Committee Substitute
House Bill 4110 History
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COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 4110
(By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss, and Delegates
Staton, Browning and Mahan)
(Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary)
[February 8, 2006]
A BILL to amend and reenact §17-16A-18a of the Code of West
Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to amend said code by adding
thereto a new section, designated §17-16A-13a, all relating to
the West Virginia Parkways, Economic Development and Tourism
Authority; requiring the Authority to provide public notice
and hold public hearings in each county of the state through
which the turnpike runs before it takes any action which would
have the effect of increasing or extending rates or tolls; and
providing for the submission and processing of commuter pass
applications for the West Virginia Turnpike at all Department
of Motor Vehicles offices throughout the state.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That
§17-16A-18a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
amended, be amended and reenacted; and that said code be amended by
adding thereto a new section, designated §17-16A-13a, all to read
as follows:
ARTICLE 16A. WEST VIRGINIA PARKWAYS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND
TOURISM AUTHORITY.
§17-16A-13a. Public notice & hearing requirements.
(a) Notwithstanding any provision of the law to the contrary,
on and after July 1, 2006, unless the Parkways Authority satisfies
the public notice and hearing requirements set forth in this
section, it may not:
(1) Increase any rates, tolls or charges along any portion of
the parkway, or approve any proposal or contract that would result
in or require an increase in any rates or tolls along any portion
of the parkway;
(2) Issue any bond which would require the Parkways Authority
to increase rates, tolls or charges;
(3) Issue any bond which would have the effect of extending
the repayment period on any obligation or bond;
(4) Approve any contract or project which would require or
result in an increase in the rates, tolls or charges along any
portion of the parkway; or,
(5) Take any other action which would require or result in an
increase in the rates, tolls or charges along any portion of the
parkway.
(b) The Parkways Authority shall publish notice of any
proposed contract, project or bond which would result in or require
an increase in any toll rates or charges, or the extension of any bond repayment obligation, along with the associated rate increase
or revised bond repayment period, by a Class II legal advertisement
in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-
nine of this code, published and of general circulation in each
county which borders the parkway.
(c) Once notice has been provided in accordance with the
provisions of this section, the Parkways Authority shall conduct a
public hearing in each county which borders the parkway, and any
citizen may communicate by writing to the Parkways Authority his or
her opposition to or approval of such proposal or rate or toll
increase or amended bond terms. The public notice and written
public comment period shall be conducted not less than forty-five
days from the publication of the notice, and the affected public
must be provided with at least twenty (20) days notice of each
scheduled public hearing.
(d) All studies, records, documents and other materials which
were considered by the Parkways Authority before recommending the
approval of any such project or recommending the adoption of any
such increase shall be made available for public inspection for a
period of at least twenty days prior to the scheduled hearing at a
convenient location in each county where a public hearing shall be
held.
(e) At the conclusion of all required public hearings, the
Parkways Authority shall render a final decision which shall include written finding of fact supporting its final decision on
any proposed project which would result in or require a rate
increase, or prior to finally approving any proposed rate or toll
increase, and such required findings and conclusions must reference
and give due consideration to the public comments and additional
evidence offered during the public hearings.
(f) On and after July 1, 2006, any final action taken by the
Parkways Authority to approve or implement any proposed rate
increase, contract or project which would require or result in a
proposed increase of any rate or tolls along any portion of the
parkway, or require the extension of any bond repayment obligation,
without first satisfying the public notice and hearing requirements
of this section, shall be null and void.
§17-16A-18a. Corridor "L" toll fees authorized; commuter pass;
annual report.
(a) The Parkways Authority is hereby authorized to operate the
currently existing toll collection facility located at the
interchange of U.S. Route 19 (Corridor "L") and said turnpike
subject to the following:
(1) The toll fee charges by the Parkways, Economic Development
and Tourism Authority at its toll facilities located at the
interchange of U.S. Route 19 (Corridor "L") and said turnpike shall
not exceed those toll charges levied and collected by the authority
at said interchange as of the first day of January, one thousand nine hundred ninety, and hereafter, no proposed increase in such
toll fees shall be implemented by the Parkways Authority unless the
authority shall have first complied with validly promulgated and
legislatively approved rules and regulations pursuant to the
applicable provisions of chapter twenty-nine-a of this code;
(2) As soon as reasonably possible after the effective date of
this legislation, but in no event later than the first day of July,
one thousand nine hundred ninety, the The Parkways Authority shall
establish maintain, advertise, implement and otherwise make
generally available to all qualified members of the public,
resident or nonresident, a system of commuter passes, in a form to
be determined by the authority: Provided, That said system of
commuter passes shall, at a minimum, permit the holder of such pass
or passes, after paying the applicable fee to the authority, to
travel through the U.S. Route 19 (Corridor "L") turnpike
interchange and toll facilities on an unlimited basis, without
additional charge therefor, for a period of one year after the
issuance of said commuter pass or passes: Provided, however, That
the cost for such commuter pass or passes shall in no event
aggregate more than five dollars per year for a full calendar year
of unlimited travel through the U.S. Route 19 (Corridor "L")
turnpike interchange toll facilities. Applications for these
commuter passes are to be made available by the Parkway Authority
to every Division of Motor Vehicles office in the state.
