hb4618 intr

H. B. 4618

(By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss, and Delegates Staton,
Browning and R. M. Thompson)

[Introduced February 22, 2002; referred to the

Committee on Government Organization.]

A BILL to amend chapter twenty-nine of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding thereto a new article, designated article twenty-seven, relating to the creation of the national coal heritage area authority.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That chapter twenty-nine 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-seven, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 27. NATIONAL COAL HERITAGE AREA AUTHORITY.
§29-27-1. Legislative findings.
The West Virginia Legislature finds that there is a significant need for a public body to promote and enhance historic preservation, tourism, and economic development activities that relate to the state's history as a coal producing state within the counties of Boone, Cabell, Fayette, Logan, McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, Raleigh, Summers, Wayne, and Wyoming.

The Legislature further finds that the creation and empowering of a statutory corporation to work with the landowners, county officials and community leaders, state and federal government agencies, and other interested parties to enable and facilitate the development of the national coal heritage area will greatly assist in the realization of these potential benefits.
§29-27-2. Definitions.
Unless the context clearly requires a different meaning, the terms used in this section have the following meanings:

(a) "Authority" means the national coal heritage area authority;

(b) "Board" means the board of the national coal heritage area authority; and

(c) "National coal heritage area" means and is comprised of the counties of Boone, Cabell, Fayette, Logan, McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, Raleigh, Summers, Wayne and Wyoming.
§29-27-3. Creation; appointment of board; terms; expenses; executive director.

(a) There is hereby created the "national coal heritage area authority" which is a public corporation and a government instrumentality existing for the purposes of providing direction to and assistance with state and federal historic preservation, economic development, and tourism projects in the national coal heritage area and aiding in the development and implementation of integrated cultural, historical, and land resource management policies and programs in order to retain, enhance, and interpret the significant values of the lands, waters and structures in the national coal heritage area.

(b) The authority board shall be comprised of seventeen members. The following persons shall serve by virtue of his or her office and may be represented at meetings of the board by his or her designee: the secretary of the department of education and the arts, the commissioner of the bureau of the environment, the commissioner of the division of tourism, the commissioner of the division of culture and history, the director of the division of natural resources and the executive director of the West Virginia development office. Eleven members shall be appointed for terms of four years by the governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. Of the eleven members appointed by the governor, one member must reside in Boone county; one member must reside in Cabell county; one member must reside in Fayette county; one member must reside in Logan county; one member must reside in McDowell county; one member must reside in Mercer county; one member must reside in Mingo county; one member must reside in Raleigh county; one member must reside in Summers county; one member must reside in Wayne county; one member must reside in Wyoming county; and the appointees must be representative of the tourism industry, the coal industry, the mine workers union, economic development activity, historic preservation activity and higher education.

(c) Of the eleven members first appointed to the board, two shall be appointed for a term ending the thirtieth day of June, two thousand two, and three members for terms ending one, two and three years thereafter as the governor shall designate at the time of the appointments. Thereafter, the terms of office shall be four years. No appointed member may serve more than two consecutive full terms. A member shall continue to serve until his or her successor has been appointed and qualified.

(d) If an appointed member is unable to complete a term, the governor shall appoint a person to complete the unexpired term. Each vacancy occurring on the board must be filled within sixty days after the vacancy is created.

(e) Any appointed member of the board shall immediately and automatically forfeit his or her membership on the board if he or she becomes a nonresident of the county from which he or she was appointed.

(f) Each member of the board shall serve without compensation, but shall receive expense reimbursement for all reasonable and necessary expenses actually incurred in the performance of the duties of the office, in the same amount paid to members of the Legislature for their interim duties as recommended by the citizens legislative compensation commission and authorized by law: Provided, That no member shall be reimbursed for expenses paid by a third party.

(g) The board shall appoint an executive director to act as its chief executive officer, to serve at the will and pleasure of the board. The board, acting through its executive director, may employ any other personnel considered necessary and may appoint counsel and legal staff for the authority and retain such temporary engineering, financial and other consultants or technicians as may be required for any special study or survey consistent with the provisions of this article. The executive director shall carry out plans to implement the provisions of this article and to exercise those powers. The executive director shall prepare annually a budget to be submitted to the board for its review and approval. The executive director of the national coal heritage area authority shall be an ex officio, nonvoting member of the authority.
§29-27-4. Board; quorum; chairperson; bylaws.
(a) The board is the governing body of the authority and the board shall exercise all the powers given the authority in this article.

