Senate Bill No. 352
(By Senator Bailey)
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[Introduced March 17, 1997; referred to the Committee
on Small Business; and then to the Committee on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section seven, article one, chapter
sixteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to the secretary of
the department of health and human resources; and
authorizing the secretary to propose legislative rules
requiring retail businesses that spend twenty-five thousand
dollars or more to renovate their premises to provide public
restrooms.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section seven, article one, chapter sixteen of the code
of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. STATE BUREAU OF PUBLIC HEALTH.
§16-1-7. Promulgation of rules; references to board to mean secretary of department of health and human
resources.
The secretary of the department of health and human
resources shall have has the power to promulgate such rules and
regulations propose rules to be promulgated, in accordance with
the provisions of chapter twenty-nine-a of the code, as are
necessary and proper to effectuate the purposes of this chapter
and prevent the circumvention and evasion thereof: Provided,
That no rules or regulations shall may be promulgated or enforced
restricting the subdivision or development of any parcel of land
within which the individual tracts, lots or parcels exceed two
acres each in total surface area and which individual tracts,
lots or parcels have an average frontage of not less than one
hundred fifty feet even though the total surface area of said
tract, lot or parcel equals or exceeds two acres in total surface
area, and which tracts are sold, leased or utilized only as
single family dwelling units. The provisions next above
notwithstanding, nothing in this section shall may be construed
to abate the authority of the department of health and human
resources to: (1) Restrict the subdivision or development of
such a tract for any more intense or higher density occupancy
than such a single family dwelling unit; (2) promulgate and
enforce rules and regulations propose rules for legislative promulgation and enforcement applicable to single family dwelling
units for single family dwelling unit sanitary sewerage disposal
systems; or (3) restrict any subdivision or development which
might endanger the public health, the sanitary condition of
streams, or sources of water supply. The secretary shall have
has the power to appoint or designate advisory councils of
professionals in the areas of hospitals, nursing homes, barbers
and beauticians, postmortem examinations, mental health and
mental retardation centers and such other areas as it deems
necessary to advise the secretary on rules. and regulations
Such These rules and regulations shall include, but not be
limited to, the regulation of:
(1) The sanitary condition of all institutions and schools,
whether public or private, public conveyances, dairies,
slaughterhouses, workshops, factories, labor camps, all other
places open to the general public and inviting public patronage
or public assembly, or tendering to the public any item for human
consumption, and places where trades or industries are conducted,
and, in the case of retail businesses that spend twenty-five
thousand dollars or more to renovate their premises, on or after
the effective date of the amendment to this section, the
requirement that the renovation must include public restrooms;
(2) Occupational and industrial health hazards, the sanitary
conditions of streams, sources of water supply, sewerage facilities and plumbing systems, and the qualifications of
personnel connected with any of such these facilities, without
regard to whether such the supplies or systems are publicly or
privately owned; and the design of all water systems, plumbing
systems, sewerage systems, sewage treatment plants, excreta
disposal methods, swimming pools in this state, whether publicly
or privately owned;
(3) Food and drug standards, including cleanliness,
proscription of additives, proscription of sale, and other
requirements in accordance with article seven of this chapter, as
are necessary to protect the health of the citizens of this
state;
(4) The training and examination requirements for emergency
medical service attendants and mobile intensive care paramedics;
the designation of the health care facilities, health care
services, and the industries and occupations in the state which
must have emergency medical service attendants and mobile
intensive care paramedics employed, and the availability,
communications, and equipment requirements with respect thereto;
(5) The collection of data on health status, the health
system and the costs of health care;
(6) Other health-related matters which the department of
health is authorized to supervise, and for which the rule-making
authority has not been otherwise assigned;
(7) The health and sanitary conditions of establishments
commonly referred to as bed and breakfast inns. For purposes of
this section, "bed and breakfast inn" means an establishment
providing sleeping accommodations and, at a minimum, a breakfast
for a fee: Provided, That the secretary may not require an owner
of a bed and breakfast providing sleeping accommodations of six
or fewer rooms to install a restaurant style or commercial food
service facility: Provided, however, That the secretary may not
require an owner of a bed and breakfast providing sleeping
accommodations of more than six rooms to install a
restaurant-type or commercial food service facility if the entire
bed and breakfast inn or those rooms numbering above six are used
on an aggregate of two weeks or less per year.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the
contrary, whenever in this code there is a reference to the state
board of health, it shall be construed to mean and shall be a
reference to the secretary of the state department of health and
human resources.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize the
Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Resources to
propose legislative rules requiring retail businesses that spend
twenty-five thousand dollars or more to renovate their premises
to provide public restrooms.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.