall elect
a chairman, a vice-chairman, and such other officers as it deems
necessary. The council shall meet at least two times each year.
If unable to attend a council meeting, a government
representative shall send in his or her place his or her deputy
or another person who has authority to act on behalf of the
government representative, who shall be considered a member of
the council for the purpose of obtaining a quorum for the
transaction of business.
§16-5N-14. Expenses of citizen representatives.
Each citizen representative shall be entitled to receive out
of funds appropriated or available for such purposes, travel and
other necessary expenses actually incurred in the performance of
his or her official duties under the provisions of this article.
Requisition for such expenses shall be accompanied by a sworn and
itemized statement which shall be filed with the auditor.
§16-5N-15. Programs and services for the aging.
The bureau may establish, under the administration of the
commissioner, in selected areas and local communities of the
state, programs of services for the aging. Particular emphasis
shall be given to services designed to foster continued
participation of older people in family and community life and to
prevent, insofar as possible, the onset of dependency and the
need for long-term institutional care. Any allocations by the
bureau of appropriations for such programs may be made contingent
upon local appropriations or gifts in money or in kind for the
support of such programs. The county commission of any county or
governing body of any municipality in this state may appropriate
and expend money for establishing and maintaining such programs.
Funds so appropriated by the county commission or by the
governing body of any municipality in this state may be
contributed from time to time to any committee or organization
approved by the bureau for the purposes authorized by this
section.
The bureau as provided hereunder may receive and expend
funding, including the state's share of federal funds, designated
for the construction, acquisition and renovation of senior
centers.
From time to time the Legislature may appropriate funds on
a matching basis or funds from any other source to be used for
the purposes stated above.
§16-5N-16. Community care services.
The bureau shall administer a program for the delivery of
community care services for the frail elderly, disabled or
terminally ill, based on a sliding fee scale. Such a program
shall include, but not be limited to, care management,
comprehensive assessment and community and in-home care services.
§16-5N-17. Prevention of crimes against the elderly.
(a) It is the express intent of the Legislature that all
state agencies cooperate with the bureau and the state police in
carrying out the provisions of this section.
(b) In planning and developing programs and recommendations
relating to the prevention of crime, including fraud, against
elderly persons and reduction of fear of crime in elderly
persons, the bureau shall, within existing appropriations,
consider and evaluate the potential for new or improved programs
in, but not limited to, the following areas:
(1) Public education and awareness;
(2) Community coordination in areas of social services and
criminal justice;
(3) Use of the elderly as a resource in community crime
prevention and the voluntary involvement of elderly persons and
retired professionals in the criminal justice system itself in
order to improve the responsiveness and effectiveness of the
existing system;
(4) Victim and witness assistance;
(5) Reduction of the economic and physical consequences of
crime against the elderly; and
(6) Reduction of isolation of the elderly in the community.
(c) Other agencies of state government shall cooperate with
and assist the bureau, within their available resources, in
gathering statistical data and in implementing programs which
have the potential to prevent crime against elderly persons and
to reduce the fear of crime in elderly persons and shall consider
the findings and recommendations of the bureau in developing and
implementing agency programs and formulating agency budget
requests. The state police shall participate in the preparation
and implementation of the plans required by this section, and
shall collect statistical data on the characteristics of elderly
victims of crimes.
§16-5N-18. Designated state agency for handling federal
programs.
The bureau shall constitute the designated state agency for
handling all programs of the federal government relating to the
aging requiring action within the state, which are not the
specific responsibility of another state agency under the
provisions of federal law or which have not been specifically
entrusted to another state agency by the Legislature.
§16-5N-19. Donations.
The bureau may receive on behalf of the state any grant of
gift and accept the same, so that the title shall pass to the
state. All moneys from grants or gifts shall be deposited with
the state treasurer in a special fund and shall be used for the
purposes set forth in the grant or gift, if the purposes are
within the powers conferred on the bureau. The bureau shall be
empowered to comply with all regulations and requirements to
qualify for federal grants and to administer such federal funds.
§16-5N-20. Records and files, existing programs and contracts;
rules and regulations.
All records, files and other property belonging to the West
Virginia commission on aging pursuant to article fourteen,
chapter twenty-nine of this code shall be turned over to the
bureau herein created and shall be continued as part of the
records, files and other property thereof.
All contracts, programs and agreements entered into or
offered by the state commission on aging prior to the effective
date of this statute shall continue in legal force and effect
under the bureau of senior services.
All rules and regulations promulgated by the state
commission on aging shall remain in effect and be administered
and interpreted by the commissioner until such time as they are
revoked or modified.
§16-5N-21. Reports.
The bureau shall submit a progress report to the governor
and to the members of the Legislature on or before the first day
of January of each year, in addition to such other
recommendations, studies and plans as it may submit from time to
time.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to abolish the commission
on aging and to create a bureau for senior services which reports
directly to the Governor and which promotes the health, safety,
and welfare of West Virginia's senior population. The bill
provides for the qualification and appointment of a commissioner,
the powers and duties of the commissioner, the creation and
composition of the West Virginia council on aging, programs and
services for the aging, and reports.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.
§16-5N is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring
have been omitted.