2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 29. Miscellaneous Boards and Officers › Article 31. State Resiliency and Flood Protection Plan Act › §29-31-3. Authority of State Resiliency Office and State Resiliency Officer

The State Resiliency Office will coordinate the states disaster recovery and resiliency missions and the State Resiliency Officer serves as the primary representative of the Governor in these matters. The State Resiliency Officer shall, upon the order and direction of the Governor, act on behalf of the Governor in the event of the proclamation of the existence of a state of emergency or state of preparedness due to a natural hazards event or upon a Presidential declaration of a major disaster under Section 406 of the Stafford Act. The State Resiliency Officer will assist and advise the Governor on all disaster recovery and resiliency issues and serve as a liaison between the Governors office, and all other parties, whether state, federal, public, or private to further the purposes of this article. The State Resiliency Officer will:
(1) Serve as coordinator of all economic and community resiliency planning and implementation efforts, including, but not limited to, flood protection programs and activities in the state;
(2) Develop a new state Flood Resiliency Plan due to the Board no later than June 30, 2024;
(3) Coordinate an annual review of the state Flood Resiliency Plan and update the plan no less than biennially, with updates due to the board no later than June 30 in even-numbered years;
(4) Recommend legislation to reduce or mitigate flood damage;
(5) Report to the Joint Legislative Committee on Flooding at least quarterly;
(6) Catalog, maintain, and monitor a listing of current and proposed capital expenditures to reduce or mitigate flood damage and other hazards, and other useful and desirable resiliency efforts;
(7) Coordinate planning of flood projects with federal agencies;
(8) Improve professional management of flood plains;
(9) Provide education and outreach on flooding issues to the citizens of this state;
(10) Establish a single website integrating all agency flood information;
(11) Monitor federal funds and initiatives that become available for disaster recovery and economic and community resiliency or other flood or hazard mitigation, and to direct expenditures on behalf of the Governor;
(12) Pursue additional funds and resources to assist not only with long-term recovery efforts but also long-term community and statewide resiliency efforts;
(13) Coordinate, integrate, and expand planning efforts in the state for hazard mitigation, long-term disaster recovery, and economic diversification;
(14) Coordinate long-term disaster recovery efforts in response to disasters as they occur;
(15) Establish and facilitate regular communication between federal, state, local, and private sector agencies, and organizations to further economic and disaster resilience;
(16) Receive resources, monetary or otherwise, from any other governmental entity and disburse those resources to effectuate the purposes of this article;
(17) Execute cooperative agreements, where appropriate, between the State Resiliency Office and the federal and/or state governments;
(18) Contract, where appropriate, on behalf of the State Resiliency Office, with the federal government, its instrumentalities and agencies, any state, territory or the District of Columbia, and its agencies and instrumentalities, municipalities, foreign governments, public bodies, private corporations, partnerships, associations, and individuals;
(19) Use funds administered by the State Resiliency Office for the maintenance, construction, or reconstruction of capital repair and replacement items as necessary to effectuate the purposes of this article;
(20) Accept and use funds from the federal government, its instrumentalities and agencies, any state, territory or the District of Columbia, and its agencies and instrumentalities, municipalities, foreign governments, public bodies, private corporations, partnerships, associations, and individuals for the purposes of disaster recovery, hazard mitigation, flood mitigation, flood prevention, and disaster response programs;
(21) Hire necessary employees at an appropriate salary equivalent to a competitive wage rate;
(22) Enroll appropriate employees in PERS, PEIA, and workers compensation and unemployment programs, or their equivalents:
Provided
, That the State Resiliency Office, through the receipt of federal and/or state funds, pays the required employer contributions;
(23) Develop a human resources division that will administer and manage its employees and receive state matching funds as necessary to ensure maximum federal funds are secured;
(24) Have the ability to secure all other bonding, insurance, or other liability protections necessary for its employees to fulfill their duties and responsibilities;
(25) Have the ability to draw upon other departments, divisions, agencies, and all other subdivisions of the state for research and input in fulfilling the requirements of this article, and its requests are to have priority over other such requests;
(26) Participate in the interdepartmental transfer of permanent state employees, as if he or she were a department secretary, under the provisions of 5F-2-7 of this code.
(27) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary, acquire legal services that are necessary, including representation of the board, its employees, and officers before any court or administrative body from the office of the Attorney General, who shall provide such legal assistance and representation, and
(28) Take all other actions necessary and proper to effectuate the purposes of this article.
The office shall have any other additional authority, duties, and responsibilities as prescribed by the Governor to effectuate the purposes of this article. Due to the at-will employment relationship with the office, its employees may not avail themselves of the state grievance procedure as set forth in 6C-2-1
et seq
. of this code.