reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 29A. State Administrative Procedures Act › Article 3A. Higher Education Rule Making › §29A-3A-7. Filing Findings and Determinations for Rules in State Register; Evidence Deemed Public Record

(a) Incident to fixing a date for public comment on a proposed rule, the agency shall promulgate the findings and determinations required as a condition precedent thereto and state fully and succinctly the reasons therefor and file those findings and determinations in the State Register. If the agency amends the proposed rule because of the evidence or comment presented pursuant to 29A-3A-5 of this code, the amendment shall be filed with a description of any changes and statement listed for the amendment.
(b) The statement of reasons and a transcript of all evidence and public comment received pursuant to notice are public records and shall be carefully preserved by the agency and be open for public inspection and copying for a period of not less than five years from the date of the hearing.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 29A. State Administrative Procedures Act › Article 3A. Higher Education Rule Making › §29A-3A-8. Notice of Hearings

Notices of hearings required by 29A-3A-6 and 29A-3A-7 of this code shall be filed in the State Register not less than 30 nor more than 60 days before the date of the hearing or the last day specified therein for receiving written material. Any hearing may be continued from time to time and place to place by the agency, which shall have the effect of extending the last day for receipt of evidence or public comment. Notice of the continuance shall be promptly filed thereafter in the State Register.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 29A. State Administrative Procedures Act › Article 3A. Higher Education Rule Making › §29A-3A-9. Adoption of Legislative Exempt Rules, Procedural Rules, and Interpretive Rules

(a) The agency shall consider a legislative exempt, procedural, and interpretive rule for adoption not later than six months after the close of public comment and file a notice of withdrawal or adoption in the State Register within that period. The agencys failure to file the notice constitutes withdrawal, and the Secretary of State shall note that failure in the State Register immediately upon the expiration of the six-month period.
(b) A legislative exempt, procedural, or interpretive rule may be amended by the agency prior to final adoption without further hearing or public comment. The amendment may not change the main purpose of the rule. If the fiscal implications have changed since the rule was proposed, the agency shall attach a new fiscal note to the notice of filing. Upon adoption of the rule, including any amendment, the agency shall file the text of the adopted legislative exempt, procedural, or interpretive rule with its notice of adoption in the State Register, and the rule is effective on the date specified in the rule or 30 days after filing, whichever is later, or as specified in this code.
(c) The agency may repeal a legislative exempt, procedural, or interpretive rule by filing a notice of repeal with the Secretary of State.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 29A. State Administrative Procedures Act › Article 3A. Higher Education Rule Making › §29A-3A-10. Proposal of Legislative Rules

(a) When the agency proposes a legislative rule, other than an emergency rule, it shall be deemed to be applying to the Legislature for permission, to be granted by law, to promulgate the rule as approved by the agency for submission to the Legislature or as amended and authorized by the Legislature by law.
(b) The agency proposing a legislative rule, other than an emergency rule, after filing the notice of proposed rulemaking required by 29A-3A-5 of this code, shall then proceed as in the case of a legislative exempt, procedural, and interpretive rule to the point of, but not including, final adoption. In lieu of final adoption, the agency shall finally approve the proposed rule, including any amendments, for submission to the Legislature and file the notice of approval in the State Register and with the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability within 90 days after the public hearing was held or within 90 days after the end of the public comment period required under 29A-3A-6 of this code:
Provided
, That upon receipt of a written request from the agency setting forth valid reasons why the agency is unable to file the agency-approved rule within the 90 day time period, the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability may grant the agency an extension of time to file the agency-approved rule.
(c) The final agency approval of the rule under this section is deemed to be approved for submission to the Legislature only and does not give any force and effect to the proposed rule. The rule shall have full force and effect only when authority for promulgation of the rule is granted by an act of the Legislature and the rule is promulgated pursuant to 29A-3A-14 of this code.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 29A. State Administrative Procedures Act › Article 3A. Higher Education Rule Making › §29A-3A-11. Creation of a Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability

