H. B. 4343
(By Delegate Walters, By Request)
[Introduced February 11, 1998; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact chapter twenty nine of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new article, designated article
one-k, relating to creation of the council to oversee
expenditures in fine arts; requiring the council propose by
legislative rule ways that criteria that promote wholesome
things and discourage inappropriate ones be met as a
contingency for funding and that provide for gradual phasing
out of national endowment of the arts funding and increased
support for the arts from the Legislature and private
sources; and providing for increased funding for musical
education in public schools.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That chapter twenty-nine of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new article, designated article one-k, to read
as follows:
ARTICLE 1K. COUNCIL TO OVERSEE EXPENDITURES IN FINE ARTS.
§29-1K-1. Council to oversee expenditures in fine arts.
The council to oversee expenditures in fine arts is hereby
created and shall be composed of fifteen appointed members.
The governor shall nominate, and by and with the advice and
consent of the Senate, appoint the members of the council for
staggered terms of three years. A person appointed to fill a
vacancy shall be appointed only for the remainder of that term.
No more than eight members may be of the same political
party. Members of the council shall be appointed so as to fairly
represent both sexes, the ethnic and cultural diversity of the
state and the geographic regions of the state.
The council shall elect one of its members chair. It shall
meet at such time as shall be specified by the chair. Notice of
each meeting shall be given to each member by the chair in
compliance with the open meetings laws of the state. A majority
of the members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of
business. The director of the arts and humanities section shall
be an ex officio nonvoting member of the council and shall serve
as secretary. The director or a majority of the members may also
call a meeting upon such notice as provided in this section.
Each member or ex officio member of the council shall serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for all reasonable
and necessary expenses actually incurred in the performance of
the duties of the office, except that in the event the expenses
are paid, or are to be paid, by a third party, the member or ex
officio member, as the case may be, shall not be reimbursed by
the state.
The governor may also appoint such officers of the state as
may be appropriate to serve on the council as ex officio
nonvoting members.
The council shall have the following powers:
(1) To advise the governor and the director of the arts and
humanities section concerning the expenditure of publicly
allocated moneys, particularly to whom such moneys are paid and
in what amounts;
(2) To propose legislative rules which promote wholesome and
moral presentations and creations in the arts and which
discourage inappropriate, lascivious presentations and creations;
(3) To propose rules to phase out the use of public funding
for the fine arts from the national endowment of the arts and to
require that future funding be exclusively provided by the
Legislature and private sources; and
(4) To otherwise encourage and promote morality, decency and
appropriateness of the fine arts.
§29-1K-2. Increased funding and attention to musical education in public schools.
Beginning in the school year one thousand nine hundred
ninety-nine, expenditures per pupil shall be increased by fifteen
percent of current expenditure levels for musical education by
the various county school boards for all grades, kindergarten
through twelve.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create "the council to
oversee expenditures in fine arts." The bill also requires the
council to propose legislative rules for the development of
criteria that promote wholesome things and discourage
inappropriate ones with the intention that such criteria be met
as a contingency for funding. It also provides for the council
to propose rules in order to gradually phase out national
endowment of the arts funding while requiring increased support
for the arts from the Legislature and private sources. Finally,
it provides for increased funding for musical education in public
schools.
This article is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.