(b) A chairperson shall be appointed by and shall serve at the will and pleasure of the governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate. The authority shall meet at such times as shall be specified by the chairperson, but in no case less than once each three months. Notice of the meeting must be given in accordance with the provisions of section three, article nine-a, chapter six of this code. A majority of the members may also call a meeting upon such notice as provided in this section. Six members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. The chairperson of the board shall appoint from the membership of the authority certain members to serve as secretary and as treasurer.

(c) The board shall prescribe, amend and repeal bylaws and rules governing the manner in which the business of the authority is conducted, shall keep a record of its proceedings, and shall review and approve an annual budget.
§29-27-5. Powers of authority.
The authority, as a public corporation and governmental instrumentality exercising public powers of the state, may exercise all powers necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes of this article, including, but not limited to, the power:

(1) To acquire, own, hold and dispose of property, real and personal, tangible and intangible;

(2) To lease property, whether as lessee or lessor, and to acquire or grant through easement, license, or other appropriate legal form, the right to develop and use property and open it to the use of the public;

(3) To mortgage or otherwise grant security interests in its property;

(4) To procure insurance against any losses in connection with its property, license or easements, contracts, including hold-harmless agreements, operations or assets in such amounts and from such insurers as the authority considers desirable;

(5) To maintain such sinking funds and reserves as the board determines appropriate for the purposes of meeting future monetary obligations and needs of the authority;

(6) To sue and be sued, implead and be impleaded, and complain and defend in any court;

(7) To contract for the provision of legal services by private counsel, and notwithstanding the provisions of article three, chapter five of this code, the counsel may, in addition to the provisions of other legal services, represent the authority in court, negotiate contracts and other agreements on behalf of the authority, render advice to the authority on any matter relating to the authority, prepare contracts and other agreements, and provide such other legal services as may be requested by the authority;

(8) To adopt, use and alter at will a corporate seal;

(9) To make, amend, repeal and adopt bylaws for the management and regulation of its affairs;

(10) To appoint officers, agents and employees, and to contract for and engage the services of consultants;

(11) To make contracts of every kind and nature and to execute all instruments necessary or convenient for carrying on its business, including contracts with any other governmental agency of this state or of the federal government or with any person, individual, partnership or corporation to effect any or all of the purposes of this article;

(12) Without in any way limiting any other subdivision of this section, to accept grants and loans from and enter into contracts and other transactions with any federal agency;

(13) To maintain an office at such places within the state as it may designate;

(14) To accept gifts or grants of property, funds, security interests, money, materials, labor, supplies or services from the federal government or from any governmental unit or any person, firm or corporation, and to carry out the terms or provisions of, or make agreements with respect to, or pledge any gifts or grants, and to do any and all things necessary, useful, desirable or convenient in connection with the procuring, acceptance or disposition of gifts or grants;

(15) To promulgate legislative rules in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, as necessary to implement and make effective the powers, duties and responsibilities invested in the authority by the provisions of this article and otherwise by law;

(16) To construct, reconstruct, improve, maintain, repair, operate and manage certain facilities in the national coal heritage area as may be determined by the authority;

(17) To exercise all power and authority provided in this article necessary and convenient to plan, finance, construct, renovate, maintain and operate or oversee the operation of certain facilities in the national coal heritage area as may be determined by the authority;

(18) To exercise such other and additional powers as may be necessary or appropriate for the exercise of the powers conferred in this section;

(19) To exercise all of the powers which a corporation may lawfully exercise under the laws of this state;

(20) To develop, maintain and operate or to contract for the development, maintenance and operation of certain facilities in the national coal heritage area;

(21) To enter into contract with landowners and other persons holding an interest in the land being used for its recreational facilities to hold those landowners and other persons harmless with respect to any claim in tort growing out of the use of the land for public recreation or growing out of the public activities operated or managed by the authority from any claim except a claim for damages proximately caused by the willful or malicious conduct of the landowner or other person or any of his or her agents or employees; and

(22) To assess and collect a reasonable fee from those persons who use the designated facilities which are part of the national coal heritage area, and to retain and utilize that revenue for any purposes consistent with this article.
§29-27-6. Continuation of legal obligations.
Nothing in this article shall be considered as superseding, amending, modifying or
repealing any contract or agreement entered into for the benefit of the national coal heritage area prior to the date of enactment of this article.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to establish a national coal heritage area authority.

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