Bill Text: WV HCR102 | 2022 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requesting the Joint Committee on Government and Finance study the benefits of creating a West Virginia State Bank to facilitate access to capital for returning veterans, low-income entrepreneurs and for underserved communities
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 6-3)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-03-11 - To House Rules [HCR102 Detail]
Download: West_Virginia-2022-HCR102-Introduced.html
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 102
By Delegates Toney, Dean, Haynes, Brown, Bridges, Holstein, Paynter, Evans, and Zukoff
[March 11, 2022]
Requesting the Joint Committee on Government and Finance study the benefits of creating a West Virginia State Bank to facilitate access to capital for returning veterans, low-income entrepreneurs and for underserved communities, to facilitate access to capital for developing sustainable agricultural and community investment projects, and to study the best practices and management structures necessary to create a successful West Virginia State Bank.
Whereas, Having access to financial services and capital is necessary to facilitate investments across this state from developing opportunities for returning veterans and low-income individuals including opportunities for first-time farmers to community investment and reinvestment where a State Bank can play a vital role in providing access to capital by partnering with financial institutions to stimulate and facilitate investment in this state; and
Whereas, Cities and municipalities across this state are wrestling with blighted and dilapidated buildings and abandoned mining sites and citizens in these communities have limited resources to address these problems and revitalize communities that have experienced significant job loss due to the cessation of mining operations and various other types of economic loss, without access to financial services and capital to invest to improve our communities; and
Whereas, The impacts of the COVID pandemic has negatively impacted small businesses, driving them out of business and/or substantially hindering their access to employees and capital, and eroding economic growth in local communities; and
Whereas, West Virginia has a consistent food import, export deficit of approximately $6 billion because we import more than $7 billion in agricultural consumer products and produce less than $1 billion for export in agricultural consumer products annually; and
Whereas, A State Bank that invests in state residents and promotes state agriculture has the potential to create jobs and provide for developing a wide range of local agricultural projects, community reinvestment and future farming opportunities; and
Whereas, A West Virginia State Bank with a mission to facilitate access to capital for resident small businesses and entrepreneurial individuals would provide greater access to capital by partnering with local banks, thereby increasing local lending through measures such as guaranteeing larger loans and backing smaller, riskier loans, thereby enabling entrepreneurs to continue operations, expand their businesses, and start up new ventures, all of which provide economic benefit to this state and our citizens; and
Whereas, West Virginia should strive to learn from the highly successful Bank of North Dakota and create a prudent state bank management structure that is insulated from political influence with an advisory board that consists of finance experts and executives who are experienced bankers to promote state bank operations and lending decisions that are made by professionals for the explicit purpose of making investments in this state for the benefit of our citizens; and
Whereas, Small businesses represent the largest block of employers in this state (and country) and loans for small business are consistently about half of the national average and without access to capital, businesses cannot begin to operate, small business startups don’t start up, and local entrepreneurship gets curtailed, and growth is hindered; therefore, be it
Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Joint Committee on Government and Finance study the benefits of creating a West Virginia State Bank to facilitate access to capital for returning veterans, low-income entrepreneurs and for underserved communities, to promote access to capital for developing sustainable agricultural and community investment projects and to study the best practices and management structures necessary to create a successful West Virginia State Bank; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Joint Committee on Government and Finance contract with the Political Science Department at Marshall University and the Department of Public Administration at West Virginia University as joint partners, and at a total cost of up to $50,000, to prepare a report regarding the design and implementation of a State Bank of West Virginia, including possible funding mechanisms, structural components (i.e., the Bank Board of Directors), and target lending clients and entrepreneurial purposes, and the ways the State Bank will benefit and support the people and communities of this state, and to report to the Legislature on or before December 31, 2022, on their findings, conclusions and recommendations, together with any drafts of legislation necessary to effectuate any recommendations; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Joint Committee on Government and Finance report to the Regular Session of the Legislature 2023 on its findings, conclusions and recommendations, together with any drafts of legislation necessary to effectuate any recommendations; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the State Treasurer, the West Virginia Division of Financial Institutions, the West Virginia Development Office, and the Division of Tourism shall cooperate with the Legislature and provide information requested for this study; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the expenses necessary to conduct this study, prepare a report and draft necessary legislation be paid from legislative appropriations to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance.
