H. B. 4549
(By Delegates Faircloth, Facemyer and L. White)
[Introduced February 15, 2000; referred to the
Committee on Government Organization.]
A BILL to amend chapter four of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding
thereto a new article, designated article thirteen, relating
to the creation of a joint legislative committee on
technology.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That chapter four of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by adding thereto
a new article, designated article thirteen, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 13. JOINT LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE ON TECHNOLOGY.
§4-13-1. Joint legislative committee on technology; membership;
compensation and expenses; meetings.
(a) There is created the joint legislative committee on
technology. The committee is composed of five members of the
Senate, to be appointed by the president, no more than three of whom shall be appointed from the same political party and five
members of the House of Delegates, to be appointed by the
speaker, no more than three of whom may be appointed from the
same political party. In the event the membership of a political
party is less than fifteen percent in the House of Delegates or
Senate, the membership of that political party from the
legislative house with less than fifteen percent membership may
be one from that house. The speaker shall designate one of the
appointed members of the House of Delegates cochairperson. The
president shall designate one of the appointed members of the
Senate cochairperson.
(b) Members of the committee serve two-year terms and may be
reappointed to serve an unlimited number of terms. Members serve
until their successors are appointed.
(c) Compensation and reimbursement for expenses for members
of the committee is determined pursuant to sections five and
seven, article two-a of this chapter. Compensation and expenses
shall be paid from an appropriation to be made expressly for the
committee, but if no appropriation is made or the total amount
appropriated has been expended, the compensation and expenses
shall be paid from amounts appropriated to the joint committee on
government and finance, but no expense of any kind whatever
payable from amounts appropriated to the joint committee on
government and finance may be incurred unless first approved by the joint committee on government and finance.
(d) The committee shall meet upon call of the cochairpersons
or either of them and may meet at any time, both during sessions
of the Legislature and in the interim.
§4-13-2. Responsibilities of the committee.
The committee shall generally study all aspects of
technology and science and endeavor to stimulate, encourage,
promote and assist in the development of technology and science
in the state and sound public policies related technology and
science. In addition, the committee shall:
(1) Evaluate the impact of existing statutes and proposed
legislation related to technology and science in the state;
(2) Advise the Legislature, governor, agencies, authorities
and institutions of the state upon matters related to technology
and science;
(3) Investigate, research and consider issues related to
technology and science as may be requested by the Legislature or
determined by the committee;
(4) Make recommendations to the Legislature and the
governor;
(5) Consult with appropriate entities, public or private, on
matters related to technology and science under the committee's
consideration;
(6) Encourage research and development in technology and science;
(7) Solicit input from appropriate entities, public or
private, on issues related to technology and science;
(8) Coordinate its efforts with and assist the efforts of
other agencies, authorities and institutions of the state; and
(9) Annually report its findings and recommendations to the
Legislature and governor.
§4-13-3. Advisory committees.
The committee may establish advisory committees composed of
persons with expertise in the matters under consideration by the
committee. Members of advisory committees serve without
compensation, but are entitled to be reimbursed from funds
appropriated or otherwise available to the committee for
reasonable and necessary expenses, including mileage, incurred in
the performance of their duties.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create a Joint
Legislative Committee on Technology.
This article is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.