(a) There is hereby created a joint commission of the Legislature known as the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability to review all legislative rules of the agency and other rules as the commission deems appropriate. The commission shall be composed of six members of the Senate appointed by the President of the Senate and six members of the House of Delegates appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates. No more than five of the six members appointed by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Delegates, respectively, may be members of the same political party. In addition, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Delegates shall be ex officio nonvoting members of the commission and shall designate the co-chairs. At least one of the Senate members and one of the House members shall be members of the committee on education of the Senate and House, respectively, and at least one of the Senate members and at least one of the House members shall be a member of the committee on finance of the Senate and House, respectively. The members shall serve until their successors have been appointed as heretofore provided. Members of the commission shall receive compensation and expenses as provided in 4-2A-1
et seq
. of this code. Those expenses and all other expenses, including those incurred in the employment of legal, technical, investigative, clerical, stenographic, advisory, and other personnel shall be paid from an appropriation to be made expressly for the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability, but if no such appropriation is made, the expenses shall be paid from the appropriation under "Account No. 103 for Joint Expenses", but no expense of any kind whatever payable under the account for joint expenses shall be incurred unless first approved by the Joint Committee on Government and Finance. The commission shall meet at any time, both during sessions of the Legislature and in the interim.
(b) The commission may adopt rules of procedure as it considers necessary for the submission, presentation, and consideration of rules.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 29A. State Administrative Procedures Act › Article 3A. Higher Education Rule Making › §29A-3A-14. Adoption of Legislative Rules; Effective Date

(a) Except as the Legislature may by law otherwise provide, within 60 days after the effective date of an act authorizing promulgation of a legislative rule, the agency shall promulgate the rule only in conformity with the provisions of law authorizing and directing the promulgation of the rule.
(b) A legislative rule authorized by the Legislature is effective upon filing in the State Register, or on the effective date fixed by the authorizing act, or if none is fixed by law, a later date not to exceed 90 days, as is fixed by the agency.
(c) The Secretary of State shall note in the State Register the effective date of an authorized and promulgated legislative rule, and shall promptly publish the duly promulgated rule in the Code of State Rules maintained by his or her office.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 29A. State Administrative Procedures Act › Article 3A. Higher Education Rule Making › §29A-3A-15. Withdrawal or Modification of Proposed Rules

(a) Any legislative rule proposed by the agency may be withdrawn by the agency any time before passage of a law authorizing or authorizing and directing its promulgation, but no such action shall be construed to affect the validity, force, or effect of a law enacted authorizing or authorizing and directing the promulgation of an authorized legislative rule or exercising compliance with the law. The agency shall file a notice of the action to withdraw the rule in the State Register.
(b) At any time before a proposed legislative rule has been submitted by the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability to the Legislature pursuant to 29A-3A-13 of this code, the agency may modify the proposed rule to meet the objections of the commission. The agency shall file in the State Register a notice of its modifying action, including a copy of the modified rule, but shall not be required to comply with any provisions of this article requiring opportunity for public comment or taking of evidence with respect to the modification. If a legislative rule has been withdrawn, modified, and then resubmitted to the commission, the rule shall be considered to have been submitted to the commission on the date of the resubmission.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 29A. State Administrative Procedures Act › Article 3A. Higher Education Rule Making › §29A-3A-17. Legislative Review of Procedural Rules, Interpretive Rules, and Existing Legislative Rules

(a) The Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability may review any procedural rules, interpretive rules, or existing legislative rules of the agency to determine if the rules are achieving their purpose and based on its determination if the rule should be continued, amended, or repealed.
(b) Following the review, the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability shall make recommendations regarding the rules to the agency and to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 29A. State Administrative Procedures Act › Article 3A. Higher Education Rule Making › §29A-3A-18. Prior Rules

Any rule lawfully promulgated prior to the effective date of the amendments made to this chapter during the regular session of the Legislature, 2023, shall remain in full force and effect until:
(1) The rule is expressly made ineffective by the provisions of this chapter; or
(2) The rule expires by reason of failure to refile it as provided in 29A-2-5 of this code, or expires pursuant to its own terms and provisions lawfully made before the effective date of this section; or
(3) The rule is repealed by the lawful act of the agency in conformity with this chapter; or
(4) The rule is invalidated by an act of the Legislature or the force and effect of another law.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 29A. State Administrative Procedures Act › Article 3A. Higher Education Rule Making › §29A-3A-19. Severability of Legislative Rules

