AN ACT to amend and reenact section six, article five-e, chapter twenty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to extending the effective date of gender-related employment provisions of said code.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section six, article five-e, chapter twenty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5E. EQUAL PAY FOR EQUAL WORK FOR STATE EMPLOYEES.
§21-5E-6. Commission's duties; promulgation of rules.
(a) The equal pay commission shall study both the methodology and funding for the implementation of a gender discrimination prohibition and shall prepare reports for submission to the Legislature which include:
(1) An analysis of state job descriptions which measures the inherent skill, effort, responsibility and working conditions of various jobs and classifications; and
(2) A review of similar efforts to eliminate gender-based wage differentials implemented by other governmental entities in this and other states.
(b) The commission shall submit an initial report with recommendations for implementation of a gender discrimination prohibition to the joint committee on government and finance not later than the first day of July, two thousand, and shall submit status reports annually thereafter.
(c) Based upon the findings and recommendations in its report, the commission may propose legislative rules for promulgation in accordance with article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to implement the provisions of this article.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, if no legislative rules are approved for promulgation by the Legislature pursuant to this article prior to the first day of July, two thousand two, then the provisions of sections three and four of this article shall become effective on such date.