H. B. 2516
(By Delegates Walters, Webb and Armstead)
[Introduced January 22, 2003; referred to the
Committee on Government Organization then Finance.]
A BILL to amend chapter four of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding
thereto a new article, designated article thirteen, relating
to the state payment for state mandates act; legislative
findings; definitions; requirement for funding of state
mandates; establishing office of local mandates; mandate
review requirements; notification of local impact statement;
and appropriations requirement.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That chapter four of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by adding thereto
a new article, designated article thirteen, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 13. STATE PAYMENT FOR STATE MANDATES ACT.
§4-13-1. Legislative findings.
The Legislature finds:
(a) Actions of the state government that directly or
indirectly prescribe the manner, standards, level and conditions of
public service to be provided by the state's counties,
municipalities and county boards of education are often taken with
little regard for the fiscal consequences of the actions upon the
affected local jurisdictions.
(b) Many of the state's counties, municipalities and county
boards of education are experiencing varying degrees of fiscal
stress resulting from the need to provide adequate public services
to their citizens but without the local tax resources to do so.
(c) The state government, prior to imposing new or expanded
service requirements upon its political subdivisions and county
boards of education, should be aware of and confront the issue of
where the burden of paying for those requirements will fall.
(d) It is appropriate, therefore, that full funding be
provided for any net additional costs to counties, municipalities
or county boards of education that are incurred by those
jurisdictions in complying with the required performance of a new
or expanded program or service under the provisions of any state
law, rule or order.
§4-13-2. Definitions.
As used in this article:
(a) "County" means the governing body and the officers and
employees of a county.
(b) "Expanded program or service" means a program or service
the scope or level of which would be increased, extended or
enhanced by a county's, municipality's or county board of
education's compliance with the provisions of a state law, rule or
order.
(c) "Municipality" means the governing body and the officers
and employees of a municipality.
(d) "Net additional cost" means the cost or costs incurred or
anticipated to be incurred within a one-year period by a county,
municipality or county board of education in performing or
administering a new or expanded program or service required by a
state law, rule or order after subtracting therefrom any revenues
received or receivable by the county, municipality or county board
of education on account of the program or service, including, but
not limited to:
(1) Fees charged to the recipients of the program or service;
(2) State or federal aid paid specifically or categorically in
connection with the program or service; and
(3) Any offsetting savings resulting from the reduction or
elimination of any other program or service directly attributable
to the performance or administration of the required program or
service.
(e) "New program or service" means a program or service
different in kind or purpose from those in existence at the time of the enactment of a law or promulgation of a rule or order requiring
the performance or administration of the program by one or more
counties, municipalities or county boards of education.
(f) "Office" means the office of local mandates established
pursuant to section four of this article.
(g) "Program or service" means a specific and identifiable
activity of a county, municipality or county board of education
which is available to the general public or which is conducted,
administered or provided for or on behalf of the citizens of a
county, municipality or county board of education.
§4-13-3. Requirement for funding of state mandates; minimum
fiscal impact amounts established; exceptions.
(a) Notwithstanding any law, rule or order to the contrary, a
law, rule or order passed, promulgated or issued on or after the
effective date of this article which has the effect of requiring a
county, municipality or county board of education to perform or
administer a new or expanded program or service having a net
additional cost in excess of one thousand dollars for any county,
municipality or county board of education or one hundred thousand
dollars for all affected counties, municipalities or county boards
of education, shall be inoperative in the county, municipality or
county board of education until a state appropriation is made and
sufficient funds are provided to each affected county, municipality
or county board of education as are necessary to pay in full any net additional cost of compliance with the requirement.
(b) The provisions of subsection (a) of this section do not
apply to any new or expanded program or service that:
(1) Is required for the public's safety or arises from a court
order or judgment;
(2) Is provided at the option of the county, municipality or
county board of education under a law, rule or order that is
permissive rather than mandatory;
(3) Is required by private, special or local laws; or
(4) Is required by or arises from an executive order of the
governor exercising his emergency powers.
§4-13-4. Office of local mandates established; duties; personnel
to be employed.
(a) There is established within the finance division of the
department of administration an office of local mandates, which
shall have the duty to review proposed and adopted laws, rules and
orders for the purpose of completing a local impact statement. A
local impact statement shall contain a fiscal analysis of the net
additional costs to a county, municipality or county board of
education that will result from any new or expanded program or
service that the county, municipality or county board of education
would be required to perform or administer as a result of the
proposed or adopted law, rule or order.
(b) The finance division shall appoint and employ all personnel necessary to perform the duties of the office.
(c) Funding for the office shall be made by appropriation from
the Legislature under a separate account to be established by rule,
to be proposed by the director of the finance division in
accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code.
§4-13-5. Mandate review requirements for proposed rules or
orders; referral to office of local mandates.
(a) Upon promulgation of an administrative or executive rule
or order, the department head or officer issuing the rule or order,
shall forward a copy of the rule or order to the office of local
mandates.
(b) Within five days of notification, the office of local
mandates shall complete a local impact statement containing an
estimate, in actual dollars, of the net additional costs that will
be required of a county, municipality or county board of education
to perform or administer a new or expanded program or service.
Completed local impact statements, together with a copy of the rule
or order, shall be delivered to the governor and the presiding
officer of each house of the Legislature.
§4-13-6. Annual review of local impact statements required.
The office of local mandates shall conduct an annual review of
all legislative bills and laws, rules and orders enacted or adopted
after the effective date of this article, for which the office has previously completed a local impact statement. Any annual change
in the dollar estimate of the net additional costs from that
provided in the original local impact statement shall be updated as
a result of the review to disclose that change. Updated local
impact statements shall be delivered to the recipients of the
original local impact statements.
§4-13-7. Local government mandates appeal board; duties.
There is established the local government mandates appeal
board. The board shall hear and rule upon appeals brought by one
or more counties, municipalities or county boards of education,
alleging that a state law, rule or order, which has the effect of
requiring the performance or administration of a new or expanded
program or service:
(1) Has been enacted or promulgated in a manner contrary to
the provisions of this article; or
(2) Has been lawfully enacted or promulgated, but has been
based on a demonstrably inaccurate cost estimate contained in a
local impact statement prepared by the office of local mandates
resulting in the failure by the state to provide sufficient funding
to pay the net additional cost of compliance with the law, rule or
order.
§4-13-8. Board may adopt necessary rules.
The board shall adopt rules as may be required to carry out
its functions and responsibilities under this article.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create the State Payment
for State Mandates Act. It applies in those situations when state
government mandates certain actions by counties, municipalities or
county boards of education which require expenditures. When a
county, municipality or county board of education is required to
incur expenditures without the tax resources to do so, the state is
required to provide full funding for additional costs to the local
governments before the county, municipality or county board of
education must perform such state mandates.
This article is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.