Unless there is a provision in a legislative rule specifying that the provisions thereof shall not be severable, the provisions of every legislative rule, whether enacted before or subsequent to the effective date of this section, shall be severable so that if any provision of any rule section or amendment thereto is held to be unconstitutional or void, the remaining provisions of the rule shall remain valid, unless the court finds the valid provisions are so essentially and inseparably connected with, and so dependent upon, the unconstitutional or void provision that the court cannot presume the Legislature would have enacted the remaining valid provisions without the unconstitutional or void one, or unless the court finds the remaining valid provisions, standing alone, are incomplete and are incapable of being executed in accordance with the legislative intent: Provided, That if any legislative rule has its own severability clause, then that severability clause shall govern and control with respect to that section, in lieu of the provisions of this section. The provisions of this section shall be fully applicable to all future amendments to legislative rules, with like effect as if the provisions of this section were set forth in extenso and every such amendment were reenacted as a part thereof, unless such amendment to the legislative rule contains its own severability clause.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 29A. State Administrative Procedures Act › Article 3B. State Board of Education Rule Making › §29A-3B-2. Rules to Be Promulgated in Accordance With This Article

In addition to other rule-making requirements imposed by law and except to the extent specifically exempted by the provisions of this chapter or other applicable law, every rule and regulation (including any amendment of or rule to repeal any other rule) shall be promulgated by the board in accordance with this article and shall be and remain effective only to the extent that it has been or is promulgated in accordance with this article.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 29A. State Administrative Procedures Act › Article 3B. State Board of Education Rule Making › §29A-3B-3. Rules of Procedure Required

In addition to other rule-making requirements imposed by law:
(a) The board shall adopt procedural rules governing the formal and informal procedures prescribed or authorized by this chapter. Procedural rules shall include rules of practice before the board, together with forms and instructions.
(b) To assist interested persons dealing with it, the board shall, so far as deemed practicable, supplement its rules or regulations with descriptive statements of its procedures.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 29A. State Administrative Procedures Act › Article 3B. State Board of Education Rule Making › §29A-3B-4. Filing of Proposed Rules

(a) When the board proposes a procedural, interpretive or legislative rule, the agency shall file in the state register a notice of its action, including the text of the rule as proposed.
(b) All proposed rules filed under subsection (a) of this section shall have a fiscal note attached itemizing the cost of implementing the rules as they relate to this state and to persons affected by the rules and regulations. Such fiscal note shall include all information included in a fiscal note for either house of the Legislature and a statement of the economic impact of the rule on the state or its residents. The objectives of the rules shall be clearly and separately stated in the fiscal note by the agency issuing the proposed rules. No procedural or interpretive rule shall be void or voidable by virtue of noncompliance with this subsection.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 29A. State Administrative Procedures Act › Article 3B. State Board of Education Rule Making › §29A-3B-5. Notice of Proposed Rule Making

When the board proposes to promulgate a rule other than an emergency rule, it shall file in the state register a notice of its action, including a text of the rule proposed, a fiscal note as defined in subsection (b) of section four, and any request for the submission of evidence to be presented on any factual determinations or inquiries required by law to promulgate such rule. If the board is considering alternative draft proposals, it may include the text thereof.
The notice shall fix a date, time and place for the taking of evidence for any findings and determinations which are a condition precedent to promulgation of the proposed rule and contain a general description of the issues to be decided. If no findings and determinations are required as a condition precedent to promulgation, the notice shall fix a date, time and place for receipt of public comment on such proposed rule.
If findings and determinations are a condition precedent to the promulgation of such rule, then an opportunity for public comment on the merits of the rule shall be afforded after such findings and determinations are made. In such event, notice of the hearing, or of the period for receiving public comment on the proposed rule, shall be attached to and filed as a part of the findings and determinations of the board when filed in the state register.
In any hearing for public comment on the merits of the rule, the board may limit presentations to written material. The time, date and place fixed in the notice shall constitute the last opportunity to submit any written material relevant to any hearing, all of which may be earlier submitted by filing with the board.
The board may also, at its expense, cause to be published as a Class I legal publication in every county of the state, any notice required by this section.
Any citizen or other interested party may appear and be heard at such hearings as are required by this section.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 29A. State Administrative Procedures Act › Article 3B. State Board of Education Rule Making › §29A-3B-6. Filing Findings and Determinations for Rules in State Register; Evidence Deemed Public Record

(a) Incident to fixing a date for public comment on a proposed rule, the board shall promulgate the findings and determinations required as a condition precedent thereto, and state fully and succinctly the reasons therefor and file such findings and determinations in the state register. If the board amends the proposed rule as a result of the evidence or comment presented pursuant to section five, such amendment shall be filed with a description of any changes and statement listed for the amendment.
(b) The statement of reasons and a transcript of all evidence and public comment received pursuant to notice are public records and shall be carefully preserved by the board and be open for public inspection and copying for a period of not less than five years from the date of the hearing.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 29A. State Administrative Procedures Act › Article 3B. State Board of Education Rule Making › §29A-3B-7. Notice of Hearings

