WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE
2023 REGULAR SESSION
Introduced House Bill 2006
By Delegates Summers, Toney, pinson, Gearheart,
Mallow, W. Hall, Rohrbach, Hite, Honaker, Lucas, and Westfall [Introduced January 12, 2023; Referred to the Committee on Health and Human Resources then Finance]
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1 A BILL to amend and reenact §5F-1-2 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; to amend
2 and reenact §5F-2-1 and §5F-2-2 of said code; to amend and reenact §6-7-2a of said
3 code; to repeal §9-1-1 of said code; to amend and reenact §9-1-2 of said code; to amend
4 and reenact §9-2-1 of said code; to repeal §9-2-1a of said code; to amend and reenact §9-
5 2-2, §9-2-5, and §9-2-6, of said code; to repeal §9-2-9 of said code; to amend and reenact
6 §9-2-13 of said code; to amend said code by adding thereto a new section designated, §9-
7 2-14; to amend and reenact §16-1-2, §16-1-3, §16-1-4, and §16-1-6; to amend said code
8 by adding thereto a new section designated, §16-1-22; to amend and reenact §26-1-1,
9 §26-1-2, and §26-1-3; to amend said code by adding thereto a new section, designated
10 §26-1-4; to repeal §26-3-1, §26-3-2, §26-3-3, §26-3-4 and §26-3-5 of said code; to repeal
11 §26-5A-5a of said code; to repeal §26-8-1, §26-8-2, and §26-8-3 of said code; to repeal
12 §26-9-1 and §26-9-2 of said code; to repeal §26-10-1 of said code; to repeal §26-11-1, §26-
13 11-2, §26-11-3 and §26-11-4 of said code; to repeal §26-5-1 of said code; to repeal to
14 amend and reenact §48-18-101 of said code; to amend and reenact §49-1-106 of said
15 code; all relating to reorganizing the Department of Health and Human Resources.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
CHAPTER 5F. REORGANIZATION OF THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH OF
STATE GOVERNMENT.
ARTICLE 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS.
§5F-1-2. Executive departments created.
1 (a) There are created, within the executive branch of the state government, the following
2 departments:
3 (1) Department of Administration;
4 (2) Department of Environmental Protection;
5 (3) Department of Health; and Human Resources;
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6 (4) Department of Homeland Security;
7 (5) Department of Revenue;
8 (6) Department of Transportation;
9 (7) Department of Commerce;
10 (8) Department of Veterans’ Assistance;
11 (9) Department of Economic Development; and
12 (10) Department of Tourism;
13 (12) Department of Health Facilities; and
14 (13) Department of Human Services.
15 (b) Each department will be headed by a secretary appointed by the Governor with the
16 advice and consent of the Senate. Each secretary serves at the will and pleasure of the Governor ARTICLE 2. TRANSFER OF AGENCIES AND BOARDS.
§5F-2-1. Transfer and incorporation of agencies and boards; funds.
1 (a) The following agencies and boards, including all of the allied, advisory, affiliated, or
2 related entities and funds associated with any agency or board, are incorporated in and
3 administered as a part of the Department of Administration:
4 (1) Public Employees Insurance Agency provided in §5-16-1 et seq. of this code;
5 (2) Governor’s Mansion Advisory Committee provided in §5A-5-1 et seq. of this code;
6 (3) Commission on Uniform State Laws provided in §29-1A-1 et seq. of this code;
7 (4) West Virginia Public Employees Grievance Board provided in §6C-3-1 et seq. of this
8 code;
9 (5) Board of Risk and Insurance Management provided in §29-12-1 et seq. of this code;
10 (6) Boundary Commission provided in §29-23-1 et seq. of this code;
11 (7) Public Defender Services provided in §29-21-1 et seq. of this code;
12 (8) Division of Personnel provided in §29-6-1 et seq. of this code;
13 (9) West Virginia Ethics Commission provided in §6B-2-1 et seq. of this code;
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14 (10) Consolidated Public Retirement Board provided in §5-10D-1 et seq. of this code; and
15 (11) Real Estate Division provided in §5A-10-1 et seq. of this code.
16 (b) The following agencies and boards, including all of the allied, advisory, affiliated, or
17 related entities and funds associated with any agency or board, are incorporated in and
18 administered as a part of the Department of Commerce:
19 (1) Division of Labor provided in §21-1-1 et seq. of this code, which includes:
20 (A) Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission provided in §21-3A-1 et seq. of
21 this code; and
22 (B) Board of Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety provided in §21-9-1 et seq. of
23 this code.
24 (2) Office of Miners’ Health, Safety, and Training provided in §22A-1-1 et seq. of this code.
25 The following boards are transferred to the Office of Miners’ Health, Safety, and Training for
26 purposes of administrative support and liaison with the Office of the Governor:
27 (A) Board of Coal Mine Health and Safety and Coal Mine Safety and Technical Review
28 Committee provided in §22A-6-1 et seq. of this code;
29 (B) Board of Miner Training, Education, and Certification provided in §22A-7-1 et seq. of
30 this code; and
31 (C) Mine Inspectors’ Examining Board provided in §22A-9-1 et seq. of this code.
