COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE

FOR

H. B. 2082


(By Delegates Mezzatesta and Williams)


(Originating in the Committee on Education)

[January 10, 2003]


A BILL to amend and reenact sections two and five, article one-b, chapter eighteen-b of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, all relating to education; higher education; the higher education policy commission; commission membership; the chancellor for higher education; commission staff; and compensation.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections two and five, article one-b, chapter eighteen-b of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1B. HIGHER EDUCATION POLICY COMMISSION.
§18B-1B-2. Composition of commission; terms and qualifications of members; vacancies; eligibility for reappointment; oath of office; removal from office.

(a) The commission is comprised of nine eleven members, all of whom are entitled to vote. One is the secretary of education and the arts, ex officio. One is the state superintendent of schools. Provided, That if the state superintendent of schools desires not to serve, the state board of education shall submit to the governor the names of three nominees, which may include members of the state board of education. The governor shall select from the nominees a member to serve on the commission. The three nominees shall be persons who are knowledgeable in the area of public education policy, are able to represent the state board of education and who understand and are committed to achieving the goals and objectives as set forth in the institutional compacts and in section one-a, article one of this chapter. One is the chief executive officer of the West Virginia Business Roundtable. One is an additional member of the Roundtable selected by its membership.
(b) The other seven members of the commission shall be citizens of the state, appointed by the governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Provided, That Prior to appointment, the governor shall interview each any candidate to assure that the person selected understands and is committed to achieving the goals and objectives as set forth in the institutional compacts and in section one-a, article one of this chapter. The governor shall invite the president of the Senate, the speaker of the House of Delegates, the chairs of the Senate and House of Delegates committees on finance and education and such other legislative leaders as the governor may determine to participate in interviewing potential candidates. Each member appointed to the commission by the governor shall represent the public interest and shall be committed to the legislative intent and goals set forth in section one-a, article one of this chapter.
(c) The governor may not appoint any person to be a member of the commission who is an officer, employee or member of an advisory board of any state college or university, an officer or member of any political party executive committee, the holder of any other public office or public employment under the government of this state or any of its political subdivisions or an appointee or employee of any governing board or an immediate family member of any employee under the jurisdiction of the commission or any governing board. Of the members appointed by the governor from the public-at-large, no more than four thereof shall may belong to the same political party and at least two shall be appointed from each congressional district.
(d) The governor shall appoint seven members to the commission on the first day of July, two thousand, or as soon thereafter as is practicable and the original terms of all members shall commence on the first day of July, two thousand.
(e) (d) The terms of the members appointed by the governor shall be for overlapping terms of four years, except, of the original appointments, one shall be appointed to a term of one year, two shall be appointed to a term of two years, two shall be appointed to a term of three years and two shall be appointed to a term of four years. Each subsequent are for staggered four-year terms. Any appointment which is not for the purpose of filling a vacancy in an unexpired term shall be for a term of four years.
(f) (e) The governor shall appoint a member to fill any vacancy among the seven members of the commission appointed by the governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, which member appointed to fill such vacancy shall serve for the unexpired term of the vacating member. The governor shall fill the vacancy within thirty days of the occurrence of the vacancy.
(g) (f) No member appointed by the governor shall be eligible to serve more than two consecutive terms.
(h) (g) Before exercising any authority or performing any duties as a member of the commission, each member shall qualify as such by taking and subscribing to the oath of office prescribed by section five, article IV of the constitution of West Virginia and the certificate thereof shall be filed with the secretary of state.
(i) (h) No A member of the commission appointed by the governor may not be removed from office by the governor except for official misconduct, incompetence, neglect of duty or gross immorality, and then only in the manner prescribed by law for the removal of the state elective officers by the governor.
§18B-1B-5. Employment of chancellor for higher education; office; powers and duties generally; employment of vice chancellors.