Notices of hearings required by section five of this article shall be filed in the state register not less than thirty nor more than sixty days before the date of such hearing or the last day specified therein for receiving written material. Any hearing may be continued from time to time and place to place by the board which shall have the effect of extending the last day for receipt of evidence or public comment. Notice of such continuance shall be promptly filed thereafter in the state register.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 29A. State Administrative Procedures Act › Article 3B. State Board of Education Rule Making › §29A-3B-8. Adoption of Rules

A rule shall be considered by the board for adoption not later than six months after the close of public comment and a notice of withdrawal or adoption shall be filed in the state register within that period. Failure to file such notice shall constitute withdrawal and the Secretary of State shall note such failure in the state register immediately upon the expiration of the six-month period.
A rule may be amended by the board prior to final adoption without further hearing or public comment. No such amendment may change the main purpose of the rule. If the fiscal implications have changed since the rule was proposed, a new fiscal note shall be attached to the notice of filing. Upon adoption of the rule (including any such amendment), the board shall file the text of the adopted rule with its notice of adoption in the state register and the same shall be effective on the date specified in the rule or thirty days after such filing, whichever is later.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 29A. State Administrative Procedures Act › Article 3B. State Board of Education Rule Making › §29A-3B-11. Legislative Review of Procedural Rules, Interpretive Rules and Existing Legislative Rules

The Legislative Oversight commission on education accountability may review any procedural rules, interpretive rules or existing legislative rules and may make recommendations concerning such rules to the Legislature, or to the board, or to both the Legislature and the board.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 29A. State Administrative Procedures Act › Article 3B. State Board of Education Rule Making › §29A-3B-12. Prior Rules

Any rule lawfully promulgated prior to the effective date of this chapter shall remain in full force and effect until:
(1) Such rule is expressly made ineffective by the provisions of this chapter; or
(2) Such rule should expire by reason of failure to refile the same as provided in section five of article two, or expires pursuant to its own terms and provisions lawfully made before the effective date of this section; or
(3) Such rule is repealed by the lawful act of the board, in conformity with this chapter; or
(4) Such rule is invalidated by an act of the Legislature or the force and effect of another law.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 29A. State Administrative Procedures Act › Article 4. Declaratory Rulings and Declaratory Judgments › §29A-4-1. Declaratory Rulings by Agencies

On petition of any interested person, an agency may issue a declaratory ruling with respect to the applicability to any person, property or state of facts of any rule or statute enforceable by it. A declaratory ruling, if issued after argument and stated to be binding, is binding between the agency and the petitioner on the state of facts alleged, unless it is altered or set aside by a court, but it shall not be binding on any other person. Such ruling is subject to review before the court and in the manner hereinafter provided for the review of orders or decisions in contested cases. Each agency may prescribe by rule the form for such petitions and the procedure for their submission, consideration and disposition.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 29A. State Administrative Procedures Act › Article 4. Declaratory Rulings and Declaratory Judgments › §29A-4-2. Declaratory Judgment on Validity of Rule

(a) Any person, except the agency promulgating the rule, may have the validity of any rule determined by instituting an action for a declaratory judgment in the circuit court of Kanawha county, West Virginia, when it appears that the rule, or its threatened application, interferes with or impairs or threatens to interfere with or impair, the legal rights or privileges of the plaintiff or plaintiffs. The agency shall be made a party to the proceeding. The declaratory judgment may be rendered whether or not the plaintiff or plaintiffs has or have first requested the agency to pass upon the validity of the rule in question.
(b) The court shall declare the rule invalid if it finds that the rule violates Constitutional provisions or exceeds the statutory authority or jurisdiction of the agency or was adopted without compliance with statutory rule-making procedures or is arbitrary or capricious, or that, in the case of a rule adopted pursuant to section five, article three of this chapter, action under said section five was not justified.
(c) When the invalidity of a rule has been so declared, the agency shall, within thirty days after such declaratory judgment has been entered, acquiesce therein and modify or rescind such invalidated rule in accord with the requirement of such declaratory judgment unless the agency promptly, and in any event within such thirty-day period, notifies the plaintiff or plaintiffs of its intention to apply for an appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeals from such declaratory judgment pursuant to section one, article six of this chapter. In the event such agency shall thereafter make timely application for such appeal, the acquiescence of the agency in the invalidity of such rule shall not be required until thirty days after timely applications for such appeal have been refused or within thirty days after the appeal has been dismissed or otherwise disposed of in the Supreme Court of Appeals by an affirmance of the judgment invalidating said rule.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 29A. State Administrative Procedures Act › Article 5. Contested Cases › §29A-5-2. Rules of Evidence; Taking Notice of Facts; Correction of Transcript

