H. B. 2390


(By Delegates Mezzatesta and Frederick)

[Introduced February 21, 2001; referred to the

Committee on Government Organization then Finance.]





A BILL to amend and reenact section six, article five-p, chapter sixteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to further amend said article by adding thereto a new section, designated section ten-a; and to amend and reenact section ten, article twenty-two-a, chapter twenty-nine of said code, all relating to the "senior citizens prescription drug subsidy program"; enumerating criteria to be used in determining eligibility to participate; requiring the bureau for senior services to administer the program; requiring transfer of those funds into a special account for the program; naming the account; providing that three and three fourths of video lottery net terminal income shall be placed in a special account and used for the "senior citizens prescription drug subsidy program"; and reducing the share of net terminal income payable to a licensee.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That section six, article five-p, chapter sixteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted; and that said article be further amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section ten-a; and that section ten, article twenty-two-a, chapter twenty-nine of said code be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:

CHAPTER 16. PUBLIC HEALTH.

ARTICLE 5P. SENIOR SERVICES.

§16-5P-6. Powers and duties generally.

The commissioner shall be the executive and administrative head of the bureau and shall have has the power and duty to:

(a) Exercise general supervision of the bureau;

(b) Propose legislative rules for the effective and expeditious performance and discharge of the duties and responsibilities placed upon the commissioner by law;

(c) Conduct and coordinate studies of the problems of encountered by the state's older people citizens;

(d) Encourage and promote the establishment of local programs and services for the aging;

(e) Conduct public education programs of public education on the problems of the related to aging;

(f) Review state programs for the aging, and annually make recommendations to the governor and the Legislature;

(g) Encourage and assist governmental and private agencies to coordinate effective efforts on behalf of the aging;

(h) Coordinate statewide local and voluntary efforts to serve the aging and develop programs at the local level;

(i) Supervise fiscal management and responsibilities of the bureau;
(j) Keep an accurate and complete record of all bureau proceedings, record and file all bonds and contracts and assume responsibility for the custody and preservation of all papers and documents of the bureau;
(k) Submit an annual report to the governor on the condition, operation and functioning of the bureau;
(l) Invoke any legal or special remedy for the enforcement of orders or the provisions of this chapter;
(m) Standardize administration, expedite bureau business, revise rules and promote the efficiency of the service;
(n) Provide a program of continuing professional, technical and specialized instruction for the personnel of the bureau and local service providers; and
(o) Receive on behalf of the state any grant or gift and accept the same, so that the title shall pass to the state. All moneys from grants or gifts shall be deposited with the state treasurer in a special fund and shall be used for the purposes set forth in the grant or gift; and
(p) Administer the program provided for in section ten-a of this article by subsidizing, within the funds available, the cost of prescription drugs for eligible persons over the age of sixty-five.
§16-5P-10a. Senior citizens prescription drug subsidy program. (a) There is hereby created a senior citizens prescription drug subsidy program, which shall be administered by the bureau of senior services in accordance with the provisions of this section and within the funding made available through the provisions of section ten, article twenty-two-a, chapter twenty-nine of this code and any appropriations: Provided, That the provisions of this section shall not be construed to require legislative appropriations. The program shall be designed to provide a subsidy for prescription medications purchased by eligible citizens over the age of sixty-five: Provided, however, That the otherwise eligible citizen does not qualify for other third-party reimbursement for prescription drugs. Funds administered as reimbursement for prescription drugs under the provisions of this section may be paid directly to qualified pharmaceutical providers, or the eligible citizen, upon proof of purchase.
(b) The bureau shall propose legislative rules in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, to accomplish the following:
(1) Establish eligibility guidelines for program participation based on income and the need for the prescription drugs;
(2) Develop criteria, which is to be applied uniformly, to determine which pharmaceutical providers may participate in the program;
(3) Determine the percentage of subsidy to be provided based on the cost of the particular prescription drug, the availability of an equivalent generic prescription drug, and the amount of funds available in the account;
(4) Develop criteria, which is to be applied uniformly, to determine the circumstances in which a pharmaceutical provider or eligible person would be declared ineligible;
(5) Develop a system to verify that the prescription drug has actually been dispensed to the eligible person; and
(6) Maintain a registry of companies and organizations that provide free medications, and make this information available to consumers through all local senior programs.
CHAPTER 29. MISCELLANEOUS BOARDS AND OFFICERS.

ARTICLE 22. STATE LOTTERY ACT.
§29-22A-10. Accounting and reporting; commission to provide communications protocol data; distribution of net terminal income; remittance through electronic transfer of funds; establishment of accounts and nonpayment penalties; commission control of accounting for net terminal income; settlement of accounts; manual reporting and payment may be required; request for reports; examination of accounts and records.

