H. B. 2862
(By Delegates Prunty (By Request), Caputo (By Request) and Manchin (By Request))
[Introduced February 22, 1999; referred to the
Committee on Government Organization.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section six, article fifteen, chapter
thirty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to general powers
of the economic development authority; requiring recipients
of state funds for training and purchase of business assets
to repay the state if the recipient's workforce is reduced
fifty percent or more within five years.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section six, article fifteen, chapter thirty-one of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 15. WEST VIRGINIA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY.
§31-15-6. General powers of authority.
(a) Except as provided in subsection (b), the authority, as
a public corporation and governmental instrumentality exercising
public powers of the state, shall have and may exercise all powers necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes of this
article, including the power:
(a) (1) To cooperate with industrial development agencies in
efforts to promote the expansion of industrial, commercial,
manufacturing and tourist activity in this state;
(b) (2) To determine, upon the proper application of an
industrial development agency or an enterprise, whether the
declared public purposes of this article have been or will be
accomplished by the establishment by such the agency or
enterprise of a project in this state;
(c) (3) To conduct examinations and investigations and to
hear testimony and take proof, under oath or affirmation, at
public or private hearings, on any matter relevant to this
article and necessary for information on the establishment of any
project;
(d) (4) To issue subpoenas requiring the attendance of
witnesses and the production of books and papers relevant to any
hearing before such the authority or one or more members
appointed by it to conduct any hearing;
(e) (5) To apply to the circuit court having venue of such
the offense to have punished for contempt any witness who refuses
to obey a subpoena, to be sworn or affirmed or to testify or who
commits any contempt after being summoned to appear;
(f) (6) To authorize any member of the authority to conduct hearings, administer oaths, take affidavits and issue subpoenas.
(g) (7) To financially assist projects by insuring
obligations in the manner provided in this article through the
use of the insurance fund;
(h) (8) To finance any projects by making loans to
industrial development agencies or enterprises upon such terms as
the authority shall deem appropriate: Provided, That nothing
contained in this subsection (h) (8) or under any other provision
in this article shall be construed as permitting the authority to
make loans for working capital: Provided, however, That nothing
contained in this article shall be construed as prohibiting the
authority from insuring loans for working capital made to
industrial development agencies or to enterprises by financial
institutions: Provided further, That nothing contained in this
subsection or any other provision of this article shall be
construed as permitting the authority to refinance existing debt
except when such the refinancing will result in the expansion of
the enterprise whose debt is to be refinanced or in the creation
of new jobs;
(i) (9) To issue revenue bonds or notes to fulfill the
purposes of this article, and to secure the payment of such the
bonds or notes, all as hereinafter provided;
(j) (10) To issue and deliver revenue bonds or notes in
exchange for a project;
(k) (11) To borrow money for its purposes and issue bonds or
notes for the money and provide for the rights of the holders of
the bonds or notes or other negotiable instruments, to secure the
bonds or notes by a deed of trust on, or an assignment or pledge
of, any or all of its property and property of the project,
including any part of the security for loans, and the authority
may issue and sell its bonds and notes, by public or private
sale, in such principal amounts as it shall deem necessary to
provide funds for any purposes under this article, including the
making of loans for the purposes set forth in this article;
(l) (12) To maintain such sinking funds and reserves as the
board shall determine appropriate for the purposes of meeting
future monetary obligations and needs of the authority;
(m) (13) To sue and be sued, implead and be impleaded, and
complain and defend in any court;
(n) (14) To adopt, use and alter at will a corporate seal;
(o) (15) To make, amend, repeal and adopt both bylaws and
rules and regulations for the management and regulation of its
affairs;
(p) (16) To appoint officers, agents and employees and to
contract for and engage the services of consultants;
(q) (17) To make contracts of every kind and nature to
execute all instruments necessary or convenient for carrying on
its business;
(r) (18) To accept grants and loans from and enter into
contracts and other transactions with any federal agency;
(s) (19) To take title by conveyance or foreclosure to any
project where acquisition is necessary to protect any loan
previously made by the authority and to sell, by public or
private sale, transfer, lease or convey such the project to any
enterprise;
(t) (20) To participate in any reorganization proceeding
pending pursuant to the United States Code (being the act of
Congress establishing a uniform system of bankruptcy throughout
the United States, as amended) or in any receivership proceeding
in a state or federal court for the reorganization or liquidation
of an enterprise. The authority may file its claim against any
such enterprise in any of the foregoing proceedings, vote upon
any questions pending therein which requires the approval of the
creditors participating in any reorganization proceeding or
receivership, exchange any evidence of such indebtedness for any
property, security or evidence of indebtedness offered as a part
of the reorganization of such the enterprise or of any other
