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Senate committee advances overhaul of state boards; reinstates autism trust board and motorsports committee
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Summary
The West Virginia Senate Committee on Government Organization agreed to a committee substitute for Senate Bill 894 that would terminate or transfer about 21 state boards and commissions, adopted an amendment to return the West Virginia Children with Autism Trust Board to the bill, and reinstated the West Virginia Motorsports Committee with added representation for remote-control and boat racing.
The Senate Committee on Government Organization on Wednesday agreed to a committee substitute for Senate Bill 894 that would terminate or transfer scores of state boards and commissions and reported the measure to the full Senate with a recommendation that it pass.
Committee counsel Carl, presenting the substitute, read a list of changes to the bill that removed several entities, saying, "The Commission on Holocaust Education has been removed from the bill. The Records Management Preservation Board has been removed from the bill." He also noted the Flatwater Trail Commission, the Municipal Home Rule Board and the Whitewater Commission were removed and that the Advisory Council on Rare Diseases had been taken out. Counsel told members there remained a possibility of amending the substitute to return the trust for children with autism to the bill.
The substitute, as presented, would terminate about 21 boards, commissions, task forces and working groups and transfer rulemaking authority for at least one advisory committee to another agency, counsel said.
During discussion, the senator from Jefferson moved to reinstate the West Virginia Children with Autism Trust Board; the committee adopted that amendment by voice vote. The senior senator from the sixth offered and won an amendment to reinstate the West Virginia Motorsports Committee and to add representatives for remote-control racing and boat racing; counsel confirmed the change was germane to the bill and the amendment was adopted by voice vote.
After adopting amendments, the committee voted by voice to agree to the committee substitute as amended. Vice Chair (who moved the report) then moved that the committee substitute for Senate Bill 894 be reported to the full Senate with the recommendation that it pass; the motion was adopted by voice vote and the substitute will be sent to the Senate.
Why it matters: committee counsel said the substitute would eliminate or consolidate many advisory bodies across state government; proponents said some reinstatements (motorsports, autism trust) were necessary to preserve representation for specific constituencies. The committee used voice votes and did not record individual roll-call tallies.
The committee took no final action on Senate Bill 631 during this meeting; questions about transfers of conservation-district authority were discussed and witnesses from conservation organizations and the West Virginia Conservation Agency testified about operations and federal partnerships. The committee adjourned after reporting SB 894.