32 (3) Division of Natural Resources and Natural Resources Commission provided in §20-1-1
33 et seq. of this code;
34 (4) Division of Forestry provided in §19-1A-1 et seq. of this code;
35 (5) Geological and Economic Survey provided in §29-2-1 et seq. of this code;
36 (6) Workforce West Virginia provided in chapter 21A of this code, which includes:
37 (A) Division of Unemployment Compensation;
38 (B) Division of Employment Service;
39 (C) Division of Workforce Development;
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40 (D) Division of Research, Information and Analysis; and
41 (7) Division of Rehabilitation Services provided in §18-10A-1 et seq. of this code.
42 (c) The Economic Development Authority provided in §31-15-1 et seq. of this code is
43 continued as an independent agency within the executive branch.
44 (d) The Water Development Authority and the Water Development Authority Board
45 provided in §22C-1-1 et seq. of this code is continued as an independent agency within the
46 executive branch.
47 (e) The West Virginia Educational Broadcasting Authority provided in §10-5-1 et seq. of
48 this code is continued as a separate independent agency within the Department of Arts, Culture,
49 and History, which shall provide administrative support for the authority.
50 (f) The Division of Culture and History as established in §29-1-1 et seq. of this code is
51 continued as a separate independent agency within the Executive Branch as the Department of
52 Arts, Culture, and History. All references throughout this code to the "Division of Culture and
53 History" means the "Department of Arts, Culture, and History".
54 (g) The following agencies and boards, including all of the allied, advisory, and affiliated
55 entities, are transferred to the Department of Environmental Protection for purposes of
56 administrative support and liaison with the Office of the Governor:
57 (1) Air Quality Board provided in §22B-2-1 et seq. of this code;
58 (2) Solid Waste Management Board provided in §22C-3-1 et seq. of this code;
59 (3) Environmental Quality Board, or its successor board, provided in §22B-3-1 et seq. of
60 this code;
61 (4) Surface Mine Board provided in §22B-4-1 et seq. of this code;
62 (5) Oil and Gas Inspectors’ Examining Board provided in §22C-7-1 et seq. of this code;
63 (6) Shallow Gas Well Review Board provided in §22C-8-1 et seq. of this code; and
64 (7) Oil and Gas Conservation Commission provided in §22C-9-1 et seq. of this code.
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65 (h) On December 1, 2023, the following agencies and boards, including all of the allied,
66 advisory, affiliated, or related entities and funds associated with any agency or board, are
67 incorporated in and administered as a part of the Department of Health and Human Resources
68 Services:
69 (1) Human Rights Commission provided in §5-11-1 et seq. of this code;
70 (2) Bureau for Public Health provided in §16-1-1 et seq. of this code;
71 (3) Office of Emergency Medical Services and the Emergency Medical Service Advisory
72 Council provided in §16-4C-1 et seq. of this code;
73 (4) Health Care Authority provided in §16-29B et seq. of this code;
74 (5) State Commission on Intellectual Disability provided in §29-15-1 et seq. of this code;
75 (6) Women’s Commission provided in §29-20-1 et seq. of this code; and
76 (7) Bureau for Child Support Enforcement provided in §48-1-1 et seq. of this code
77 (1) Bureau for Social Services;
78 (2) Bureau for Medical Services;
79 (3) Bureau for Child Support Enforcement provided in §48-1-1 et seq. of this code;
80 (4) Bureau for Family Assistance;
81 (5) Bureau for Behavioral Health; and
82 (6) Office of Drug Control Policy.
83 (i) On December 1, 2023, the following agencies and boards, including all of the allied,
84 advisory, affiliated, or related entities and funds associated with any agency or board, are
85 incorporated in and administered as a part of the Department of Health:
86 (A) Bureau for Public Health:
87 (B) Office of Emergency Medical Services and the Emergency Medical Service Advisory
88 Council provided in §16-4C-1 et seq. of this code;
89 (C) Office of the Chief Medical Examiner; and
90 (D) Office of Threat Preparedness;
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91 (E) Office of the Inspector General;
92 (i) Office of Health Facility Licensure and Certification;
93 (ii) Board of Review;
94 (iii) Foster Care Ombudsman;
95 (iv) Olmstead Office;
96 (v) Investigation and Fraud Management;
97 (vi) Quality Control; and
98 (vii) WV Clearance for Access: Registry and Employment Screening.
99 (F) Health Care Authority.
100 (j) (1) By July 1, 2023, the following agencies and boards, including all of the allied,
101 advisory, affiliated, or related entities and funds associated with any agency or board, are
102 incorporated in and administered as a part of the Department of Health Facilities:
103 (A) Hopemont Hospital;
104 (B) Jackie Withrow Hospital;
105 (C) John Manchin, Sr. Health Care Center;
106 (D) Lakin Hospital;
107 (E) Mildred Mitchell-Bateman Hospital;
108 (F) Welch Community Hospital; and
109 (G) William R. Sharpe Jr. Hospital.
