HB2001 S JUD AMT

Robey 7888

The Committee on the Judiciary moved to amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting therefor a new title, to read as follows:

Eng. Com. Sub. for House Bill 2001--A Bill to amend and reenact §6B-2-1, §6B-2-2, §6B-2-2a, §6B-2-3a, §6B-2-4, §6B-2-5, §6B-2-6 and §6B-2-10 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to amend said code by adding thereto a new chapter, designated §6D-1-1, §6D-1-2 and §6D-1-3, all relating to ethics and transparency in government generally; providing that no more than two members of the Ethics Commission shall be from the same state senatorial district; providing for the disclosure of interested parties to a government contract with an actual or estimated value of at least $100,000; defining terms; prohibiting contracting with a state agency unless business entity submits disclosure of interested parties; requiring submission of supplemental disclosure within thirty days of completion or termination of the contract; providing exceptions to the disclosure requirement for certain contracts; requiring the Ethics Commission create disclosure form; specifying contents to be included in the disclosure form; requiring state agencies to submit completed forms to the Ethics Commission; requiring the Ethics Commission to make disclosures publicly available; requiring the Ethics Commission to post disclosures on the commission website when technologically able; authorizing members of the Ethics Commission and members of the Probable Cause Review Board to participate and vote via video conferencing; clarifying and expanding the violations in which a complaint may be referred to the Probable Cause Review Board; clarifying that the Probable Cause Review Board conducts investigations and not hearings to determine probable cause; clarifying and expanding the violations in which a complaint may be initiated by the Ethics Commission; clarifying that the Probable Cause Review Board is the entity to receive evidence bearing on the issue of probable cause; clarifying that the commission and review board may ask a respondent to disclose specific amounts received from a source and request other detailed information; clarifying that both the Ethics Commission and the Probable Cause Review Board have subpoena power; clarifying that confidentiality provisions apply to both the commission and the review board; specifying that at least six members of the Ethics Commission approve of a decision on the truth or falsity of the charges against a respondent and a decision to impose sanctions; clarifying and expanding the violations in which sanctions may be imposed by the Ethics Commission; prohibiting a public official or public employee from showing favoritism or granting patronage in the employment or working conditions of his or her relative or a person with whom he or she resides; eliminating the voting prohibition on personnel matters involving a public official’s spouse or relative; prohibiting public officials, except certain members of the Legislature, from voting on the employment or working conditions of the public official’s relative or person with whom the public official resides; prohibiting public officials, except certain members of the Legislature, from voting on the appropriation of moneys or award of contract to a nonprofit corporation if the public official or an immediate family member is employed by, or a compensated officer or board member of, the nonprofit; providing that a public official shall publicly disclose his or her relationship prior to the vote if he, she or an immediate family member is an uncompensated officer or board member of the nonprofit; providing that a public official’s recusal shall be reflected in the meeting minutes; clarifying the timeframe in which a candidate for public office must file a financial disclosure statement and providing an exception to filing such a financial disclosure statement if the candidate has previously filed a statement for the previous calendar year; and amending statutory cross-references to reflect proper reference to other statutes.