(a) The commission shall provide to manufacturers, or applicants applying for a manufacturer's permit, the protocol documentation data necessary to enable the respective manufacturer's video lottery terminals to communicate with the commission's central computer for transmitting auditing program information and for activation and disabling of video lottery terminals.
(b) The gross terminal income of a licensed racetrack shall be remitted to the commission through the electronic transfer of funds. Licensed racetracks shall furnish to the commission all information and bank authorizations required to facilitate the timely transfer of moneys to the commission. Licensed racetracks must provide the commission thirty days' advance notice of any proposed account changes in order to assure the uninterrupted electronic transfer of funds. From the gross terminal income remitted by the licensee to the commission, the commission shall deduct an amount sufficient to reimburse the commission for its actual costs and expenses incurred in administering racetrack video lottery at the licensed racetrack, and the resulting amount after such deduction shall be the net terminal income. The amount deducted for administrative costs and expenses of the commission may not exceed four percent of gross terminal income.
(c) Net terminal income shall be divided as set out in this subsection. The licensed racetrack's share shall be in lieu of all lottery agent commissions and is considered to cover all costs and expenses required to be expended by the licensed racetrack in connection with video lottery operations. The division shall be made as follows:
(1) The commission shall receive thirty percent of net terminal income, which shall be paid into the general revenue fund of the state to be appropriated by the Legislature;
(2) Fourteen percent of net terminal income at a licensed racetrack shall be deposited in the special fund established by the licensee, and used for payment of regular purses in addition to other amounts provided for in article twenty-three, chapter nineteen of this code;
(3) The county where the video lottery terminals are located shall receive two percent of the net terminal income: Provided, That:
(A) Beginning the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-nine, and thereafter, any amount in excess of the two percent received during fiscal year one thousand nine hundred ninety-nine by a county in which a racetrack is located that has participated in the West Virginia thoroughbred development fund since on or before the first day of January, one thousand nine hundred ninety-nine, shall be divided as follows:
(i) The county shall receive fifty percent of the excess amount; and
(ii) The municipalities of the county shall receive fifty percent of the excess amount, said fifty percent to be divided among the municipalities on a per capita basis as determined by the most recent decennial United States census of population; and (B) Beginning the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-nine, and thereafter, any amount in excess of the two percent received during fiscal year one thousand nine hundred ninety-nine by a county in which a racetrack other than a racetrack described in paragraph (A) of this proviso is located and where the racetrack has been located in a municipality within the county since on or before the first day of January, one thousand nine hundred ninety-nine, shall be divided, if applicable, as follows:
(i) The county shall receive fifty percent of the excess amount; and
(ii) The municipality shall receive fifty percent of the excess amount; and
(C) This proviso shall not affect the amount to be received under this subdivision by any county other than a county described in paragraph (A) or (B) of this proviso;
(4) One half of one percent of net terminal income shall be paid for and on behalf of all employees of the licensed racing association by making a deposit into a special fund to be established by the racing commission to be used for payment into the pension plan for all employees of the licensed racing association;
(5) Beginning the first day of April, two thousand one, three and three-fourths percent of net terminal income shall be deposited in a special account hereby created in the treasury, named the "Senior Citizen's Drug Prescription Assistance Fund" and, subject to appropriation by the Legislature, used by the senior citizen's prescription drug subsidy program to subsidize, within the funds available, the cost of prescription drugs for eligible persons over the age of sixty-five in accordance with the provisions of section ten-a, article five-p, chapter sixteen of this code.
(5) (6) The West Virginia thoroughbred development fund created under section thirteen-b, article twenty-three, chapter nineteen of this code and the West Virginia greyhound breeding development fund created under section ten, article twenty-three, chapter nineteen of this code shall receive an equal share of a total of not less than one and one-half percent of the net terminal income: Provided, That for any racetrack which does not have a breeder's program supported by the thoroughbred development fund or the greyhound breeding development fund, the one and one-half percent provided for in this subdivision shall be deposited in the special fund established by the licensee and used for payment of regular purses, in addition to other amounts provided for in subdivision (2) of this subsection and article twenty-three, chapter nineteen of this code;
(6) (7) The West Virginia racing commission shall receive one percent of the net terminal income which shall be deposited and used as provided in section thirteen-c, article twenty-three, chapter nineteen of this code;
(7) (8) A licensee shall receive forty-seven forty-three and one-quarter percent of net terminal income;
(8) (9) The tourism promotion fund established in section twelve, article two, chapter five-b of this code shall receive three percent of the net terminal income; and