entity formed to acquire the assets thereof and may compromise or
reduce the amount of any indebtedness owing to it as a part of
any such reorganization;
(u) (21) To acquire, construct, maintain, improve, repair,
replace and operate projects within this state, as well as streets, roads, alleys, sidewalks, crosswalks and other means of
ingress and egress to and from projects located within this
state;
(v) (22) To acquire, construct, maintain, improve, repair
and replace and operate pipelines, electric transmission lines,
waterlines, sewer lines, electric power substations, waterworks
systems, sewage treatment and disposal facilities and any
combinations thereof for the use and benefit of any enterprise
located within this state;
(w) (23) To acquire watersheds, water and riparian rights,
rights-of-way, easements, licenses and any and all other
property, property rights and appurtenances for the use and
benefit of any enterprise located within this state;
(x) (24) To acquire, by purchase, lease, donation or eminent
domain, any real or personal property, or any right or interest
therein, as may be necessary or convenient to carry out the
purposes of the authority. Title to all property, property
rights and interests acquired by the authority shall be taken in
the name of the authority;
(y) (25) To issue renewal notes, or security interests, to
issue bonds to pay notes or security interests and, whenever it
deems refunding expedient, to refund any bonds or notes by the
issuance of new bonds or notes, whether the bonds or notes to be
refunded have or have not matured and whether or not the authority originally issued the bonds or notes to be refunded;
(z) (26) To apply the proceeds from the sale of renewal
notes, security interests or refunding bonds or notes to the
purchase, redemption or payment of the notes, security interests
or bonds or notes to be refunded;
(aa) (27) To accept gifts or grants of property, funds,
security interests, money, materials, labor, supplies or services
from the United States of America or from any governmental unit
or any person, firm or corporation, and to carry out the terms or
provisions of, or make agreements with respect to, or pledge, any
gifts or grants, and to do any and all things necessary, useful,
desirable or convenient in connection with the procuring,
acceptance or disposition of gifts or grants;
(bb) (28) To the extent permitted under its contracts with
the holders of bonds, security interests or notes of the
authority, to consent to any modification of the rate of
interest, time of payment of any installment of principal or
interest, security or any other term of any bond, security
interests, note or contract or agreement of any kind to which the
authority is a party;
(cc) (29) To sell loans, security interests or other
obligations in the loan portfolio of the authority. Such The
security interests shall be evidenced by instruments issued by
the authority. Proceeds from the sale of loans, security interests, or other obligations may be used in the same manner
and for the same purposes as bond and note revenues;
(dd) (30) To procure insurance against any losses in
connection with its property, operations or assets in such
amounts and from such insurers as the authority deems desirable;
(ee) (31) To sell, license, lease, mortgage, assign, pledge
or donate its property, both real and personal, or any right or
interest therein to another or authorize the possession,
occupancy or use of such the property or any right or interest
therein by another, in such manner and upon such terms as it
deems appropriate;
(ff) (32) To participate with the state and federal agencies
in efforts to promote the expansion of commercial and industrial
development in this state;
(gg) (33) To finance, organize, conduct, sponsor,
participate and assist in the conduct of special institutes,
conferences, demonstrations and studies relating to the
stimulation and formation of business, industry and trade
endeavors;
(hh) (34) To conduct, finance and participate in
technological, business, financial and other studies related to
business and economic development;
(ii) (35) To conduct, sponsor, finance, participate and
assist in the preparation of business plans, financing plans and other proposals of new or established businesses suitable for
support by the authority;
(jj) (36) To prepare, publish and distribute, with or
without charge as the authority may determine, such technical
studies, reports, bulletins and other materials as it deems
appropriate, subject only to the maintenance and respect for
confidentiality of client proprietary information;
(kk) (37) To exercise such other and additional powers as
may be necessary or appropriate for the exercise of the powers
herein conferred;
(ll) (38) To exercise all of the powers which a corporation
may lawfully exercise under the laws of this state;
(mm) (39) To contract for the provision of legal services by
private counsel, and notwithstanding the provisions of article
three, chapter five, such counsel may, but is not limited to,
represent the authority in court, negotiate contracts and other
agreements on behalf of the authority, render advice to the
authority on any matter relating thereto, prepare contracts and
other agreements, and provide such other legal services as may be
requested by the authority; and
(nn) (40) To develop, maintain, operate and apply for the
establishment of foreign trade zones pursuant to and in
accordance with all applicable provisions of federal law.
(b) The authority shall require that any enterprise which receives funds provided under this article be required to repay
the funds to the state if the enterprise's workforce is reduced
fifty percent or more within five years after receiving the
funds.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require that a
business enterprise which receives economic development funds
repay the funds to the state if the business enterprise reduces
its workforce fifty percent or more during the first five years
after receiving funding.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.