Senate Bill No. 647
(By Senator Craigo)
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[Introduced February 22, 1999;
referred to the Committee on Government Organization.]
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A BILL to amend chapter five of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding
thereto a new article, designated article one-d, relating to
creating the position of director of transportation to
oversee the purchase and lease of state vehicles, as well as
maintenance and insurance costs associated with state-owned
vehicles; setting forth various duties of the director;
providing the director charges a fee for the cost of
evaluating the needs of state governmental agencies in
relation to motor vehicles; providing for the creation of a
fund for fees collected to be deposited with the treasurer;
setting forth discretionary powers of the director in
relation to executive agencies of government only; requiring
a notice of request for proposals to purchase or lease motor vehicles by state spending units required to make purchases
through the state purchasing division; requiring state
spending units not required to submit a request for a
proposal to the state purchasing division to notify the
director of any intended purchase or lease of a motor
vehicle; and requiring the director to submit a biannual
report.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That chapter five 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-d, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1D. THE DIRECTOR OF TRANSPORTATION.
§5-1D-1. Creation of the office of director of transportation.
There is hereby created the office of director of
transportation within the division of transportation
. The
director shall be appointed by the governor, with the advice and
consent of the Senate, and shall serve at the will and pleasure
of the governor. The director shall oversee the purchase and lease of state motor vehicles and shall, additionally, oversee
the costs associated with the use, maintenance, repair and
insurance coverage for these motor vehicles.
§5-1D-2. Director to propose rules.
(a) The director shall propose legislative rules designed to
prevent financial abuses and to safeguard state funds used for
the purchase, lease, maintenance, repair or provision of
insurance coverage of any state-owned motor vehicle.
(b) With respect to all spending units of state government
involved in the purchase, lease, use, maintenance, repair, or
expenditure for purchase, maintenance or repair, the director
shall:
(1) Enforce all applicable rules approved by the Legislature
related to the purchase, lease, maintenance, repair or provision
of insurance coverage for any state-owned motor vehicle;
(2) Evaluate, in conjunction with the purchase, lease and use
of state-owned motor vehicles, the need of a particular state
agency or spending unit for motor vehicles relative to the
functional activities carried on by the agency or unit;
(3) Determine the type of motor vehicles needed by the agency or unit to conduct its functional activities, taking into
consideration the minimum requirements needed to fulfill the
activities so as to minimize the cost of purchasing the type of
vehicle determined as being necessary to conduct such activities;
(4) Insure that any state-owned motor vehicle is driven only
by persons qualified to drive the vehicle, while, additionally
insuring that all such vehicles are maintained under proper
maintenance schedules, taking into account the necessary demand
placed upon the use of the vehicle to conduct functional
activities of the particular agency or unit;
(5) Develop guidelines for reprimanding employees who abuse
or otherwise operate any state-owned motor vehicle in such a
manner to shorten road life or cause damage to the motor vehicle;
(6) Develop an organized approach to enforcing all rules
designed to minimize costs paid out for the purchase, lease,
maintenance, repair or provision of insurance coverage for all
state-owned motor vehicles;
(7) Develop incentive packages designed to encourage state
agencies and spending units to reduce and minimize their costs
associated with the purchase, lease, maintenance, repair or provision of insurance coverage for state-owned motor vehicles;
(8) Charge a fee to be assessed by the director of
transportation to the state spending units for evaluations
performed under subdivisions (2) and (3) of this subsection. All
fees collected by the director hereunder shall be deposited in a
special account in the state treasury to be known as the "state- owned motor vehicle responsibility fund." Expenditures from the
fund shall be made by the director of transportation for the
purposes set forth in this article and are not authorized from
collections but are to be made only in accordance with article
three, chapter twelve of this code and upon the fulfillment of
the provisions set forth in article two, chapter five-a of this
code. Amounts collected which are found to exceed funds needed
for the purposes of this article may be transferred to other
accounts or funds and redesignated for other purposes by
appropriation of the Legislature.
(b) With respect to executive agencies only, the director of
transportation may:
(1) Establish, based on need, priorities and time lines for
fulfilling motor vehicle need requirements of the various executive agencies of state government;
(2) Exercise the authority inherent to the chief executive of
the state as the governor may, by executive order, delegate, to
overrule and supersede decisions made by administrators of the
various executive agencies of government with respect to the need
for motor vehicles and the purchase, lease or acquisition of
motor vehicles;
(3) Draw upon staff of other executive agencies for advice
and assistance in the formulation and implementation of
administrative and operational plans and policies; and
(4) Recommend to the governor: (i) Transfers of motor
vehicles from any executive agency to another, based on need and
efficiency; and (ii) the most effective and efficient motor
vehicles that particular executive agencies need in order to
conduct their functional operations of government.
(c) The director of transportation may employ the personnel
necessary to carry out the work of his or her office and may
approve reimbursement of costs incurred by employees to obtain
education and training.
§5-1D-3. Notice of request for proposals by state spending units required to make purchases through state purchasing division.
Any state spending unit that is required to submit a request
for proposal to the state purchasing division prior to purchasing
or leasing any motor vehicle shall notify the director of
transportation, in writing, of the proposed purchase or lease.
The notice shall contain a brief description of the make, model,
type, intended use and suggested retail price of the vehicle to
be purchased or leased. The state spending unit shall provide
the notice to the director at the same time it submits its
request for proposal to the state purchasing division.
§5-1D-4. Notice of request for proposals by state spending units
exempted from submitting purchases to the state purchasing division.
(a) Any state spending unit that is not required to submit
a request for proposal to the state purchasing division prior to
purchasing goods or services shall notify the director of
transportation, in writing, of any proposed purchase or lease of
any motor vehicle or vehicles. The notice shall contain a
detailed description of the motor vehicle to be purchased,
including the make, model, type, intended use and suggested retail price of the vehicle to be purchased or leased. The state
spending unit shall provide the notice to the director a minimum
of ten days prior to the time it requests bids on the provision
of the motor vehicle.
(b) If the director evaluates the suitability of the
proposed motor vehicle under the provisions of this article and
determines that the motor vehicle to be purchased or leased is
not suitable, he or she shall, within ten days of receiving the
notice from the state spending unit, notify the state spending
unit, in writing, of any recommendations he or she has regarding
the proposed purchase or lease. If the state spending unit
receives a written notice from the director within the time
period required by this section, the state spending unit shall
not put the motor vehicle out for bid less than fifteen days
following receipt of the notice from the director.
§5-1D-5. Biannual report.
The director of transportation shall report biannually to
the legislative joint committee on government and finance on the
activities of his or her office.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create the position of
director of transportation to oversee the purchase and lease of
state vehicles, as well as the maintenance and insurance costs
associated with state-owned vehicles. In furtherance of these
purposes the bill contains provisions that provide as follows:
(1) Sets forth various duties of the director; (2)provides the
director charges a fee for the cost of evaluating the needs of
state governmental agencies in relation to motor vehicles; (3)
provides for the creation of a fund for fees collected to be
deposited with the treasurer; (4) sets forth discretionary powers
of the director in relation to executive agencies of government
only; (5) requires a notice of request for proposals to purchase
or lease motor vehicles by state spending units required to make
purchases through the state purchasing division; (6) requires
state spending units not required to submit a request for a
proposal to the state purchasing division to notify the director
of any intended purchase or lease of a motor vehicle; and
(7)requires the director to submit a biannual report.
Article one-d is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.