(a) In contested cases irrelevant, immaterial, or unduly repetitious evidence shall be excluded. The rules of evidence as applied in civil cases in the circuit courts of this state shall be followed. When necessary to ascertain facts not reasonably susceptible of proof under those rules, evidence not admissible thereunder may be admitted, except where precluded by statute, if it is of a type commonly relied upon by reasonably prudent men in the conduct of their affairs. Agencies shall be bound by the rules of privilege recognized by law. Objections to evidentiary offers shall be noted in the record. Any party to any such hearing may vouch the record as to any excluded testimony or other evidence.
(b) All evidence, including papers, records, agency staff memoranda and documents in the possession of the agency, of which it desires to avail itself, shall be offered and made a part of the record in the case, and no other factual information or evidence shall be considered in the determination of the case. Documentary evidence may be received in the form of copies or excerpts or by incorporation by reference.
(c) Every party shall have the right of cross-examination of witnesses who testify, and shall have the right to submit rebuttal evidence.
(d) Agencies may take notice of judicially cognizable facts. All parties shall be notified either before or during hearing, or by reference in preliminary reports or otherwise, of the material so noticed, and they shall be afforded an opportunity to contest the facts so noticed.
(e) Upon motion in writing served by any party as notice may be served pursuant to section two, article seven of this chapter and therein assigning error or omission in any part of any transcript of the proceedings had and testimony taken at any such hearing, the agency shall settle all differences arising as to whether such transcript truly discloses what occurred at the hearing and shall direct that the transcript be corrected and revised in the respects designated by the agency, so as to make it conform to the whole truth.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 29A. State Administrative Procedures Act › Article 5. Contested Cases › §29A-5-3. Orders or Decisions

Every final order or decision rendered by any agency in a contested case shall be in writing or stated in the record and shall be accompanied by findings of fact and conclusions of law. Prior to the rendering of any final order or decision, any party may propose findings of fact and conclusions of law. If proposed, all other parties shall be given an opportunity to except to such proposed findings and conclusions, and the final order or decision shall include a ruling on each proposed finding. Findings of fact, if set forth in statutory language, shall be accompanied by a concise and explicit statement of the underlying facts supporting the findings. A copy of the order or decision and accompanying findings and conclusions shall be served upon each party and his attorney of record, if any, in person or by registered or certified mail.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 29A. State Administrative Procedures Act › Article 6. Appeals › §29A-6-1. Supreme Court of Appeals

(a) Any party adversely affected by the final judgment of the circuit court under this chapter may seek review thereof by appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeals of this state, and jurisdiction is hereby conferred upon such court to hear and entertain such appeals upon application made therefor in the manner and within the time provided by law for civil appeals generally:
Provided
, That a circuit court has no jurisdiction to review a final order or decision in a contested case issued after June 30, 2022.
(b) Any party adversely affected by the final order, decision, or judgment of the Intermediate Court of Appeals under this chapter may seek review thereof by petition to the Supreme Court of Appeals, pursuant to the requirements of 51-11-1
et seq
. of this code.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 29A. State Administrative Procedures Act › Article 7. General Provisions › §29A-7-2. Notice Generally

Whenever an agency or person is authorized or required to give any notice under this chapter, unless a different method of giving such notice is otherwise expressly permitted or prescribed, such notice shall be given either by personal delivery thereof to the agency or person to be so notified, or by depositing such notice in the United States mail, postage prepaid, in an envelope addressed to such agency or person at the last-known address of such agency or person. Proof of the giving of notice in either such manner may be made by the affidavit of any officer or assistant or employee of the agency, or by affidavit of any person over eighteen years of age, naming the agency or person to which or to whom such notice was given and specifying the time, place and manner of the giving thereof.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 29A. State Administrative Procedures Act › Article 7. General Provisions › §29A-7-3. Repeals; Subsequent Legislation

