H. B. 3188
(By Delegate Marshall)
[Introduced February 22, 2007; referred to the
Committee on Industry and Labor, Economic Development and
Small Business then the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new article, designated §5B-4-1, §5B-4-2,
§5B-4-3, §5B-4-4 and §5B-4-5, all relating to creating
measures to analyze effectiveness of economic development
initiatives, vesting authority with the secretary of commerce,
legislative rule making, comparing job and wage information to
self-sufficiency wage and reporting to the Legislature.
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 §5B-4-1, §5B-4-2,
§5B-4-3, §5B-4-4 and §5B-4-5, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 4. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ACCOUNTABILITY ACT.
§5B-4-1. Purpose.
The purpose of this article is to provide reliable and
accurate economic measures with which policy makers can gauge the
effectiveness of various economic development initiatives.
§5B-4-2. Definitions.
(a) "Secretary" means secretary of the department of commerce.
(b) "Assistance" any type of financial assistance received by
an employer or entity for economic development purposes, including
but not limited to, loans, grants, tax credits or tax abatements,
from any agency, department or political subdivision of the state.
§5B-4-3. Documentation.
(a) Each state and local agency, department or political
subdivision which renders economic development assistance in the
form of loans, grants, tax credits, tax abatements or any other
type of financial assistance, shall document and record all
information regarding wages and benefits paid by employers or
entities receiving such assistance and any other relevant
information requested by the secretary.
(b) Every employer or entity seeking assistance must at the
time of application complete a form prescribed by the secretary
regarding jobs created, to be created or preserved, as well as,
employee wages and benefits.
(c) At a time to be determined by the secretary pursuant to
rules promulgated under this article, every employer or entity
receiving funds pursuant to an economic development, grant, loan,
tax abatement, tax credit, or similar assistance, shall complete a
verification form containing all relevant information regarding
actual jobs created and wages and benefits associated with those
jobs.
§5B-4-4. Forms; rules.
(a) The secretary of commerce shall develop rules for the application form and the verification form as required by this
article and may adopt other rules necessary for the administration
of this article. All rules shall be proposed for legislative
approval in accordance with the provisions of article three,
chapter twenty-nine-a of this code.
(b) Information gathered pursuant to this article shall be
compared to the most recent self-sufficiency standards for West
Virginia as published by the Bureau of Employment Programs.
§5B-4-5. Reporting.
(a) On the first day of January, two thousand eight, the
secretary, after verified consultation with the Tax Commissioner,
shall submit a report to the Joint Committee on Government and
Finance, the Senate Economic Development Committee and the House
Industry and Labor, Economic Development and Small Business
Committee. The report will document the amount and type of
economic development assistance or tax credit or tax abatement
received, the estimated jobs to be created or preserved, wages and
benefits to be paid.
(b) On the first day of January, two thousand eleven, the
secretary, after verified consultation with the Tax Commissioner,
shall submit a report to the Joint Committee on Government and
Finance, the Senate Economic Development Committee and the House
Industry and Labor, Economic Development and Small Business
Committee with an analysis of the actual jobs created, actual jobs
preserved, the actual wages and benefits paid, and an analysis of
how the data compares to the self-sufficiency wage.
(c) For purposes of comparison, the self-sufficiency wage to
be used shall be the wage for a single parent with two children,
one pre-school and one in grade school.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create a means by which
effectiveness of economic development incentives can be measured,
vesting authority with the secretary of commerce to analyze job
creation data compared with the self-sufficiency wage and report
findings to the Legislature.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.