H. B. 4448


(By Delegates Seacrist, Amores,
Walters, Rowe and Hunt)

[Introduced February 16, 1998; referred to the
Committee on Political Subdivisions then Finance.]



A BILL to amend and reenact section three-cc, article one, chapter seven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to amend chapter twenty-four of said code by adding thereto a new article, designated article six-a, all relating to authorizing county commissions and municipalities to establish an independent emergency operations center board with the power to plan and coordinate all emergency operations for a county, municipality or combined territory.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section three-cc, article one, chapter seven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted; and that chapter twenty-four of said code be amended by adding thereto a new article, designated article six-a, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 7. COUNTY COMMISSIONS AND OFFICERS.

§7-1-3cc. Authority of county commissions to establish enhanced emergency telephone systems, technical and operational standards for emergency communications centers, and standards for education and training of emergency communications systems personnel; standards for alarm systems; fee upon consumers of telephone service for such systems and for roadway conversion systems; authority to contract with the telephone companies for billing of such fee.
(a) In addition to possessing the authority to establish an emergency telephone system pursuant to section four, article six, chapter twenty-four of this code, a county commission or the county commissions of two or more counties may, instead, establish an enhanced emergency telephone system or convert an existing system to an enhanced emergency system. The establishment of such a system shall be subject to the provisions of article six and article six-a of said chapter. The county commission may adopt rules after receiving recommendations from the West Virginia enhanced 911 council concerning the operation of all county emergency communications centers or emergency telephone systems centers in the state, including, but not limited to, recommendations for:
(1) Minimum standards for emergency telephone systems and emergency communications centers;
(2) Minimum standards for equipment used in any center receiving telephone calls of an emergency nature and dispatching emergency service providers in response to that call and which receives 911 moneys or has basic 911 service funded through its county commission; and,
(3) Minimum standards for education and training of all personnel in emergency communications centers.
(b) A county commission may impose a fee upon consumers of local exchange service within that county for an enhanced emergency telephone system and associated electronic equipment and for the conversion of all rural routes to city-type addressing, as provided in section three of this article. Such The fee shall be utilized for the capital, installation and maintenance costs of the enhanced emergency telephone system and of the conversion to city-type addressing. The county shall reduce such the fee when the capital and installation costs have been fully recovered to the level necessary to offset recurring maintenance, and dispatcher costs, only and other costs directly related to the operation of the enhanced emergency telephone system and emergency operations center. No such fee may be used for the costs associated with establishing, equipping, furnishing, operating or maintaining a county answering point.
(c) A county commission may contract with the telephone company or companies providing local exchange service within the county for such a telephone company or companies to act as the billing agent or agents of the county commission for the billing of the fee imposed pursuant to subsection (b) of this section. The cost for such the billing agent services may be included as a recurring maintenance cost of the enhanced emergency telephone system.
(d) A county commission of any county with an emergency communications center or emergency telephone system may establish standards for alarm systems, including security, fire and medical alarms.

CHAPTER 24. PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION.

