H. B. 4853
(By Mr. Speaker Mr. Kiss, (By Request))
[Introduced February 24, 2006; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §15-5A-5 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to increasing the cap on the
inventory form fee.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §15-5A-5 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5A. WEST VIRGINIA EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND COMMUNITY RIGHT-
TO-KNOW ACT.
§15-5A-5. Powers and duties of the commission.
The commission shall have and may exercise the following
powers and authority and shall perform the following duties:
(a) Designate emergency planning districts;
(b) Appoint local emergency planning committees for each
emergency planning district and supervise and coordinate the
activities of such committees;
(c) Revise any designations and appointments made under
subsections (a) and (b) of this section as it deems appropriate:
Provided, That any interested person may petition the state
emergency response commission to modify the membership of a local
emergency planning commission;
(d) Designate, if necessary, additional facilities which shall
be subject to the requirements of this article, provided such
designation is made after public notice and opportunity for comment
as provided under article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of the code;
(e) Review the emergency response plans submitted by the local
emergency planning committees and make recommendations to the local
committees on revisions of the plan that may be necessary to ensure
coordination of such plan with the plans of other emergency
planning districts and other existing state and local emergency
response plans;
(f) Enter into cooperative agreements with other state
agencies designating specific responsibilities to be performed by
such state agencies to implement the provisions of this article;
(g) Promulgate procedural rules in accordance with the
provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code,
establishing rules of practice before the commission;
(h) Promulgate procedural rules in accordance with the
provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code,
establishing procedures for receiving and processing requests from the public for information in accordance with the provisions of 42
U.S.C. §11001, et seq., and this article, and prescribing forms and
instructions for requesting such information;
(i) Promulgate procedural rules in accordance with the
provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code,
prescribing forms and instructions for the submission and receipt
of confidential information;
(j) Promulgate rules establishing the following fees which
shall be deposited in a special account for the administration of
this act and which shall be reasonably calculated to recover the
necessary expenses incurred by the office of emergency services
Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management in the
administration of this article:
(1) An emergency planning notification fee not to exceed one
hundred dollars to be paid by a facility when it makes the
emergency planning notification required under SARA, Title III,
sections 301 through 303;
(2) An inventory form fee not to exceed one four hundred
dollars to be paid annually by a facility when it submits the
emergency and hazardous chemical inventory forms or material safety
data sheet required under SARA, Title III, sections 311 and 312;
and
(3) A surcharge fee not to exceed twenty percent of the fee
otherwise payable to be paid by facilities which fail to pay the fees in paragraphs (1) and (2) in a timely manner;
(k) Establish an emergency planning grant program to be
administered by the commission. The grant programs will be funded
by fees collected to administer this act pursuant to subdivision
(j) of this section. The commission shall promulgate rules which
establish the method of awarding such grants to local emergency
planning committees to assist them in performing their
responsibilities under this article;
(l) Promulgate legislative rules in accordance with the
provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code
necessary to implement the provisions of this article; and
(m) The chairman chair of the commission may order a facility
owner or operator to comply with the requirements of applicable
federal law, this article and any rules or regulations promulgated
thereunder. When the chairman has reasonable cause to believe that
there exists a failure to comply with the provisions of applicable
federal law, this article or any rule or regulation promulgated
thereunder or any order entered by the chairman, he or she may
request the Attorney General to commence an action for civil
penalties, injunctive relief or other appropriate relief to enforce
such provisions, rules and regulations or order. Such action may
be brought in any federal district court having jurisdiction, or in
the circuit court of Kanawha County or the county where the
facility or a major portion thereof is located.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to increase the cap on the
inventory form fee.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.