To the extent required or necessary, the Parkways Authority is
further hereby authorized and empowered, in addition to the extent
previously authorized and empowered pursuant to section six and
section thirteen-b, article sixteen-a of this chapter, to
promulgate rules in accordance with chapter twenty-nine-a of this
code with regard to the implementation of proposed future toll
increases at the U.S. Route 19 (Corridor "L") turnpike toll
facility;
(3) The system of commuter passes implemented in accordance
with the provisions of subdivision (2), subsection (a), above,
shall be available only for use when operating or traveling in a
Class "A" motor vehicle as herein defined. Whoever shall knowingly
or intentionally utilize any commuter pass issued in accordance
with this section while operating other than a Class "A" motor
vehicle, as herein defined, at the U.S. Route 19 (Corridor "L")
turnpike toll facility, or any other toll facility at or upon which
such pass may later be usable, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor,
and for every such offense shall, upon conviction thereof, be
punished in accordance with the provisions of section seventeen,
article sixteen-a of this chapter; and the Parkways Authority shall
hereafter be authorized and empowered to cancel any such commuter
pass or passes improperly used in accordance with this section;
(4) In addition to the annual report required by section
twenty-six of this article, the Parkways Authority will prepare and deliver to the Governor, the Speaker of the House of Delegates and
the President of the Senate a separate annual report of toll
revenues collected from the U.S. Route 19 (Corridor "L") turnpike
toll facility. The report shall disclose separately the toll
revenues generated from regular traffic and the commuter pass
created herein. The reports shall include, but not be limited to,
disclosing separately the expenditure of said toll revenues
generated from the U.S. Route 19 (Corridor "L") turnpike toll
facility including a description of the purposes for which such
toll revenues are expended;
(5) In the event any court of competent jurisdiction shall
issue an order which adjudges that any portion of subdivision (1),
(2) or (3) subsection (a) of this section is illegal,
unconstitutional, unenforceable or in any manner invalid, the
Parkways Authority shall discontinue, remove and not otherwise
relocate the U.S. Route 19 (Corridor "L") turnpike toll facility
within three hundred sixty-five days after the date upon which said
court order is final or all appeals to said order have been
exhausted;
(6) For the purpose of this section, a Class "A" vehicle shall
be defined as a motor vehicle of passenger type and truck with a
gross weight of not more than 8,000 pounds and registered or
eligible for registration as a Class "A" vehicle in accordance with
section one, article ten, chapter seventeen-a of this code as the same is currently constituted; and
(7) Notwithstanding any other provisions of the code to the
contrary, the Parkways Authority may not promulgate emergency rules
in accordance with section fifteen, article three, chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code to increase or decrease toll fees or the
commuter pass fee established herein.
(b) Nothing in this section is to be construed to apply to,
regulate, or in any manner affect the operation of the three main
line toll barriers and toll collection facilities currently located
on the West Virginia Turnpike and operated by the Parkways
Authority as Barrier A, Barrier B and Barrier C (I-64, I-77).
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is
to require that the West
Virginia Parkways, Economic Development and Tourism Authority hold
public hearings in each county of the state through which the
turnpike runs, with adequate public notice of the hearings whenever
it proposes to increase any tolls rates or charges, or when it
proposes to enter into any contract, issue revenue bonds approve
any project or take any other action which would require or result
in a rate or toll increase or extend any bond repayment obligation.
The bill further requires the Parkways Authority to provide for
the processing and submission of commuter pass applications for the
West Virginia Turnpike at all Division of Motor Vehicles offices
throughout the state.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
§17-16A-13a is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.