Senate Bill No. 419

(By Senators Tomblin, Mr. President, Chafin, Minard, Unger and Dempsey)

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[Introduced February 3, 2004; referred to the Committee on the Judiciary; and then to the Committee on Finance.]

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A BILL to amend the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new article, designated §60A-10-1, §60A-10-2, §60A-10-3 and §60A-10-4, all relating to creating the substance abuse prevention act; establishing a substance abuse prevention fund; providing mandatory costs to be collected from persons convicted of certain crimes; distributing the costs; designating purposes to be promoted by the fund; creating the substance abuse prevention commission; designating members of the commission; listing commission duties; authorizing the proposal of rules to administer the fund and effectuate the act's purposes; and requiring the commission to enlist and receive assistance from the partnership for a drug-free West Virginia, a program under the auspices of the West Virginia prevention resource center at Marshall university graduate college.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new article, designated §60A-10-1, §60A-10-2, §60A-10-3 and §60A-10-4, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 10. SUBSTANCE ABUSE PREVENTION ACT.
§60A-10-1. Short title.
This article may be known and referred to as the "Substance Abuse Prevention Act."
§60A-10-2. Substance abuse prevention fund established; funding sources; mandatory cost for persons convicted of crime; fund to be used for substance abuse prevention.

(a) The "substance abuse prevention fund" is established as an account in the state treasury. This fund shall be administered by the division of criminal justice services of the department of military affairs and public safety, as designated by the substance abuse prevention commission provided under the provisions of section three of this article. The fund shall be comprised of costs imposed and collected in accordance with the provisions of this article. Additionally, the fund is authorized to accept any other legitimate source of funding, including, but not limited to, grants, bequests, legacies, gifts and conveyances of personal or real property. All moneys in the fund and the interest accruing on the fund shall be used in accordance with the provisions of this article.
(b) Unless the court finds that undue hardship would result, a mandatory cost shall be imposed, in addition to all other costs and fines imposed pursuant to statutory authority, on persons convicted of any offense involving driving under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance or substances, or any offense involving a violation of any provision of this chapter or any other criminal offense in which the court makes a finding that the illegal or excessive use of alcohol or a controlled substance contributed to the violation of the particular provision of law violated. Upon any conviction involving a misdemeanor offense, the court shall impose a mandatory cost of twenty-five dollars and for any conviction involving a felony, the court shall impose a mandatory cost of one hundred dollars. Of the amounts collected, fifty percent shall remain in the county to be used for substance abuse treatment or preventive programs to be administered by the county commission with the advice and counsel of the prosecuting attorney of the county. The remaining fifty percent shall be transferred from the applicable magistrate or circuit clerk's office to the substance abuse prevention fund on a monthly basis.
(c) The substance abuse prevention fund shall be used to educate the citizens of this state about the dangers of substance abuse and to increase awareness of the benefits of a drug-free state through public service announcement campaigns directed, primarily, toward school-age children, young adults, caregivers and parents of children and employers. Funds may also be expended to conduct other activities intended to prevent substance abuse and which are otherwise consistent with addressing the problems associated with substance abuse. The director of the division of criminal justice services shall propose legislative rules for promulgation in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, designed to effectuate the efficient and effective use of funds for the purposes stated in this article.
§60A-10-3. Substance abuse prevention commission.
(a) The substance abuse prevention commission is created. The commission shall function as a public-private partnership to serve the governor and the citizens of West Virginia. Membership on the commission consists of, at a minimum:
(1) The director of the division of alcoholism and substance abuse of the department of health and human resources who shall act as chairperson of the committee;
(2) The director of the division of criminal justice services of the department of military affairs and public safety;
(3) The director of the office of student services and health promotions of the department of education;
(4) The director of probation of the state supreme court of appeals administrative office;
(5) The commissioner of the bureau for children and families;
(6) The safe and drug free communities administrator of the division of criminal justice services of the department of military affairs and public safety;
(7) The director of the office of epidemiology and health promotion of the bureau for public health;
(8) The West Virginia deputy director of the Appalachia high intensity drug trafficking area;
(9) The deputy commissioner of the alcohol beverage control administration;
(10) The executive director of the corporation for national service;
(11) The executive director of the West Virginia commission for national & community service; and
(12) The following, to be appointed by the governor:
(A) A representative of the office of maternal, child and family health, bureau for public health;
(B) A prevention resource officer from law enforcement;
(C) A representative of the regional alcohol and drug abuse resource program of the library commission;
(D) A representative from business and industry;
(E) A college student;
(F) A high school student;
(G) Two representatives from community-based organizations working in the substance abuse area;
(H) Two representatives from higher education;
(I) A substance abuse treatment provider;
(J) A substance abuse prevention provider; and
(K) Any other members that the governor finds appropriate or needed.
(b) The commission shall meet at the call of the chairperson, who is obligated to call a meeting at the request of a simple majority of the members or as necessary to ensure that the members have met at least four times each calender year.
(c) The members of the substance abuse prevention commission serve without compensation related to their service, except that members of the commission who are not state employees shall be reimbursed for their actual and necessary expenses incurred in attending commission meetings.
(d) The substance abuse prevention commission has the following duties and responsibilities:
(1) Advising and assisting the governor in establishing a comprehensive statewide prevention system to:
(A) Develop a long-range, comprehensive statewide prevention plan;
(B) Identify and fill gaps in needed prevention services;
(C) Measure progress in reducing substance use statewide;
(D) Support programs derived from sound, scientific research findings; and
(E) Coordinate the use of all state and federal substance abuse prevention funding streams and resources;
(2) To develop and implement media campaigns intended to educate the people of this state about the dangers of substance abuse and to increase awareness of the benefits of remaining drug-free; and
(3) To propose legislative rules in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, designed to designate and delineate commission activities that will best accomplish the goals of this article.
§60A-10-4. Partnership for a drug free West Virginia to assist in commission activities.

The commission shall enlist and receive the assistance of the partnership for a drug free West Virginia, the program under the auspices of the West Virginia prevention resource center at Marshall university graduate college to implement and achieve the purposes provided in this article.


NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create the "Substance Abuse Prevention Act." Particular provisions of the bill include establishment of a substance abuse prevention fund to be used in a public advertising campaign to educate the citizens of the state about the dangers of substance abuse. While the fund is free to accept any legitimate source of funding, the bill provides for mandatory costs to be collected from persons convicted of criminal offenses involving substance abuse or violations of other criminal laws involving controlled substances. The bill also establishes a substance abuse prevention commission which is directed to work in tandem with the Partnership for a Drug Free West Virginia which is the program under the auspices of the West Virginia Prevention Resource Center at Marshall University Graduate College, to achieve the goals of the article. Finally, the Director of the Division of Criminal Justice Services is directed to propose rules designed to implement the most effective use of funds to achieve the purposes of the article.

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