Senate Bill No. 124

(By Senators Tomblin (Mr. President) and Sprouse
By Request of the Executive)
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[Introduced February 15, 2001; referred to the Select Committee on Economic Development; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend article three, chapter five-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section fifty-six, relating to the creation of preferences for the use of domestic steel products in state-supported projects and associated exceptions and fines.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article three, chapter five-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section fifty-six, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. PURCHASING DIVISION.
§5A-3-56. Preference for the use of domestic steel products in state supported projects; exceptions; fines.

(a)(1) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, whenever any building or structure, including highway improvements, in whole or in part, supported by the state and not yet bid, is to be erected or constructed, or whenever additions, alterations, or structural or other improvements are to be made, or heating, cooling, or ventilating plants or other equipment is to be installed or material supplied therefor, and if any steel products are to be used or supplied in the construction, repair or improvement project, only steel products as defined in this section shall be used or supplied in the project.
(2) As used in this section:

(A) "Steel products" means products rolled, formed, shaped, drawn, extruded, forged, cast, fabricated or otherwise similarly processed, or processed by a combination of two or more of such operations, and used for load bearing purposes, from steel made in the United States by the open hearth, basic oxygen, electric furnace, bessemer or other steel making process.
(B)"United States" means the United States of America and includes all territory, continental or insular, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.
(b) However, in any and all circumstances detailed in subdivision (1), subsection (a) of this section, the director of the purchasing division may authorize in writing the use of a minimal amount of foreign steel products if either of the following is true:
(1) The cost for each contract item used does not exceed one tenth of one percent of the total contract cost, or two thousand five hundred dollars, whichever is greater. For the purposes of this section, the cost is the value of the steel product as delivered to the project.
(2) The director of the purchasing division determines that specified steel materials are not produced in the United States in sufficient quantity or otherwise are not reasonably available to meet contract requirements.
(c) A contractor who uses steel products in violation of subsections (a) and (b) of this section shall pay a civil penalty equal to one and one-half times the cost of the steel products used in violation of subsections (a) and (b) of this section. Upon collection of the civil penalty pursuant to an action authorized by subsection (d) of this section, the attorney general of the state of West Virginia shall pay the money collected to the general revenue fund of the state of West Virginia.
(d) Whenever the director of the purchasing division has reasonable cause to believe that a contractor has used steel products in violation of subsections (a) and (b) of this section, the director of the purchasing division shall conduct an investigation to determine whether the contractor has used or is using steel products in violation of subsections (a) and (b) of this section. Upon conducting the investigation, if the director of the purchasing division finds that the contractor has used or is using steel products in violation of subsections (a) and (b) of this section, the director of the purchasing division shall request the attorney general of the state of West Virginia to commence an action under this section against the contractor for violating subsections (a) and (b) of this section. Any action under this section is a civil action.
(e) If any of the requirements or provisions set forth in this section jeopardize the receipt of federal funds, then such requirements or provision shall be void and of no force and effect.
(f) This section may be cited as the "West Virginia American Steel Act of 2001."


NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create a preference for the use of domestic steel products in state supported projects and associated exceptions and fines. This act is hereby declared to be an emergency measure necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety. The reason for such necessity is that the steel companies within the state are facing dire fiscal constraints, and the loss of jobs is escalating.

 This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.