(a) The commission, created pursuant to section one of this article, shall employ a chancellor for higher education who shall be is the chief executive officer of the commission and who shall serve serves at its will and pleasure. The vice chancellor for administration shall serve as the interim chancellor until a chancellor is employed.
(b) The commission shall set the qualifications for the position of chancellor and shall conduct a thorough nationwide search for qualified candidates. A qualified candidate is one who meets at least the following criteria:
(1) Possesses an excellent academic and administrative background;
(2) Demonstrates strong communication skills;
(3) Has significant experience and an established national reputation as a professional in the field of higher education;
(4) Is free of institutional or regional biases; and
(5) Holds or retains no other administrative position within the system of higher education while employed as chancellor.
(c) The chancellor shall be compensated on a basis in excess of, but not to exceed twenty percent greater than, the base salary of any president of a state institution of higher education or the administrative head of a governing board equal to the compensation of the state superintendent of schools, as set by the state board of education according to the provisions of section one, article three, chapter eighteen of this code.
(d) With the approval of the commission, the chancellor may employ a vice chancellor for health sciences who shall serve serves at the will and pleasure of the chancellor. The vice chancellor for health sciences shall coordinate the West Virginia university school of medicine, the Marshall university school of medicine, and the West Virginia school of osteopathic medicine and also shall provide assistance to the governing boards on matters related to medical education and health sciences. The vice chancellor for health sciences shall perform all duties assigned by the chancellor, the commission and state law. In the case of a vacancy in the office of vice chancellor of health sciences, the duties assigned to this office by law are the responsibility of the chancellor or a designee.
(e) With the approval of the commission, the chancellor shall employ a vice chancellor for community and technical college education and work force development who serves at the will and pleasure of the chancellor. The duties of this position include serving as the chief executive officer of the West Virginia council for community and technical college education created pursuant to article two-b of this chapter, and such other duties as assigned by law or by the commission. Any reference in this code to the vice chancellor for community and technical colleges means the vice chancellor for community and technical college education and work force development. which vice chancellor for community and technical colleges shall become the vice chancellor for community and technical college education and work force development It is the duty and responsibility of the vice chancellor for community and technical college education and work force development to:
(1) Provide assistance to the commission, the chancellor and the governing boards on matters related to community and technical college education;
(2) Advise, assist and consult regularly with the institutional presidents; institutional boards of governors or boards of advisors, as appropriate; and district consortia committees of the state institutions of higher education involved in community and technical college education; and
(3) Perform all duties assigned by the chancellor, the commission and state law.
(f) With the approval of the commission, the chancellor shall employ a vice chancellor for administration pursuant to section two, article four of this chapter.
(g) With the approval of the commission, the chancellor may employ a vice chancellor for state colleges who shall serve serves at the will and pleasure of the chancellor. It is the duty and responsibility of the vice chancellor for state colleges to:
(1) Provide assistance to the commission, the chancellor and the state colleges on matters related to or of interest and concern to these institutions;
(2) Advise, assist and consult regularly with the institutional presidents and institutional boards of governors of each state college;
(3) Serve as an advocate and spokesperson for the state colleges to represent them and to make their interests, views and issues known to the chancellor, the commission and governmental agencies;
(4) Perform all duties assigned by the chancellor, the commission and state law.
In addition, the vice chancellor for state colleges has the responsibility and the duty to provide staff assistance to the institutional presidents and governing boards to the extent practicable.
(h) Apart from the offices of the vice chancellors as set forth in this section and section two, article four of this chapter, the chancellor shall determine the organization and staffing positions within the office that are necessary to carry out his or her powers and duties and may employ necessary staff. Compensation for any staff member of the policy commission may not be more than seventy-five percent of the chancellor's salary nor more than ten percent of the highest paid employee of the state department of education established in section nine, article three, chapter eighteen of this code. This provision applies only to staff employed in the offices of the policy commission, and does not apply to the salary of any president or other employee of any state institution of higher education.
(i) The chancellor may enter into agreements with any state agency or political subdivision of the state, any state higher education institution or any other person or entity to enlist staff assistance to implement the powers and duties assigned by the commission or by state law.
(j) The chancellor shall be is responsible for the day-to-day daily operations of the commission and shall have has the following responsibilities:
(1) To carry out policy and program directives of the commission;
(2) To develop and submit annual reports on the implementation plan to achieve the goals and objectives set forth in section one-a, article one of this chapter and in the institutional compacts;
(3) To prepare and submit to the commission for its approval the proposed budget of the commission including the offices of the chancellor and the vice chancellors;
(4) On and after the first day of July, two thousand one, To assist the governing boards in developing rules, subject to the provisions of section six, article one of this chapter: Provided, That nothing in this chapter requires the rules of the governing boards to be filed pursuant to the rule-making procedures provided in article three-a, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code. The chancellor shall be is responsible for ensuring that any policy which is required to be uniform across the institutions is applied in a uniform manner;
(5) To perform all other duties and responsibilities assigned by the commission or by state law.
(k) The chancellor shall be reimbursed for all actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of all assigned duties and responsibilities.
(l) The chancellor is the primary advocate for higher education and, with the commission, advises the Legislature on matters of higher education in West Virginia. As the primary advocate for higher education, the chancellor shall work closely with the legislative oversight commission on education accountability and with the elected leadership of the state to ensure that they are fully informed about higher education issues and that the commission fully understands the goals for higher education that the Legislature has established by law.
(m) The chancellor may design and develop for consideration by the commission new statewide or regional initiatives in accordance with the goals set forth in section one-a, article one of this chapter and the public policy agenda articulated by the commission.
(n) The chancellor shall work closely with members of the state board of education and with the state superintendent of schools to assure that the following goals are met:
(1) Development and implementation of a seamless kindergarten-through-college system of education; and
(2) Appropriate coordination of missions and programs. To further the goals of cooperation and coordination between the commission and the state board of education, the chancellor shall serve as an ex officio, nonvoting member of the state board of education.



Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.