H. B. 2226
(By Delegates Manuel, Doyle, Proudfoot,
Hutchins, Kominar, Ashley and Ennis)
[Introduced February 26, 1997; referred to the
Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section two, article five, chapter
twenty of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to the director of
the division of natural resources providing that the section
of parks and recreation shall permit reservations by credit
card for recreational vehicles.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section two, article five, chapter twenty of the code
of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5. PARKS AND RECREATION.
ยง20-5-2. Powers of the director with respect to the section of
parks and recreation.
The director of the division of natural resources shall be
is responsible for the execution and administration of the provisions herein as an integral part of the parks and recreation
program of the state and shall organize and staff the section of
parks and recreation for the orderly, efficient and economical
accomplishment of these ends. The authority granted in the year
one thousand nine hundred ninety-four to the director of the
division of natural resources to employ up to six additional
unclassified personnel to carry out the parks functions of the
division of natural resources is continued.
The director of the division of natural resources shall
further have the has the further authority, power and duty to:
(a) Establish, manage and maintain the state's parks and
recreation system for the benefit of the people of this state and
do all things necessary and incidental to the development and
administration thereof;
(b) Acquire property for the state in the name of the
division of natural resources by purchase, lease or agreement;
retain, employ and contract with legal advisors and consultants;
or accept or reject for the state, in the name of the division,
gifts, donations, contributions, bequests or devises of money,
security or property, both real and personal, and any interest in
such the property, including lands and waters, for state park or
recreational areas for the purpose of providing public
recreation: Provided, That the provisions of section twenty, article one of this chapter are specifically made applicable to
any acquisitions of land: Provided, however, That any sale,
exchange or transfer of property for the purposes of completing
land acquisitions or providing improved recreational
opportunities to the citizens of the state shall be subject to
the procedures of article one-a of this chapter: Provided
further, That no sale of any park or recreational area property,
including lands and waters, used for purposes of providing public
recreation on the effective date of this article and no
privatization of any park may occur without statutory authority;
(c) Approve and direct the use of all revenue derived from
the operation of the state parks and public recreation system for
the operation, maintenance and improvement of the system,
individual projects of the system or for the retirement of park
development revenue bonds;
(d) Approve the use of no less than twenty percent of the:
(i) Funds appropriated for purposes of advertising and marketing
expenses related to the promotion and development of tourism,
pursuant to subsection (j), section eighteen, article twenty-two,
chapter twenty-nine of this code; and (ii) funds authorized for
expenditure from the tourism promotion fund for purposes of
direct advertising, pursuant to section twelve, article two,
chapter five-b of this code and section ten, article twenty-two-a, chapter twenty-nine of this code, to effectively
promote and market the state's parks, state forests, state
recreation areas and wildlife recreational resources;
(e) Issue park development revenue bonds as provided in this
article;
(f) Provide for the construction and operation of cabins,
lodges, resorts, restaurants and other developed recreational
service facilities, subject to the provisions of section fifteen
of this article and section twenty, article one of this chapter;
(g) Promulgate rules to control uses of the parks, subject
to the provisions of chapter twenty-nine-a of this code:
Provided, That the director shall not permit public hunting, the
exploitation of minerals or the harvesting of timber for
commercial purposes in any state park;
(h) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the
contrary, the director may, for amounts less than two hundred
fifty dollars, exempt designated state parks from the requirement
that all payments must be deposited in a bank within twenty-four
hours;
(i) The director of the division of natural resources shall
waive the use fee normally charged to an individual or group for
one day's use of a picnic shelter or one week's use of a cabin in
a state recreation area when the individual or group donates the materials and labor for the construction of the picnic shelter or
cabin: Provided, That the individual or group was authorized by
the director to construct the picnic shelter or cabin and that it
was constructed in accordance with the authorization granted and
the standards and requirements of the division pertaining to such
the construction. The individual or group to whom the waiver is
granted may use the picnic shelter for one reserved day or the
cabin for one reserved week during each calendar year until the
amount of the donation equals the amount of the loss of revenue
from the waiver or until the individual dies or the group ceases
to exist, whichever first occurs. The waiver is not
transferable. The director shall permit free use of picnic
shelters or cabins to individuals or groups who have contributed
materials and labor for construction of picnic shelters or cabins
prior to the effective date of this section. The director shall
promulgate a legislative rule in accordance with the provisions
of chapter twenty-nine-a of this code governing the free use of
picnic shelters or cabins provided for in this section, the
eligibility for free use, determining the value of the donations
of labor and materials, the appropriate definitions of a group
and the maximum time limit for such the use; and
(j) Provide within the parks a market for West Virginia
arts, crafts and products, which shall permit gift shops within the parks to offer for sale items purchased on the open market
from local artists, artisans, craftsmen and suppliers and local
or regional crafts cooperatives; and
(k) Provide that reservations for recreational vehicles may
be made by use of a valid credit card and need not be made in
advance for any period of time a space is available within a
park.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require the director
of the Division of Natural Resources to provide that the section
of Parks and Recreation shall permit reservations by credit card
for recreational vehicles.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.