Senate Bill No. 538
(By Senator Sprouse and Minear)
____________
[Introduced February 18, 2000; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary; and then to the Committee on
Finance.]
____________
A BILL to amend article one, chapter four of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended,
by adding thereto a new section, designated section
twenty-three, relating to providing that under certain
circumstances particular members of the Legislature may
require, prior to a final vote on particular legislation, an
economic impact evaluation be performed in relation to the
effects of the legislation if it were passed into law, which
includes an evaluation of the proposed legislation's impact
on the tax base of the state; and that the legislative
auditor propose rules designed to ensure reliability of
evaluations.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article one, chapter four of the code of West Virginia,
one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by
adding thereto a new section, designated section twenty-three, to
read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. OFFICERS, MEMBERS AND EMPLOYEES; APPROPRIATIONS;
INVESTIGATIONS; DISPLAY OF FLAGS; RECORDS; USE OF
CAPITOL BUILDING; PREFILING OF BILLS AND
RESOLUTIONS; STANDING COMMITTEES; INTERIM
MEETINGS; NEXT MEETING OF THE SENATE; CERTAIN
MEMBERS REQUIRING ECONOMIC EVALUATION OF PROPOSED
LEGISLATION.
§4-1-23. Certain members with authority to require economic
evaluation of proposed legislation; evaluations
and projections to be unbiased and reliable;
legislative auditor to propose rules to effectuate
this section.
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
contrary, prior to a final vote on any proposed legislation in
either the House of Delegates or the Senate, the following
members, either individually, or in combination, as set forth in this section, may require an independent evaluation and
projection of the economic consequences of any proposed
legislation:
(1) The speaker of the House or president of the Senate,
individually;
(2) Any sixty-seven members of the House of Delegates, in
combination; or
(3) Any seventeen members of the Senate in combination.
(b) Any economic evaluation and projection provided for
hereunder shall include an analysis of the proposed likely effect
on future state tax revenues from any current and existing tax
revenue source. Any projection and evaluation required to be
performed pursuant to this section shall be performed in a timely
manner, and in any event, the performance may not exceed thirty
days from the date the request is made.
(c) The legislative auditor shall propose rules, subject to
legislative approval, required to effectuate and implement the
requirements of this section. These rules shall be designed to
ensure that evaluations and projections are unbiased, accurate,
quantifiable and premised upon sound actuarial and economic
principles, taking into consideration the most recent historical evidence concerning discernible financial, economic, political,
sociological and psychological patterns.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide that, under
certain circumstances, particular members of the Legislature may
require, prior to consideration of legislation, an economic
impact evaluation, which includes an evaluation of the proposed
legislation's impact on the tax base of the state; and that the
legislative auditor propose rules designed to ensure reliability
of evaluations.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.