COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 428
(By Senators Love, Wooton and Fanning)
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[Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary;
reported February 11, 1999.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section one, article three, chapter
twelve of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to exempting
information and records of the treasurer regarding certain
checks which have not been presented for payment from the
freedom of information act.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section one, article three, chapter twelve of the code
of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. APPROPRIATIONS, EXPENDITURES AND DEDUCTIONS.
§12-3-1. Manner of payment from treasury; form of checks.
Every person claiming to receive money from the treasury of
the state shall apply to the auditor for a warrant for same. The
auditor shall thereupon examine the claim, and the vouchers,
certificates and evidence, if any, offered in support thereof, and for so much thereof as he or she finds to be justly due from
the state, if payment thereof is authorized by law, and if there
is an appropriation not exhausted or expired out of which it is
properly payable, the auditor shall issue his or her warrant on
the treasurer, specifying to whom and on what account the money
mentioned therein is to be paid, and to what appropriation it is
to be charged. The auditor shall present to the treasurer daily
reports on the number of warrants issued, the amounts of the
warrants and the dates on the warrants for the purpose of
effectuating the investment policy of the investment management
board. On the presentation of the warrant to the treasurer, the
treasurer shall ascertain whether there are sufficient funds in
the treasury to pay that warrant, and if he or she finds it to be
so, he or she shall in that case, but not otherwise, endorse his
or her check upon the warrant, directed to some depository, which
check shall be payable to the order of the person who is to
receive the money therein specified; or the treasurer may issue
an electronic funds transfer in payment of the warrant. If the
check is not presented for payment within six months after it is
drawn, it shall then be the duty of the treasurer to credit it to the depository on which it was drawn, to credit the unclaimed
property fund pursuant to the provisions of article eight,
chapter thirty-six of this code, and immediately notify the
auditor to make corresponding entries on the auditor's books. No
state depository may pay a check unless it is presented within
six months after it is drawn and every check shall bear upon its
face the words, "Void, unless presented for payment within six
months." Any information or records maintained by the treasurer
concerning any check which has not been presented for payment
within six months of the date of issuance may only be disclosed
to the state agency specified on the check, or to the payee, his
or her personal representative, next of kin or attorney-at-law
and is otherwise confidential and exempt from disclosure under
the provisions of article one, chapter twenty-nine-b of this
code. All claims required by law to be allowed by any court, and
payable out of the state treasury, shall have the seal of the
court allowing or authorizing the payment of the claim affixed by
the clerk of the court to his or her certificate of its
allowance. No claim may be audited and paid by the auditor
unless the seal of the court is thereto attached as aforesaid.
No tax or fee may be charged by the clerk for affixing his or her
seal to the certificate, referred to in this section. The treasurer shall propose rules in accordance with the provisions
of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code governing
the procedure for such payments from the treasury.
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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to prohibit persons from
using the freedom of information act to obtain information
regarding uncashed checks from the treasurer and then selling the
information to the payee. The bill exempts the information from
the freedom of information act, but allows access by state
agencies, payees and their heirs and representatives.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.)