All acts or parts of acts which are inconsistent with the provisions of this chapter are hereby repealed to the extent of such inconsistency, but such repeal shall not affect pending proceedings. No subsequent legislation shall be held to supersede or modify the provisions of this chapter except to the extent that such legislation shall do so specifically and expressly.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 29A. State Administrative Procedures Act › Article 7. General Provisions › §29A-7-4. Construction and Effect; Severability of Provisions

Nothing in this chapter shall be held to limit or repeal additional requirements imposed by statute or otherwise recognized by law. No procedural requirement shall be mandatory as to any agency proceeding initiated prior to the effective date of this chapter. If any provision of this chapter or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the chapter which can be given effect without the invalid provision or its application, and to this end the provisions of this chapter are declared to be severable.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 29B. Freedom of Information › Article 1. Public Records › §29B-1-1. Declaration of Policy

Pursuant to the fundamental philosophy of the American Constitutional form of representative government which holds to the principle that government is the servant of the people, and not the master of them, it is hereby declared to be the public policy of the State of West Virginia that all persons are, unless otherwise expressly provided by law, entitled to full and complete information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts of those who represent them as public officials and employees. The people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know. The people insist on remaining informed so that they may retain control over the instruments of government they have created. To that end, the provisions of this article shall be liberally construed with the view of carrying out the above declaration of public policy.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 29B. Freedom of Information › Article 1. Public Records › §29B-1-2. Definitions

As used in this article:
(1) "Custodian" means the elected or appointed official charged with administering a public body.
(2) "Law-enforcement officer" shall have the same definition as this term is defined in W.Va. Code 30-29-1:
Provided
, That for purposes of this article, "law-enforcement officer" shall additionally include those individuals defined as "chief executive" in W.Va. Code 30-29-1.
(3) "Person" includes any natural person, corporation, partnership, firm or association.
(4) "Public body" means every state officer, agency, department, including the executive, legislative and judicial departments, division, bureau, board and commission; every county and city governing body, school district, special district, municipal corporation, and any board, department, commission council or agency thereof; and any other body which is created by state or local authority or which is primarily funded by the state or local authority.
(5) "Public record" includes any writing containing information prepared or received by a public body, the content or context of which, judged either by content or context, relates to the conduct of the publics business.
(6) "Writing" includes any books, papers, maps, photographs, cards, tapes, recordings or other documentary materials regardless of physical form or characteristics.
(7) "Publicly-administered utility enterprise" includes electric power generation, transmission, and distribution systems; water supply and distribution systems; wastewater including stormwater collection, treatment, and disposal systems of all types; public transportation systems; solid waste collection and disposal systems and facilities; or other public entity providing utility services, excluding airports, which are owned or administered by a governmental entity.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 29B. Freedom of Information › Article 1. Public Records › §29B-1-3. Inspection and Copying of Public Record; Requests of Freedom of Information Act Requests Registry

(a) Every person has a right to inspect or copy any public record of a public body in this state, except as otherwise expressly provided by section four of this article.
(b) A request to inspect or copy any public record of a public body shall be made directly to the custodian of such public record.
(c) The custodian of any public records, unless otherwise expressly provided by statute, shall furnish proper and reasonable opportunities for inspection and examination of the records in his or her office and reasonable facilities for making memoranda or abstracts therefrom, during the usual business hours, to all persons having occasion to make examination of them. The custodian of the records may make reasonable rules and regulations necessary for the protection of the records and to prevent interference with the regular discharge of his or her duties. If the records requested exist in magnetic, electronic or computer form, the custodian of the records shall make copies available on magnetic or electronic media, if so requested.
(d) All requests for information must state with reasonable specificity the information sought. The custodian, upon demand for records made under this statute, shall as soon as is practicable but within a maximum of five days not including Saturdays, Sundays or legal holidays:
(1) Furnish copies of the requested information;
(2) Advise the person making the request of the time and place at which he or she may inspect and copy the materials; or
(3) Deny the request stating in writing the reasons for such denial. A denial shall indicate that the responsibility of the custodian of any public records or public body to produce the requested records or documents is at an end, and shall afford the person requesting them the opportunity to institute proceedings for injunctive or declaratory relief in the circuit court in the county where the public record is kept.
(e) The public body may establish fees reasonably calculated to reimburse it for its actual cost in making reproductions of records. A public body may not charge a search or retrieval fee or otherwise seek reimbursement based on a man-hour basis as part of costs associated with making reproduction of records.
(f) The Secretary of State shall maintain an electronic data base of notices of requests as required by section three-a of this article. The database shall be made available to the public via the Internet and shall list each freedom of information request received and the outcome of the request. The Secretary of State shall provide on the website a form for use by a public body to report the results of the freedom of information request, providing the nature of the request and the public body's response thereto, whether the request was granted, and if not, the exemption asserted under section four of this article to deny the request.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 29B. Freedom of Information › Article 1. Public Records › §29B-1-3a. Reports to Secretary of State by Public Bodies