110 (2) If a bureau, office, board, commission or other state entity is not specifically organized
111 in subsection (h) or subsection (i) of this section, the secretaries shall decide where the entity shall
112 be placed within the organizational chart and provide a copy of the organizational chart to the
113 Legislative Commission on Health and Human Resources Accountability by September 1, 2023.
114 The changes made in this subsection, subsection (h) and subsection (i) effect the organizational
115 structure and provides for which secretary is the final decision maker for the agencies within the
116 department's organization.
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117 (i) (k) The following agencies and boards, including all of the allied, advisory, affiliated, or
118 related entities and funds associated with any agency or board, are incorporated in and
119 administered as a part of the Department of Homeland Security:
120 (1) West Virginia State Police;
121 (2) Division of Emergency Management provided in §15-5-1 et seq. of this code and
122 Emergency Response Commission provided in §15-5A-1 et seq. of this code: Provided, That
123 notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary, whenever in this code, or a rule
124 promulgated thereunder, a reference is made to the Division of Homeland Security and
125 Emergency Management, it shall be construed to mean the Division of Emergency Management;
126 (3) Division of Administrative Services;
127 (4) Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation;
128 (5) Fire Commission;
129 (6) State Fire Marshal;
130 (7) Board of Probation and Parole;
131 (8) The West Virginia Fusion Center;
132 (9) Division of Protective Services; and
133 (10) Any other agency or entity hereinafter established within the Department of Homeland
134 Security by an act of the Legislature.
135 (j) (l) The following agencies and boards, including all of the allied, advisory, affiliated, or
136 related entities and funds associated with any agency or board, are incorporated in and
137 administered as a part of the Department of Revenue:
138 (1) Tax Division provided in §11-1-1 et seq. of this code;
139 (2) Racing Commission provided in §19-23-1 et seq. of this code;
140 (3) Lottery Commission and position of Lottery Director provided in §29-22-1 et seq. of this
141 code;
142 (4) Insurance Commissioner provided in §33-2-1 et seq. of this code;
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143 (5) West Virginia Alcohol Beverage Control Commissioner provided in §11-16-1 et seq. of
144 this code and §60-2-1 et seq. of this code;
145 (6) Board of Banking and Financial Institutions provided in §31A-3-1 et seq. of this code;
146 (7) Lending and Credit Rate Board provided in §47A-1-1 et seq. of this code;
147 (8) Division of Financial Institutions provided in §31A-2-1 et seq. of this code;
148 (9) The State Budget Office provided in §11B-2-1 et seq. of this code;
149 (10) The Municipal Bond Commission provided in §13-3-1 et seq. of this code;
150 (11) The Office of Tax Appeals provided in §11-10A-1 et seq. of this code; and
151 (12) The State Athletic Commission provided in §29-5A-1 et seq. of this code.
152 (k) (m) The following agencies and boards, including all of the allied, advisory, affiliated, or
153 related entities and funds associated with any agency or board, are incorporated in and
154 administered as a part of the Department of Transportation:
155 (1) Division of Highways provided in §17-2A-1 et seq. of this code;
156 (2) Parkways Authority provided in §17-16A-1 et seq. of this code;
157 (3) Division of Motor Vehicles provided in §17A-2-1 et seq. of this code;
158 (4) Driver’s Licensing Advisory Board provided in §17B-2-1 et seq. of this code;
159 (5) Aeronautics Commission provided in §29-2A-1 et seq. of this code;
160 (6) State Rail Authority provided in §29-18-1 et seq. of this code; and
161 (7) Public Port Authority provided in §17-16B-1 et seq. of this code.
162 (l) (n) Effective July 1, 2011 The Veterans’ Council provided in §9A-1-1 et seq. of this code,
163 including all of the allied, advisory, affiliated, or related entities and funds associated with it, is
164 incorporated in and administered as a part of the Department of Veterans’ Assistance.
165 (m) (o) Except for powers, authority, and duties that have been delegated to the secretaries
166 of the departments by §5F-2-2 of this code, the position of administrator and the powers, authority,
167 and duties of each administrator and agency are not affected by the enactment of this chapter.
168 (n) (p) Except for powers, authority, and duties that have been delegated to the secretaries
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169 of the departments by §5F-2-2 of this code, the existence, powers, authority, and duties of boards
170 and the membership, terms, and qualifications of members of the boards are not affected by the
171 enactment of this chapter. All boards that are appellate bodies or are independent decision makers
172 may not have their appellate or independent decision-making status affected by the enactment of
173 this chapter.
174 (o) (q) Any department previously transferred to and incorporated in a department by prior
175 enactment of this section means a division of the appropriate department. Wherever reference is
176 made to any department transferred to and incorporated in a department created in §5F-1-2 of this
177 code, the reference means a division of the appropriate department and any reference to a
178 division of a department so transferred and incorporated means a section of the appropriate
179 division of the department.
180 (p) (r) When an agency, board, or commission is transferred under a bur