H. B. 4513
(By Delegate Martin)
[Introduced February 20, 1998; referred to the
Committee on Finance.]
A BILL to amend article seven, chapter forty-six-a of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto two new sections, designated
sections one hundred eleven-a and one hundred eleven-b, all
relating to consumer credit and protection; creating the
consumer protection enforcement fund; and specifying uses of
funds.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article seven, chapter forty-six-a of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto two new sections, designated sections
one hundred eleven-a and one hundred eleven-b, all to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 7. ADMINISTRATION.
§46A-7-111a. Disposition of funds.
All civil penalties and other funds exacted pursuant to this
article, unless otherwise specifically provided for by law or court order, shall be paid into the state treasury for deposit in
the consumer protection enforcement fund.
§46A-7-111b. Consumer protection enforcement fund.
All money received by the state on and after the first day
of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-eight, as a result of
actions by the attorney general pursuant to this article or
federal consumer laws shall be placed in a separate fund by the
state treasurer, to be known as the consumer protection
enforcement fund. The fund may only be used for the payment of
consumer restitution, fees, costs, expenses, consumer education
and other expenses incurred by the attorney general in connection
with consumer protection activities. The first five hundred
thousand dollars deposited into the fund each year do not expire
at the end of the fiscal year but are hereby automatically
reappropriated from year to year. All funds in excess of five
hundred thousand dollars remaining in the fund at the end of each
fiscal year revert to the general revenue fund.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to use money recovered by
the Attorney General in consumer protection proceedings as a
source of funding further consumer protection proceedings and for
other purposes consistent with the Consumer Protection Act,
including costs and fees associated with investigation and
litigation, and consumer education.
These sections are new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.