HB4019 H GO AM 1-14
B. Thompson 3192

The Committee on Government Organization moves to amend the bill on page one, line sixteen, by striking everything after the enacting clause and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
"That §5A-1A-2, §5A-1A-3, §5A-1A-4 and §5A-1A-5 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1A. EMPLOYEE SUGGESTION AWARD PROGRAM.
5A-1A-2. Board created; term of members.
(a) There is hereby continued an employee suggestion award board which shall be composed of the following members:
(1) The Secretary of Administration or his or her designee;
(2) The Governor's Chief Technology Officer or his or her designee;
(3) The President of the Senate or his or her designee;
(4) The Speaker of the House of Delegates or his or her designee;
(5) Two members of the House of Delegates from different political parties to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates;
(6) Two members of the Senate from different political parties to be appointed by the President of the Senate; and
(7) The Secretary of the Department of Health and Human resources or his or her designee.
(b) The terms of the members of the board shall be consistent with the terms of the offices to which they have been elected or appointed.
5A-1A-3. Duties of board; excluded employees.
It shall be the duty of (a) The board to shall:
(1) Adopt rules governing its proceedings;
(2) to Elect a chairman and secretary;
(3) to Keep permanent and accurate records of its proceedings;
(4) to Establish criteria for making awards; and
(5) to adopt rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of this article, and to approve each award made. Propose rules for legislative approval in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to approve each award made and carry out the provisions of this article.
(b) In establishing criteria for making awards, the board may exclude certain levels of positions eligible employees from participation in the program. but in no event shall:
(1) (c) The following levels of management eligible employees, within the spending unit where the adopted suggestion will result in substantial savings, be are not eligible to receive cash awards under the program:
(a) (1) Governor's staff, departmental secretaries and their equivalent;
(b) (2) Assistant or deputy secretary, assistant to secretary, commissioner, assistant or deputy commissioner, major fiscal and administrative policy departmental staff or their equivalent;
(c) (3) Director or division chief, including the division chief or director of a statewide program, and which includes a chief of a division supervising several service units or their equivalent; or
(d) (4) Assistant to director or division chief, section chief or head of major departmental function or their equivalent. and
(2) (d) The following levels of management eligible employees, not within the spending unit where the adopted suggestion will result in substantial savings, be are not eligible to receive cash awards under the program:
(a) (1) Governor's staff, departmental secretaries and their equivalent; or
(b) (2) Assistant or deputy secretary, assistant to secretary, commissioner, or assistant or deputy commissioner.
5A-1A-4. Awards.

(a) The maximum cash award approved shall be is limited to twenty percent of the first year's estimated savings, as established by the head of the affected spending unit, or ten thousand dollars $16,000 whichever is less. Any A cash award approved by the board shall be charged by the head of the affected spending unit against the appropriation item or items to which such the estimated savings apply.
(b) After the board has made an award for a suggestion, the Governor may make a secondary award of up to $5,000 if the suggestion is implemented in one or more additional state agencies. The Governor shall pay secondary awards from funds appropriated by the Legislature for secondary awards.
(c) Beginning December of 2014, and every fifth year thereafter, the board shall submit a report to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance which contains:
(1) A description of the suggestions for which awards were granted during the reporting period, including identification of the employee receiving the award and the spending unit or units benefitting from the suggestion; the savings incurred or operations improved; and the amount of cash or value of the honorary award granted;
(2) The amount needed to increase the maximum award to compensate for inflation; and
(3) Its recommendation, if any, to adjust the amount of the maximum award.
§5A-1A-5. State ownership of suggestions.
The state shall become is the sole owner of all suggestions accepted by the Employee Suggestion Award board. The acceptance of a suggestion by the board shall constitute constitutes an agreement by the employee and the state that all claims pertaining to the suggestion, immediate and future, on the State of West Virginia are waived.