Bill Text: WV HB2608 | 2018 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requiring the Commissioner of Highways to contract with private providers or contractors for certain emergency maintenance operations
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-10 - To House Roads and Transportation [HB2608 Detail]
Download: West_Virginia-2018-HB2608-Introduced.html
FISCAL
NOTE
WEST virginia Legislature
2017 regular session
By
[
Referred to Roads and Transportation then Finance.
A BILL to amend the Code
of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated
§17-2A-8d; and to amend said code by adding thereto a new section, designated §29-6-4a,
all relating to requiring the Commissioner of Highways to contract with private
providers or contractors for certain emergency maintenance operations if the Division
of Highways is unable to complete such operations in a timely manner; creating
a provisional appointment procedure for Division of Highway positions necessary
for snow and ice removal from roadways; authorizing the Division of Highways to
solicit applications and appoint qualified applicants to provisional snow and
ice removal positions pending permanent appointment; exempting provisionary
appointments for snow and ice removal services from State Personnel Board
Procedures and oversight; creating a process by which individual provisionary
snow and ice removal appointees will be converted to permanent employees within
the classified service system once certain requirements are met; and requiring
the Division of Highways to follow ethical guidelines and certain practices
when posting provisional positions and making provisional appointments to snow
and ice removal positions.
Be it enacted by the
Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West
Virginia, 1931, be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated §17-2A-8d;
and that said code be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated §29-6-4a,
all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 17. ROADS AND
HIGHWAYS.
ARTICLE 2A. WEST
VIRGINIA COMMISSIONER OF HIGHWAYS.
§17-2A-8d. Contracts with private providers or
contractors for emergency maintenance operations.
(a) In the event that the Division of Highways is unable to
complete emergency maintenance operations in a timely manner, the Commissioner
of Highways shall contract with private providers or contractors to perform
those operations in a safe and timely manner.
(b) The term
“emergency maintenance operations” includes snow and ice removal, the clearing
of debris from and beside roadways, and any other operations necessary to clear
an obstruction causing delays in travel or commerce upon a roadway.
CHAPTER 29.
MISCELLANEOUS BOARDS AND OFFICERS.
ARTICLE 6.
CIVIL SERVICE SYSTEM.
§29-6-4a. Special provisional appointment procedure for snow
and ice removal services.
(a) Legislative
Intent.
The purpose of this
section is to allow the division to appoint qualified applicants to snow and
ice removal positions in an expedited manner, in order to ensure that the
Division of Highways maintains an adequate workforce to keep roadways safe for
the citizens of West Virginia during inclement weather.
(b) Definitions.
(1) “Base pay”
refers to an employee’s rate of pay for services performed, excluding overtime
pay and any employment benefits.
(2) “Commissioner”
refers to the Commissioner of the Division of Highways or his or her designee.
(3) “Division”
refers to the Division of Highways.
(4) “Snow and ice
removal services” means any position within the Division of Highways involving
the removal of snow or ice from roadways or any treatment of roadways or
maintenance of equipment necessary to remove snow or ice from roadways.
(c) Provisional
Appointment Authorized; Exemption from Division of Personnel Requirements for
Appointment.
(1) Notwithstanding
any other provision of this code, the division may solicit employment
applications for snow and ice removal positions and may appoint a qualified
applicant to a snow and ice removal position on a provisional basis: Provided,
That an applicant must meet the minimum job qualifications for classified
snow and ice removal positions developed by the Division of Personnel before
being appointed to a provisional position.
(2) Notwithstanding
any other provision of this code, the division may administer any necessary
tests directly to applicants to determine whether applicants meet the minimum
qualifications for snow and ice removal positions.
(3) Notwithstanding
any other provision of this code, when making provisional appointments pursuant
to this section, the division is not required to follow Division of Personnel
procedures for making appointments to classified service positions, including
those procedures promulgated by legislative rules. The division is not subject
to Division of Personnel oversight when making provisional appointments
pursuant to this section: Provided, That nothing in this section exempts the division or its staff
from the requirements of sections twenty and twenty-one of this article,
including the prohibition against favoritism, discrimination or otherwise
unethical practices related to appointment.
