Senate Bill No. 172

(By Senator Chafin, Walker, Fanning, Craigo and Mitchell)

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[Introduced January 21, 2000; referred to the Committee on Government Organization.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section four, article twenty, chapter thirty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to authorizing the West Virginia regional jail and correctional facility authority board to appoint an executive director; and providing term of five years.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section four, article twenty, 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 20. WEST VIRGINIA REGIONAL JAIL AND CORRECTIONAL FACILITY AUTHORITY.
§31-20-4. Governing body; organization and meetings; quorum; administrative expenses.

The governing body of the authority shall consist of the voting members of the board as provided for in section three of this article and shall exercise all the powers given to the authority in this article. On the second Monday of July of each odd-numbered year, the board shall meet to elect a chairman and a secretary from among its own members. The secretary of the department of administration or his or her designated representative shall serve as treasurer of the board. The board shall otherwise meet quarterly, unless a special meeting is called by its chairman.
A majority of the members of the board constitute a quorum, and a quorum must be present for the board to conduct business. Unless the bylaws require a larger number, action may be taken by majority vote of the members present.
The board shall prescribe, amend and repeal bylaws and rules governing the manner in which the business of the authority is conducted and shall review and approve the budget prepared by the executive director annually.
On or before the first day of April, two thousand, the governor West Virginia regional and correctional facility authority board shall, with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoint an executive director to act as its chief executive officer, to serve at the will and pleasure of the governor board. The appointment shall be for a term of five years to begin on the first day of April, two thousand. The executive director is empowered to employ any other personnel he or she determines necessary and may appoint counsel and legal staff for the authority and retain such temporary engineering, financial and other consultants or technicians as may be required for any special study or survey consistent with the provisions of this article. The executive director is further empowered to engage in negotiations and carry out plans to implement the provisions of this article and to exercise those powers listed in section five of this article on behalf of the authority. The executive director shall prepare annually a budget to be submitted to the board for its review and approval.
All costs incidental to the administration of the authority, including office expense, personal services expense and current expense, shall be paid from the regional jail and correctional facility development fund in accordance with guidelines issued by the board of the authority.



NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize the Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority Board to appoint an executive director, with the advice and consent of the Senate, to serve for a term of five years, beginning April 1, 2000.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.