H. B. 4546
(By Delegates Boggs, Manuel and Riggs)
[Introduced February 20, 2002; referred to the
Committee on Government Organization then Finance.]
A BILL to amend chapter five of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding
thereto a new article, designated article twenty-three,
relating to the creation of a gypsy moth spray commission;
providing legislative findings; appointment and composition of
the commission; stating powers, duties and responsibilities;
compensation; and requiring reports to the joint committee on
government and finance.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That chapter five of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by adding thereto
a new article, designated article twenty-three, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 23. COMMISSION ON GYPSY MOTH SPRAYING.
§5-23-1. Short title.
This article shall be known by and may be cited as "The Gypsy
Moth Spraying Act of 2002."
§5-23-2. Legislative findings, purposes and intent.
The Legislature hereby finds and declares:
(a)
That the gypsy moth is one of the most damaging insect
pests of hardwood trees in the eastern United States and is rapidly
spreading throughout West Virginia and must be controlled.
(b)
The gypsy moth has continued spreading throughout West
Virginia since the nineteen eighties. Its presence in this state
is a concern to the residents, a threat to our trees and forests
and raises severe economic and environmental problems and concerns.
(c) That during U. S. Congressional hearings in the year one
thousand nine hundred eighty-seven, Senator Robert C. Byrd
discussed his concerns about gypsy moth range expansion and control
within the mountains and forests the Appalachians. He was
instrumental in the passage of a supplemental appropriations bill
that included funding for a project to demonstrate integrated pest
management technology against the gypsy moth. This project was
called the Appalachian Gypsy Moth IPM Demonstration Project or
"AIPM". It encompassed thirty-eight counties and almost thirteen
million acres in Virginia and West Virginia. Its objectives were to slow the spread of the gypsy moth, minimize adverse effects
caused by defoliation, evaluate the use of control activities
against isolated populations, assess the feasibility of a
coordinated county, state and federal gypsy moth program, and
develop a prototype IPM system that would be transferable to other
areas of the United States. The AIPM included survey and
monitoring of gypsy moth populations, decision making, control
activities, evaluation, methods development and education. AIPM
ended in one thousand nine hundred ninety-two and a second
regional gypsy moth IPM project began, the slow the spread pilot
project ("STS"). The goal of the STS project is to determine the
feasibility of using IPM strategies to slow the spread of the gypsy
moth over a large geographic area (selected counties in Virginia,
West Virginia, North Carolina and Michigan). The objectives for
STS are to: (1) Demonstrate that new and current technology can
slow the rate at which gypsy moth populations are currently
spreading; (2) assess the technological, economic, ecological and
environmental viability of implementing an operational STS program
(one implemented over a larger area); and (3) implement a plan for
integrating STS technology into a national strategy for suppression
of the gypsy moth.
(d) That efforts to enhance control of the gypsy moth should
be coordinated among the several state and federal agencies,
commissions, boards, committees, associations and other entities.
(e) In recognition of these findings and purposes, it is in
the best interest of this state to create the West Virginia gypsy
moth spraying review commission as a statutory body.
§5-23-3. Commission continued; composition; appointment of
members.
There is hereby created the West Virginia gypsy moth spraying
review commission. This commission shall be comprised of five
members from the West Virginia Senate, a cochairman and four
members to be appointed by the Senate president, and five members
of the House of Delegates, a cochairman and four members to be
appointed by the speaker; seven members, one each, to be
representatives from the department of agriculture, the department
of natural resources, the division of parks and recreation, the
state forester, the forest management review commission and two
other representatives of either state or federal agencies as are
determined to be necessary for the purposes of this commission.
The nonlegislative members shall be appointed by the governor, with
the advice and consent of the Senate. Two members shall be
appointed to serve a term of two years; three members shall be appointed to serve a term of four years; and two members shall be
appointed to serve a term of six years. The successor of each
appointed member shall be appointed for an overlapping term of six
years, except that any person appointed to fill a vacancy occurring
prior to the expiration of the term for which the predecessor was
appointed shall be appointed only to the remainder of such term.
Each board member shall serve until the appointment of his or her
successor.
§5-23-4. Powers, duties and responsibilities.
The commission has the power, duty and responsibility to:
(a) Generally assist in establishing the policy and procedures
for the control of the spread of gypsy moths in West Virginia;
(b) Coordinate the current efforts to control the spread of
the gypsy moth in this state among the several state and federal
agencies, commissions, boards, committees, associations and other
entities;
(c) Develop a centralized and enhanced control of the gypsy
moth program that will reduce risks to our citizens and forests;
and
(d) Meet at least quarterly and report to the Legislature
annually on the status of programs as required by the provisions of section six of this article.
§5-23-5. Compensation and expenses of members; expenses of the
commission.
The members of the commission shall be reimbursed for all of
their reasonable and necessary travel and other expenses incurred
in connection with carrying out their duties as members, which
expenses shall be paid in the manner and form prescribed by law.
Members of the commission may receive no other compensation for
their services on or with the commission: Provided, That a member
of the commission who is also an employee of a state agency may
only receive compensation for service on the commission by the
state agency that employs that member.
§5-23-6. Reports.
The commission shall report to the Legislature's joint
committee on government and finance as to the progress being made
in the control of the gypsy moth by state governmental entities and
projects, and shall report, at least annually, but more often if
requested, the financing deemed necessary to continue funding, if
desired, of gypsy moth control activities.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to
create a Gypsy Moth
Spray Commission to coordinate efforts to control gypsy moths in
this state.
This article is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.