Authorizing Department of Administration to promulgate legislative rules
Summary
SB 251 authorizes the West Virginia Department of Administration to promulgate legislative rules. Because the bill text was not available in the provided materials, the measure appears to be a rulemaking authorization bill rather than a substantive policy change. Bills of this type typically allow a state agency to adopt, amend, or repeal administrative rules within the scope approved by the Legislature.
The bill’s practical effect is to update state law by giving the Department of Administration authority to proceed with rules that govern its programs, operations, or internal administration, subject to the state’s legislative rulemaking process. It likely affects the department, regulated entities, and any state employees or vendors whose rights or obligations are shaped by those rules, but the exact statutes or programs impacted cannot be identified from the provided text.
Impact
SB 251 likely amends or supplements West Virginia’s administrative rulemaking framework by specifically authorizing the Department of Administration to promulgate legislative rules. This would permit the department to implement regulations under existing statutory authority, with the force and effect of law once approved through the legislative process. The bill appears to have no direct fiscal or programmatic controversy in the available record and is effective from passage.
Sentiment
The available voting history shows unanimous support in both chambers, with the Senate and House each passing the bill 90-0 and no recorded dissent in the Senate votes shown. That pattern suggests the bill was viewed as routine, technical, or noncontroversial. No committee debate or opposition was provided, and there is no indication of partisan division or public controversy in the materials supplied.
Contention
No specific points of contention are evident in the provided record. The only identifiable issue is the general nature of legislative rule authorization, which can sometimes raise concerns about agency discretion or legislative oversight, but no member or stakeholder objections are included here. In the absence of bill text and committee discussion, there is no basis to identify a substantive dispute over the rules themselves or the Department of Administration’s authority.
Relating to authorizing the Department of Administration to promulgate a legislative rule relating to general administration of records management and preservation.