(9) (10) The veterans memorial program shall receive one percent of the net terminal income until sufficient moneys have been received to complete the veterans memorial on the grounds of the state capitol complex in Charleston, West Virginia. The moneys shall be deposited in the state treasury in the division of culture and history special fund created under section three, article one-i, chapter twenty-nine of this code: Provided, That only after sufficient moneys have been deposited in the fund to complete the veterans memorial and to pay in full the annual bonded indebtedness on the veterans memorial, not more than twenty thousand dollars of the one percent of net terminal income provided for in this subdivision shall be deposited into a special revenue fund in the state treasury, to be known as the "John F. 'Jack' Bennett Fund." The moneys in this fund shall be expended by the division of veterans affairs to provide for the placement of markers for the graves of veterans in perpetual cemeteries in this state. The division of veterans affairs shall promulgate legislative rules pursuant to the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code specifying the manner in which the funds are spent, determine the ability of the surviving spouse to pay for the placement of the marker, and setting forth the standards to be used to determine the priority in which the veterans grave markers will be placed in the event that there are not sufficient funds to complete the placement of veterans grave markers in any one year, or at all. Upon payment in full of the bonded indebtedness on the veterans memorial, one hundred thousand dollars of the one percent of net terminal income provided for in this subdivision shall be deposited in the special fund in the division of culture and history created under section three, article one-i, chapter twenty-nine of this code and be expended by the division of culture and history to establish a West Virginia veterans memorial archives within the cultural center to serve as a repository for the documents and records pertaining to the veterans memorial, to restore and maintain the monuments and memorial on the capitol grounds, and not more than twenty thousand dollars be deposited in the "John F. 'Jack' Bennett Fund": Provided, however, That five hundred thousand dollars of the one percent of net terminal income shall be deposited in the state treasury in a special fund of the department of administration, created under section five, article four, chapter five-a of this code to be used for construction and maintenance of a parking garage on the state capitol complex: Provided further, That the remainder of the one percent of net terminal income shall be deposited in equal amounts in the capitol dome and improvements fund created under section two, article four, chapter five-a of this code and cultural facilities and capitol resources matching grant program fund created under section three, article one of this chapter.
(d) Each licensed racetrack shall maintain in its account an amount equal to or greater than the gross terminal income from its operation of video lottery machines, to be electronically transferred by the commission on dates established by the commission. Upon a licensed racetrack's failure to maintain this balance, the commission may disable all of a licensed racetrack's video lottery terminals until full payment of all amounts due is made. Interest shall accrue on any unpaid balance at a rate consistent with the amount charged for state income tax delinquency under chapter eleven of this code, which interest shall begin to accrue on the date payment is due to the commission.
(e) The commission's central control computer shall keep accurate records of all income generated by each video lottery terminal. The commission shall prepare and mail to the licensed racetrack a statement reflecting the gross terminal income generated by the licensee's video lottery terminals. Each licensed racetrack must report to the commission any discrepancies between the commission's statement and each terminal's mechanical and electronic meter readings. The licensed racetrack is solely responsible for resolving income discrepancies between actual money collected and the amount shown on the accounting meters or on the commission's billing statement.
(f) Until an accounting discrepancy is resolved in favor of the licensed racetrack, the commission may make no credit adjustments. For any video lottery terminal reflecting a discrepancy, the licensed racetrack shall submit to the commission the maintenance log which includes current mechanical meter readings and the audit ticket which contains electronic meter readings generated by the terminal's software. If the meter readings and the commission's records cannot be reconciled, final disposition of the matter shall be determined by the commission. Any accounting discrepancies which cannot be otherwise resolved shall be resolved in favor of the commission.
(g) Licensed racetracks shall remit payment by mail if the electronic transfer of funds is not operational or the commission notifies licensed racetracks that remittance by this method is required. The licensed racetracks shall report an amount equal to the total amount of cash inserted into each video lottery terminal operated by a licensee, minus the total value of game credits which are cleared from the video lottery terminal in exchange for winning redemption tickets, and remit such amount as generated from its terminals during the reporting period. The remittance shall be sealed in a properly addressed and stamped envelope and deposited in the United States mail no later than noon on the day when the payment would otherwise be completed through electronic funds transfer.
(h) Licensed racetracks may, upon request, receive additional reports of play transactions for their respective video lottery terminals and other marketing information not considered confidential by the commission. The commission may charge a reasonable fee for the cost of producing and mailing any report other than the billing statements.
(i) The commission has the right to examine all accounts, bank accounts, financial statements and records in a licensed racetrack's possession, under its control or in which it has an interest and the licensed racetrack must authorize all third parties in possession or in control of the accounts or records to allow examination of any of those accounts or records by the commission.


NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create the "Senior Citizens Prescription Drug Subsidy Program." Provisions of the bill include: (1) Enumerating criteria to be used in determining eligibility to benefit from the program; (2) requiring the bureau of senior citizens to administer the program; and (3) providing that three and three-fourths percent of video lottery net terminal income be placed in a special account and used to fund the program.

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

§10-5P-10a is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.