West Virginia Code 5B-2-4 – Public-private partnerships
The Department of Economic Development may enter into contractual or joint venture agreements with a nonprofit corporation organized pursuant to the corporate laws of the state, organized to permit qualification pursuant to section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code and for purposes of the economic development of West Virginia, and funded from sources other than the state. The contract shall include provisions relating to the employment of economic development representatives assigned to the Department of Economic Development to be paid a base salary by the state and performance-based economic incentives from private funds of the nonprofit corporation. Provisions relating to hiring practices with respect to economic development representatives, job descriptions, accountability, public-private liaison, and performance standards may be the subject of contract negotiations. The contract may include provisions for continuing education and certification in the field of economic or industrial development for persons employed as economic development representatives. Agreements providing for the payment of performance-based incentives to the secretary are authorized. Agreements providing for the payment of travel and other expenses of or to the secretary or of or to economic development representatives from private funds by the nonprofit corporation are authorized. The prohibitions of §6B-2-5 (b) and §6B-2-5 (d) of this code are not applicable to the receipt by economic development representatives or by the secretary of performance-based incentives and other payments made by the nonprofit corporation and specifically authorized pursuant to this section.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 5B-2-4
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Department: means the Department of Economic Development. See West Virginia Code 5B-2-1
- Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
- Laws of the state: includes the Constitution of the State of West Virginia and the Constitution of the United States, and treaties and laws made in pursuance thereof. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
- secretary: means the Secretary of the Department of Economic Development. See West Virginia Code 5B-2-2
- State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
From time to time the secretary may enter into joint ventures wherein the department and the nonprofit corporation share in the development and funding of economic development programs.
All contracts and joint venture agreements must be approved by the secretary. Contracts entered into pursuant to this section for longer than one fiscal year shall contain, in substance, a provision that the contract shall be considered cancelled without further obligation on the part of the state if the State Legislature or, where appropriate, the federal government, shall fail to appropriate sufficient funds therefor or shall act to impair the contract or cause it to be cancelled.