ARTICLE 6A. EMERGENCY MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY BOARDS.
§24-6A-1. Legislative purpose.
It is the purpose of this article to grant authority to county commissions and municipalities to establish an independent board of directors to oversee the operation of an emergency operation center for the purpose of operating an enhanced 911 emergency telephone system "E911", as defined in chapter twenty-four, article six of this code.
§24-6A-2. Definitions.
(a) "EOC board" means board of directors of an emergency operations center.
(b) "Director" means the director of emergency services of an emergency operations center.
(c) "County" means county commission.
(d) "Emergency operations center" means a center established for the maintenance and operation of an emergency telephone system, as defined in chapter twenty-four, article six of this code.
§24-6A-3. Emergency operations center board of directors; creation.
Any county or municipality may create an emergency operations center board of directors "EOC board" for the purpose of management and control of an existing enhanced 911 emergency telephone system "E911", as defined in chapter twenty-four, article six of this code. Prior to establishing such a board, the county or municipality must enter an order scheduling a public hearing on the matter. The public hearing must be held no earlier than thirty days nor later than sixty days after entry of the order. The public hearing shall be published as a Class 1 publication. At the hearing the county or municipality shall solicit the opinion of the public both for and against the creation of an "EOC board." After closing the public hearing, the county or municipality may then vote on an order to create an "EOC board."
§24-6A-4. Emergency operations center board of directors.
Each county or municipality shall appoint a board consisting of no more than seventeen members. The board shall be appointed by the county or municipality and shall include at least one member from affected fire service providers, law-enforcement providers, emergency medical providers and emergency services providers participating in the system and at least one member from a municipality in the county and one member from the county and other members at the discretion of the county or municipality. Counties and municipalities may form multi- jurisdictional boards where a public meeting and notice were completed pursuant to chapter twenty-four, article six, section three of this code.
The initial board shall serve staggered terms of two, four and six years. All future appointments shall be for terms of six years, except that an appointment to fill a vacancy shall be for the unexpired term. All members shall serve without compensation.
§24-6A-5. Meetings of board; officers; employees; official bonds; records of authority public records.
At its first meeting, to be held no later than sixty days from the creation of the board as provided in this article, the board shall elect from among its membership a president to act during the next ensuing fiscal year, or until his successor is elected and qualified. At that time, the board shall also elect a vice president, a secretary and a treasurer and other officers as may be required. At its first meeting the board shall also fix the time and place for holding regular meetings. Special meetings of the board may be called by the president or by two members upon written request to the secretary. The secretary shall send to all the members, at least two days in advance of a special meeting, a written notice setting forth the time and place of the special meeting and the matters to be considered at such special meeting. Written notice of a special meeting is not required if the time of the special meeting has been fixed in a regular meeting or if all the members are present at the regular meeting. All regular meetings shall be general meetings for the consideration of any and all matters which may properly come before a board. All proceedings of the board shall be entered in a permanently bound record book, properly indexed and shall be carefully preserved by the secretary of the authority. All records of the authority shall be public records.
§24-6A-6. Quorum; majority vote required.
A majority of the members of the board shall constitute a quorum. The vote of a majority of all members present at any meeting of the board shall be necessary to take any action.
§24-6A-7. Powers and duties of boards generally.
Each board is hereby given the power:
(a) To sue and be sued, implead and be impleaded;
(b) To have and use a seal and alter the same at pleasure;
(c) To make and adopt all rules and bylaws as may be necessary or desirable to enable it to exercise the powers and perform its duties;
(d) To operate an emergency operations center, in order to provide an emergency service, and to employ, in its discretion, planning consultants, attorneys, accountants, superintendents, managers and any other employees and agents as it may deem necessary and fix their compensation;
(e) To acquire by grant, purchase, gift, devise or lease and to hold, use, sell, lease or otherwise dispose of real and personal property of every kind and nature whatsoever, licenses, franchises, rights and interests necessary for the full exercise of its powers pursuant to the provisions of this article or which may be convenient or useful for the carrying out of such powers;
(f) To enter into contracts and agreements which are necessary, convenient or useful to carry out the purposes of this article with any person, public corporation, state or any agency or political subdivision thereof and the federal government and any department or agency thereof, including, without limitation, contracts and agreements for the joint use of any property and rights by the board and any person or authority operating any system, whether within or without the service area of the board, and contracts and agreements with any person or authority for the maintenance, servicing, storage, operation or use of any system or part thereof, facility or equipment on such basis as shall seem proper to the board;
(g) To enter into contracts and agreements for superintendence and management services with any person, who has executive personnel with experience and skill applicable to the superintendence and management of any system, for the furnishing of its services and the services of experienced and qualified personnel for the superintendence and management of any system or any part thereof, including, without limitation, superintendence over personnel, purchases, properties and operations and all matters relating thereto, and any revenue bond trust indenture may require such contract or agreement, but the personnel whose services are to be so furnished under any contract or agreement shall not include any member of the board, any member of the immediate family of a member of the board or any agents or employees of the board;
(h) To execute security agreements, contracts, leases, equipment trust certificates and any other forms of contract or agreement, granting or creating a lien, security interest, encumbrance or other security in, on or to facilities and equipment, containing such terms and provisions as the board considers necessary;
(i) To apply for, receive and use grants, grants-in-aid, donations and contributions from any source or sources, including, but not limited to, the federal government and any agency or department thereof, and a state government whose constitution does not prohibit such grants, grants-in-aid, donations and contributions, and any agency or department thereof, and to accept and use bequests, devises, gifts and donations from any person;
(j) To encumber or mortgage all or any part of its facilities and equipment; and
(k) To do any and all things necessary or convenient to carry out the powers given in this article unless otherwise forbidden by law.
§24-6A-8. Indebtedness of boards.
No indebtedness or obligation incurred by any board shall give any right against any member of the governing body of any participating government or any member of the boards. Any obligation or indebtedness of any nature of any board shall never constitute an obligation or indebtedness of any participating government or the governing body of any participating government, within the meaning of any constitutional provision or statutory limitation and shall never constitute or give rise to a pecuniary liability of any participating government or the governing body of any participating government or be a charge against the general credit or taxing power of any participating government or the governing body of any participating government. The rights of creditors of any authority shall be solely against the authority as a corporate body and shall be satisfied only out of revenues, moneys or property received or held by it in its corporate capacity.
§24-6A-9. Conflict of interest.
No member of any board, nor any of its officers, employees, agents or consultants, shall contract with the board or be interested in, either directly or indirectly, any contract with the board or in the sale of property, either real or personal, to such board.
§24-6A-10. Director of emergency operations center.
(a) The board shall appoint a director of communications for the emergency operations center and shall establish the director's compensation. The director must be qualified by training and experience for the position.
(b) The board may remove the director at any time, as allowed by law.
(c) The director shall perform all duties that the board requires and shall supervise as general manager the operations of the district subject to any limitations prescribed by the board.
§24-6A-11. Other provisions.
(a) The governing bodies which make up the emergency operations center may provide for the support, maintenance and operations of emergency operations by the levying of taxes and by the appropriation and expenditure of public funds in accordance with article five, chapter fifteen and section three-cc, article one, chapter seven of this code.


NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to allow counties and municipalities to appoint independent authorities to maintain enhanced 911 telephone systems within their respective jurisdictions.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.

Article 6A is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.