(d) Conversion of
Provisional Appointment to Permanent, Classified Appointment.
Notwithstanding any
other provision of this code, after an individual has been appointed to a
provisional snow and ice removal position for a period of six months, the
individual will become a permanent, classified-nonexempt employee if the
following conditions are met:
(A) The position
meets the statutory and regulatory requirements to be included in the
classified service system, with the exception of any requirements related to
appointment procedures;
(B) The commissioner
certifies to the Division of Personnel, in writing, that the individual under
consideration for permanent employment has satisfactorily performed all
requirements of the snow and ice removal position for a period of six months
and the commissioner recommends the individual for permanent appointment;
(C) The commissioner
provides a copy of the individual’s application materials and any examination
results to the Division of Personnel and certifies, in writing, that the
individual under consideration for permanent employment was selected for
provisional employment based on merit and fitness for the position, in
comparison to other applicants, and that the division followed the requirements
of sections twenty and twenty-one of this article in making the provisional
appointment;
(D) The Division of
Personnel reviews the documentation required by paragraph (C) of this
subdivision and determines that no evidence in the record indicates that
discriminatory or otherwise unethical appointment practices led to the
individual’s provisionary appointment;
(E) The commissioner
describes to the Division of Personnel, in writing, any disciplinary action
taken against the individual under consideration for permanent employment and
none of the incidents described are serious in nature or involve risk to the
safety of other division employees or to the public; and
(F) The Division of
Personnel has reviewed the individual’s qualifications and the individual meets
the minimum qualifications for permanent appointment to the classified snow and
ice removal position.
(e) Requirements
for Provisional Appointment Practices.
(1) With the
exception of the provisionary nature of a position, the position description
for a provisionary ice and snow removal position created pursuant to this
section will be the same as the position description for the corresponding
permanent ice and snow removal position within the classified service system.
(2) The base pay
rate for an individual appointed pursuant to this section will be determined in
the same manner as for a similarly situated individual holding a permanent,
classified position within the division and performing the same snow and ice
removal duties.
(3) The commissioner
will give public announcement of all open provisionary snow and ice removal
positions and all open competitive examinations at least fifteen days in
advance of the closing date for receipt of applications. The commissioner will
make every reasonable effort to attract qualified persons to apply for
provisionary snow and ice removal positions or to compete in necessary
examinations. Notices of examinations and other public announcement of
positions may be geographically restricted to places where applicants are
needed. All public announcement of positions or examinations must include the
position description as well as the final date on which applications will be accepted,
and any other application requirements.
(4) In making an
appointment to a provisional snow and ice removal position pursuant to this
section, the division will make an appointment from the available pool of
applicants based solely on an applicant’s merit and fitness for the position.
(f) Hours Restrictions. -- An individual
provisionally appointed to a snow and ice removal position pursuant to this
section shall not work in excess of 1560 hours in a single year for the
Division of Highways until said individual is converted into a permanent,
classified-nonexempt employee under the provisions set forth in subsection (d)
of this section.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is
to require the Commissioner of Highways to contract with private providers or
contractors for emergency maintenance operations if the Division of Highways
cannot complete operations in a timely manner; to create a provisional
appointment procedure for Division of Highway positions necessary for snow and
ice removal from roadways; to authorize the Division of Highways to solicit
applications and appoint qualified applicants to provisional snow and ice
removal positions pending permanent appointment; to exempt provisionary
appointments for snow and ice removal services from State Personnel Board
Procedures and oversight; to create a process by which individual provisionary
snow and ice removal appointees shall be converted to permanent employees
within the classified service system once certain requirements are met; and to
require the Division of Highways to follow ethical guidelines and certain
practices when posting provisional appointments and making provisional
appointments to snow and ice removal positions.
Strike-throughs indicate language
that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring
indicates new language that would be added.