COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 2766
(By Delegates Iaquinta, Fragale, Boggs, Ellington, Poling, M., Pethtel, Ferro, Miley, Perdue, Evans, A., and Perry)
(Originating in the Committee on Finance)
[March 26, 2013]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated §5-1E-6 relating to creating the “West Virginia Winner” program within the Office of Healthy Lifestyles; providing for local government entities to submit bids to host various athletic and cultural events; declaring who may participate; and establishing participation fees.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended by adding thereto and new section, designated §5-1E-6, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1E. HEALTHY WEST VIRGINIA PROGRAM.
§5-1E-6. Additional powers and duties of the office; establishment of the West Virginia Winner program for athletic and cultural events.
(a) In addition to the powers and authority conferred upon the Office of Healthy Lifestyles by the provisions of section three of this article, the Office of Healthy Lifestyles shall establish a program of specific athletic and cultural events to be known as “West Virginia Winner” to promote healthy living and improve life style and increase longevity of West Virginia residents by competing in various athletic and cultural events.
(b) The program will include a plan for competitive bidding by local government entities to host athletic and cultural events for state residents that may be held throughout the state. The athletic events may include, but not be limited to, any of the following participatory athletic events: bowling, tennis, archery, swimming, track and field events, bocce, road bowling, volleyball, three-on-three basketball and golf. The cultural events may include, but not be limited to, dancing, poetry composition and reading, singing, painting and sculpting, academic and historical events, mathematic competitions, chess, checkers, spelling bees and contests, video games and shooting matches.
(1) The Office of Healthy Lifestyles shall notify all county commissions and municipalities in the state about the program, including the specific events for bid to host and the type of venue required for the event.
(2) The local government entity may submit a proposal and bid to the Office of Healthy Lifestyles and Governor's office to host a specific athletic or cultural event or events. Bid proposals should include categories of participantion for the event, such as age divisions, if applicable, and open or individual, small business, corporate, collegiate, and fraternal organization or non-profit team divisions. A proposal to host an event may include regional athletic or cultural qualifiers to be held prior to the primary event proposed, with the winners of each regional qualifier competing at the primary event. Other counties or municipalities that did not submit winning bids or bids at all may be used as regional hosts. Local government entities submitting bids to host an event may enlist the assistance of other groups, such as local parks and recreation commissions, public schools and colleges and universities in a bid proposal.
(3) Bids shall be opened by the Office of Healthy Lifestyles on July 1, and must be submitted on or before January 1 of the following year, for events to be held during that year. The Office of Healthy Lifestyles shall notify the local government entity with the winning bid of the event or events the entity will host. The local government entity will then remit the bid amount to the Office of Healthy Lifestyles to be deposited in the Healthy Lifestyles Fund created under section five of this article. The Office of Healthy Lifestyles shall use the bid proceeds to publicize the event. The local government entity hosting the event is responsible for costs such as trophies or prizes, officiating and judges, and any venue rental costs. The hosting entity may solicit donations, hold fundraisers, or apply for grants to assist with the costs of hosting the event.
(c) Each participant shall pay to the Office of Healthy Lifestyles a fee to participate in each event. The fees may be collected by the hosting local government entity and remitted to the Office of Healthy Lifestyles to be deposited in the Healthy Lifestyles Fund. The participation fee schedule is as follows: (1) individual or open division, $10 per person; (2) corporate division (more than two hundred fifty employees), $1,000 per team; (3) small-business division (two-hundred fifty or fewer employees), $200 per team; (4) collegiate (sponsored by an instate college or university) division, $1,000; and (5) fraternal organization/non-profit division, $125 per team.