Bill Text: WV SB198 | 2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requiring study of feasibility of consolidation of government services and enforcement of laws pertaining to motor carrier industry
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-01-18 - To Government Organization [SB198 Detail]
Download: West_Virginia-2011-SB198-Introduced.html
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated §17A-2-10b, relating to requiring a study of the feasibility of consolidation of government services and enforcement of laws pertaining to the motor carrier industry; requiring the Commissioner of the Division of Motor Vehicles to conduct the study; authorizing the commissioner to retain an outside expert consultant or consultants to advise and assist the commissioner in conducting the study; exempting certain information received by the commissioner from the West Virginia Freedom of Information Act; establishing the misdemeanor offense of unauthorized disclosure of trade secrets or proprietary business information obtained by the commissioner in the course of conducting the study; and providing for criminal penalties.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated §17A-2-10b, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. DIVISION OF MOTOR VEHICLES.
§17A-2-10b. Commissioner study of feasibility of consolidation of government services for the motor carrier industry.
(a) Findings and purpose. -- The Legislature finds that responsibility for delivery of government services and the enforcement of laws pertaining to the motor carrier industry currently reside in several state agencies, divisions and departments including the Public Service Commission, Division of Highways, Division of Motor Vehicles, State Tax Division and the State Police. The Legislature further finds that it may be more cost effective and efficient to both the state and the motor carrier industry to provide these services through consolidated facilities and enhanced electronic information and communication technologies which would inure to the benefit and general welfare of West Virginia. Therefore, it is the purpose of this section to require a study of the feasibility of consolidation of government services for the motor carrier industry, including review of the administration of the regulation, taxation of motor carrier industry in West Virginia and the agencies responsible for the delivery of government services, the imposition and collection taxes and the enforcement of laws pertaining to the motor carrier industry.
(b) Study of the feasibility of consolidation of government services for the motor carrier industry. -- The commissioner shall study the feasibility of consolidation of government services for the motor carrier industry and shall file a report with the Governor and the Legislature on or before January 1, 2012. The report shall make recommendations pertaining to changes in process, policy and procedure in the provision of government services applicable to the motor carrier industry and shall include recommended legislation necessary to implement the proposed recommendations. The commissioner in the report shall examine the feasibility and fiscal implications on affected governmental entities of consolidating government services affecting the motor carrier industry in West Virginia. The study shall include an examination of consolidating the administration and collection of taxes and fees and the enforcement of laws pertaining to the motor carrier industry in West Virginia or, alternatively, the consolidation of the administration of some of these government services. The report shall also examine utilizing electronic information and communication methods to provide the efficient delivery of services to the motor carrier industry. For purposes of this study, the commissioner may seek and examine the information, data, records and testimony of: Experts in the fields of law, economics and taxation; representatives of affected governmental entities of this state and other states of the United States; persons and entities engaged in the motor carrier industry; persons knowledgeable about the motor carrier industry, taxation of the motor carrier industry and the economics of the motor carrier industry; and any other person or entity that may have information relevant to the study mandated by this section.
(c) Cooperation of other state agencies- The Public Service Commission, Division of Highways, Division of Motor Vehicles, State Tax Division and the State Police shall cooperate with the commissioner and provide such necessary information, aid and assistance to the commissioner as is necessary to conduct the study mandated in this section.
(d) Retention of outside consultant expert-
In order to assist the commissioner with the highly technical and complex task of conducting the study mandated in this section, the commissioner may retain an outside expert consultant or consultants qualified to review, analyze and evaluate the current structure of state agencies that provide the government services, regulation, taxation and enforcement of laws regulating and pertaining to the motor carrier industry in this state, to advise and assist the commissioner in conducting the study mandated in this section, and to provide other support and assistance as necessary to accomplish the purposes of this section. The commissioner shall select the expert or experts by a competitive bid process in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter five-a of this code. Any consultant retained by the commissioner to assist in the study shall be deemed to be an agent of the commissioner subject to the confidentially requirements of this section.
(e) Protection of proprietary business information-
(1) Motor carrier industry information provided to the commissioner or the commissioner's consultants and other agents, including, but not limited to, all proprietary industry data or information and trade secrets, constitutes proprietary business information is exempt from disclosure under the provisions of chapter twenty-nine-b of this code: Provided, That the information is identified as proprietary business information when submitted to the commissioner.
(2) Trade secrets or proprietary business information obtained by the commissioner in the course of conducting the study mandated by this section from persons in the motor carrier industry and other persons or entities shall be secured and safeguarded by the state: Provided, That the information is identified as proprietary business information when submitted to the commissioner. Such information or data shall not be disclosed to the public or to any firm, individual or agency other than officials or authorized employees of the state. Any person who makes any unauthorized disclosure of such confidential information or data is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, may be fined not more than $5,000 or confined in a correctional facility for not more than one year, or both.
(3) Nothing in this section may be construed as prohibiting the publication or release of statistics so classified as to prevent the identification of a particular person or entity.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles to conduct a study of the feasibility of consolidation of government services and enforcement of laws pertaining to the motor carrier industry. The bill authorizes the commissioner to retain an outside expert consultant to advise and assist the commissioner in conducting the study; exempts certain information received by the commissioner from the West Virginia Freedom of Information Act; prohibits the disclosure of certain information received by the commissioner; and provides for criminal penalties.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.
