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Introduced Version House Concurrent Resolution 134 History

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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 134

(By Delegates Mr. Speaker (Mr. Thompson), Fleischauer,

Miley, H.K. White, M. Poling, Morgan, Marshall, Beach,
Shook, Susman, Varner, Fragale, Hamilton, Moore, Frazier,
Barker, Guthrie, Paxton, Boggs, Brown, Manchin and Perdue)


Requesting the Joint Committee on Government and Finance study the issues relating to evaluation of job creation and retention incentives, penalties and reporting requirements.

Whereas, West Virginian citizens have a strong work ethic and a tradition of high levels of performance in trades and professions; and
Whereas, A historic lack of good paying jobs with benefits in many communities has resulted in many West Virginians migrating out-of-state for employment; and
Whereas, West Virginians are incredibly loyal to our state and many of those who moved out-of-state ultimately returned to retire in the state; and
Whereas, West Virginia parents have been saddened by the exodus of their children to obtain out-of-state employment; and
Whereas, The loss of any of our state's talent is a loss to the state of investments made in public and higher education, and a personal loss to families and communities; and
Whereas, Any effort that the state can launch to retain the young people of our state by the creation and retention of good paying jobs with benefits is an investment in the state's future; and
Whereas, The federal government authorized a stimulus program, the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act" designed to revive the national and state economies; and
Whereas, To date, there remains a large amounts of federal stimulus money available for job creation and retention projects that the State of West Virginia has either not applied for or met the conditions to receive; and
Whereas, The federal government required information relating to the number of jobs created from stimulus funding, along with the salary and benefits for each job, be reported to the public and published on the Internet; and
Whereas, A new decade is a perfect time to evaluate our state's job promotion and retention efforts to ensure that all federal grant money is being applied for, to ascertain whether state investments in job promotion are producing the results that are intended and to require transparency and accountability for state investments in job promotion and retention; and therefore, be it
Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Joint Committee on Government and Finance is hereby requested to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of all current job promotion, creation and retention programs. This report shall include an evaluation of all state statutes, and a study of similar statutes in other states, that promote the creation or retention of jobs, train workers, provide incentives for employment and training, or give loans, grants, tax breaks or other types of incentives for these purposes or provide penalties for failure to comply with statutory conditions regarding the acceptance of state job promotion funds, and be it
Further Resolved, That this evaluation shall include a budgetary analysis comparing the amount being spent on the foregoing objectives, broken down by category, to the results actually being produced. This evaluation should include any recommendations for changes that result from this statutory and budgetary review, for example, if the financial analysis results in a conclusion that the investments are not producing the desired results, recommendations should be made for increasing, decreasing or eliminating programs; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the evaluation shall include predictions about where future job growth is likely to occur, including, but not limited to, the fields of health care, energy efficiency and green jobs. The training, education requirements that will be needed to fill these new positions should also be addressed; and, be it
Further Resolved, That relevant departments and divisions of the Executive Branch, including, but not limited to, the Development Office, the Tax Department, Workforce Development, and the Higher Education Policy Commission, be contacted to cooperate and collaborate in the collection of data and analysis for the evaluation; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Joint Committee on Government and Finance is hereby requested to study the issues relating to reporting on any remaining stimulus funds including, the relevant deadlines which may be applicable and the reasons why the funding has not been sought; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Joint Committee on Government and Finance is hereby requested to study the issues relating to creation of new transparency and accountability requirements for job promotion programs, including publication on the Internet, and how the code may be amended to require consistent and/or more extensive reporting and publication of job creation data that would be applicable to all state programs which promote the creation of jobs, train workers, provide incentives for employment and training, or give loans, grants, tax breaks or other types of incentives for these purposes; and, be it
Further Resolved, That this evaluation include an examination of the use of and effectiveness of penalties for failure to comply with incentive laws, including, but not limited to, a review of all of the different types of penalties which exist and how often, if ever, they have been used; and be it
Further Resolved, That the Joint Committee on Government and Finance consider such studies be conducted by experts as the Joint Committee may engage, including the West Virginia Law Institute, and/or any of the institutions of higher education located in this state; and, be it
Further Resolved
, That the Joint Committee on Government and Finance report to the Legislature, by the first day of the regular session,
2011, its preliminary findings, conclusions and recommendations together with drafts of any legislation to effectuate its recommendations; and, by the first day of the regular session, 2012, its final findings, conclusions and recommendations together with drafts of any legislation to effectuate its recommendations ; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the expenses necessary to conduct this study, to prepare a report and draft necessary legislation be paid from legislative appropriations to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance.
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