(a) Beginning January 1, 2016, each public body that is in receipt of a freedom of information request shall provide information to the Secretary of State relating to, at a minimum, the nature of the request, the nature of the public body's response, the time-frame that was necessary to comply in full with the request; and the amount of reimbursement charged to the requester for the freedom of information request: Provided, That the public body shall not provide to the Secretary of State the public records that were the subject of the FOIA request.
(b) Pursuant to article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, the Secretary of State shall propose rules and emergency rules for legislative approval relating to the creation and maintenance of a publically accessible database available on the Secretary of State's website; the establishment of forms and procedures for submission of information to the Secretary of State by the public body; and for other procedures and policies consistent with this section.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 29B. Freedom of Information › Article 1. Public Records › §29B-1-5. Enforcement

(1) Any person denied the right to inspect the public record of a public body may institute proceedings for injunctive or declaratory relief in the circuit court in the county where the public record is kept.
(2) In any suit filed under subsection one of this section, the court has jurisdiction to enjoin the custodian or public body from withholding records and to order the production of any records improperly withheld from the person seeking disclosure. The court shall determine the matter de novo and the burden is on the public body to sustain its action. The court, on its own motion, may view the documents in controversy in camera before reaching a decision. Any custodian of any public records of the public body found to be in noncompliance with the order of the court to produce the documents or disclose the information sought, may be punished as being in contempt of court.
(3) Except as to causes the court considers of greater importance, proceedings arising under subsection one of this section shall be assigned for hearing and trial at the earliest practicable date.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 29B. Freedom of Information › Article 1. Public Records › §29B-1-6. Violation of Article; Penalties

Any custodian of any public records who willfully violates the provisions of this article is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $200 nor more than $1,000, or be imprisoned in the county jail for not more than twenty days, or, in the discretion of the court, by both fine and imprisonment.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 29C. Uniform Notary Act › Article 2. Appointment Provisions › §29C-2-101. Appointment

(a) Upon application under this chapter, the Governor may appoint and commission persons as a notary public in this state.
(b) The Governor may not appoint and commission as a notary public any person who submits an application containing substantial and material misstatement or omission of fact.
(c) The Secretary of State shall administer the chapter and may issue rules and regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter twenty-nine-a, to make the chapter effective.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 30. Professions and Occupations › Article 1. General Provisions Applicable to All State Boards of Examination or Registration Referred to in Chapter › §30-1-1a. Legislative Findings and Declaration

The Legislature hereby finds and declares that as a matter of public policy the practice of the professions referred to in this chapter is a privilege and is not a natural right of individuals. The fundamental purpose of licensure and registration is to protect the public, and any license, registration, certificate or other authorization to practice issued pursuant to this chapter is a revocable privilege.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 30. Professions and Occupations › Article 1. General Provisions Applicable to All State Boards of Examination or Registration Referred to in Chapter › §30-1-2. Oath

Every person appointed as a member of any board referred to in this article, before proceeding to exercise the authority or discharge the duties of the office, shall take the oath prescribed by section 5 of article IV of the state Constitution, and shall file the certificate thereof with the Secretary of State.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 30. Professions and Occupations › Article 1. General Provisions Applicable to All State Boards of Examination or Registration Referred to in Chapter › §30-1-2a. Required Orientation Session

