Senate Bill No. 237
(By Senator Snyder)
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[Introduced February 27, 2001; referred to the Committee on
Education; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section four, article eight, chapter
eleven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended; and to amend and reenact section
eight, article one, chapter twenty-nine of said code, all
relating to establishing that tax revenues generated by the
subordinate taxing units of the state are not the revenues of
the state; and that none of the activities of the state under
the statute are to be paid for by local government.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section four, article eight, chapter eleven of the code
of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended,
be amended and reenacted; and that section eight, article one,
chapter twenty-nine of said code, be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 11.
TAXATION.
ARTICLE 8. LEVIES.
§11-8-4. Definition of taxing units.
The taxing units of the state for the purposes of this article
are declared to be: (1) The state; (2) the county, for all county
purposes including indebtedness other than school indebtedness; (3)
present school districts for current school purposes; (4) school
districts existing prior to the twenty-second day of May, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-three, for school debt service
purposes; (5) magisterial and other road districts for road and
other debt service purposes other than county road debts; (6) other
specially created taxing districts for indebtedness existing at the
time of the adoption of the Tax Limitation Amendment; and (7)
municipalities for municipal purposes including municipal debt
service purposes: Provided, That all property tax revenues raised
by any school district or municipality shall not be considered
state funds or revenue.
CHAPTER 29.
MISCELLANEOUS BOARDS AND OFFICERS.
ARTICLE 1. DIVISION OF CULTURE AND HISTORY.
§29-1-8. Historic preservation section; director.
(a) The purposes and duties of the historic preservation
section are to locate, survey, investigate, register, identify,
preserve, protect, restore and recommend to the commissioner for
acquisition historic, architectural, archaeological and cultural
sites, structures and objects worthy of preservation, including
human skeletal remains, graves, grave artifacts and grave markers,
relating to the state of West Virginia and the territory included
therein from the earliest times to the present, upon its own
initiative or in cooperation with any private or public society,
organization or agency; to conduct a continuing survey and study
throughout the state to develop a state plan to determine the needs
and priorities for the preservation, restoration or development of
such the sites, structures and objects; to direct, protect,
excavate, preserve, study or develop such the sites and structures;
to review all undertakings permitted, funded, licensed or otherwise
assisted, in whole or in part, by the state for the purposes of
furthering the duties of the section; to carry out the duties and
responsibilities enumerated in the National Historic Preservation
Act of 1966, as amended, as they pertain to the duties of the
section; to develop and maintain a West Virginia state register of historic places for use as a planning tool for state and local
government; to cooperate with state and federal agencies in
archaeological work; to issue permits for the excavation or removal
of human skeletal remains, grave artifacts and grave markers,
archaeological, and prehistoric and historic features under the
provisions of section eight-a of this article; and to perform such
other duties as may be assigned to the section by the commissioner.
(b) With the advice and consent of the archives and history
commission, the commissioner shall appoint a director of the
historic preservation section, who shall have: (1) A graduate
degree in one of the social sciences, or equivalent training and
experience in the field of historic preservation, archaeology, West
Virginia history, or history; and (2) three years' experience in
administration in the field of West Virginia history, history,
historic preservation or archaeology. Notwithstanding these
qualifications, the person serving as the deputy state historic
preservation officer on the date of enactment of this article shall
be eligible for appointment as the director of the historic
preservation section. The director of the historic preservation
section shall serve as the deputy state historic preservation
officer.
(c) With the approval of the commissioner, the director shall
establish professional positions within the section and develop
appropriate organizational structures to carry out the duties of
the section. The director shall employ the personnel with
applicable professional qualifications to fill positions within the
organizational structure with the minimum professional
qualifications necessary to carry out the provisions of the
National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended. At the
minimum, the following professions shall be represented within the
section staff: Historian, architectural historian, a structural
historian who specializes in historical preservation, an
archaeologist specializing in historic and prehistoric archaeology,
and such technical and clerical positions as are required.
(d) The director shall promulgate rules and regulations with
the approval of the archives and history commission and in
accordance with chapter twenty-nine-a of this code concerning: (1)
The professional policies and functions of the historic
preservation section; (2) the review of, and, when required,
issuance of permits for, all undertakings permitted, funded,
licensed or otherwise assisted, in whole or in part, by the state
as indicated in subsection (a) of this section, in order to carry out the duties and responsibilities of the section; (3) the
establishment and maintenance of a West Virginia state register of
historic places, including the criteria for eligibility of
buildings, structures, sites, districts and objects for the state
register and procedures for nominations to the state register and
protection of nominated and listed properties; (4) the review of
historic structures in accordance with compliance alternatives and
other provisions in any state fire regulation, and shall coordinate
standards with the appropriate regulatory officials regarding their
application; (5) review of historic structures in conjunction with
existing state or local building codes, and shall coordinate
standards with the appropriate regulatory officials for their
application; and (6) such other rules and regulations as may be
deemed considered necessary to effectuate the purposes of this
article: Provided, That funded or assisted, in whole or in part, by
the State, as hereinbefore mentioned, shall not include any county
commission, municipal corporation, board of education, public
service district, solid waste authority or any other entity of
local government or any revenues received from property taxation by
these entities of local government.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to clarify that property tax revenues received by school districts and municipalities are
exclusively for the purposes of the districts and the
municipalities; and to clarify that local government cannot be
required to fund any functions of state government under the
statute.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.