(a) The Auditor shall provide at least one seminar each year for state licensing boards to inform the boards of the duties and requirements imposed by state law and rules. All state agencies shall cooperate with and assist in providing the seminar if the Auditor requests.
(b) The seminar may include the following topics:
(1) Powers and duties of the boards and board members;
(2) The financial procedures for boards;
(3) Purchasing requirements;
(4) Open meeting requirements;
(5) Ethics;
(6) Rule-making procedures;
(7) Procedures for the handling of complaints, investigations and administrative hearings;
(8) Disciplinary actions available to boards;
(9) Records management procedures;
(10) Annual reports; and
(11) Any other topics the Auditor determines necessary or informative.
(c) (1) The board members and the executive director or the chief financial officer of a board newly created under the provisions of this chapter shall attend a seminar provided under this section within one year of the creation of the board.
(2) The chairperson, the executive director or the chief financial officer of the board shall annually attend a seminar provided under this section.
(3) Each board member shall attend at least one seminar provided under this section during each term of office.
(d) The Auditor may charge a registration fee for the seminar to cover the cost of providing the seminar. The fee may be paid from funds available to a board and a board may approve an expense reimbursement for the attendance of its members, executive director and the chief financial officer of the board.
(e) Prior to January 1 of each year, the Auditor shall provide to the chairs of the Joint Standing Committee on Government Organization a list of:
(1) The names and titles of the persons who attended the seminar;
(2) The boards represented; and
(3) The number and dates of the seminars offered by the Auditor during the previous year.
(f) Ex officio members who are elected or appointed state officers or employees and members of boards that have purely advisory functions with respect to a department or agency of the state are exempt from the requirements of this section.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 30. Professions and Occupations › Article 1. General Provisions Applicable to All State Boards of Examination or Registration Referred to in Chapter › §30-1-3. Officers

(a) Every board referred to in this chapter shall elect annually from its members a president and a secretary who shall hold their offices for one year, but shall continue to hold their offices until their successors are elected. However, the state board of law examiners, the state board of examiners for nurses and the state board of dental examiners may each elect a secretary from outside their membership.
(b) The officers of the boards referred to in this chapter shall register annually with the Governor, the secretary of administration, the Legislative Auditor and the Secretary of State.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 30. Professions and Occupations › Article 1. General Provisions Applicable to All State Boards of Examination or Registration Referred to in Chapter › §30-1-4. Official Seal; Rules and Regulations

Every such board shall adopt an official seal which shall be affixed to all licenses or certificates of registration issued by it, and shall make such rules and regulations, not inconsistent with law, as are necessary to regulate its proceedings and to carry out the purposes and enforce the provisions of this chapter applicable to such board.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 30. Professions and Occupations › Article 1. General Provisions Applicable to All State Boards of Examination or Registration Referred to in Chapter › §30-1-4a. Lay Members of Professional Boards

(a) Notwithstanding any provisions of this code to the contrary, the Governor shall appoint at least one lay person to represent the interests of the public on every health professional licensing board which is referred to in this chapter. If the total number of members on any of these boards after the appointment of one lay person is an even number, one additional lay person shall be appointed. Lay members shall serve in addition to any other members otherwise provided for by law or rule. Lay members shall be at least eighteen years of age, shall be of good moral character, and shall be competent to represent and safeguard the interests of the public. Each lay member is empowered to participate in and vote on all transactions and business of the board, committee or group to which he or she is appointed.
(b) Any person whose addition to a board as a lay member under the provisions of this section results in the addition of an odd number of lay additions to the board shall serve for a term ending in an odd-numbered year on the date in that year on which terms of the professional members expire. Of the members first appointed, each shall serve for a term ending in the year one thousand nine hundred seventy-nine, and the successor to each of the first members shall serve for a term equal in length to the terms of the other professional members of the board.
(c) Any person whose addition to a board as a lay member under the provisions of this section results in the addition of an even number of lay additions to the board shall serve for a term ending in an even-numbered year on the date in that year on which terms of the professional members expire. Of the members first appointed, each shall serve for a term ending in the year one thousand nine hundred seventy-eight, and the successor to each of the first members shall serve for a term equal in length to the terms of the other professional members of the board.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 30. Professions and Occupations › Article 1. General Provisions Applicable to All State Boards of Examination or Registration Referred to in Chapter › §30-1-5a. Reporting of Fraud and Misappropriation of Funds

(a) Whenever a board referred to in this chapter obtains information that an employee, officer or member of the board may have misappropriated funds, engaged in fraud, or otherwise violated a law relating to the public trust, the board shall timely report such information or allegation in writing to the commission on special investigations, established in article five, chapter four of this code.
(b) The reporting of such information under subsection (a) of this section shall not prevent, relieve or replace a report to a law-enforcement agency, if appropriate or warranted.