HB 3279: Relating to requirements for WVU and WVSU Board of Governors - West Virginia

hb3279 s gov am _1 4-4 adopted.htm → Enrolled Committee Substitute · 6 edits · Apr 30, 2025

MODERATE

This bill significantly restructures the composition and governance of West Virginia's institutional boards of governors. It increases the number of lay members appointed by the Governor for major universities, clarifies that faculty, student, and employee representatives are nonvoting advisory members, and introduces new requirements for diversity and specific expertise in agriculture and technology.

Scope change

The bill applies to all state institutions of higher education, with specific numerical changes for Marshall University, West Virginia University, and other community colleges.

REQUIREMENT

West Virginia University's board must include specific members with backgrounds in agriculture/forestry and graduates of WVU Institute of Technology and Potomac State College.

The number of lay members appointed by the Governor increased from 12 to 15 for West Virginia University and from 13 to 16 for Marshall University.

New provisions require the Governor to consider the needs of the state and its citizens when making appointments.

Added specific diversity requirements, limiting the number of lay members from the same political party and ensuring at least five residents per board.

Increased the minimum number of board meetings from six to at least six (maintained) but clarified quorum rules and added a requirement for administrator-staff discussion time.

ELIGIBILITY

Clarified that faculty, student, and employee representatives serve as nonvoting, advisory members rather than voting members.

Engrossed Committee Substitute → hb3279 s gov am _1 4-4 adopted.htm · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was amended to replace the existing text regarding board meetings and quorum requirements with new, simplified rules. The changes mandate that all institutional boards of governors hold at least six meetings per fiscal year and define the quorum as more than half of the voting members, rather than specifying fixed numbers based on institution size.

Scope change

The scope of the meeting requirements was broadened to apply a uniform quorum rule (more than half of voting members) to all institutions, replacing the previous specific numerical thresholds for different board sizes.

REQUIREMENT

Replaced specific quorum numbers for Marshall University, West Virginia University, and other institutions with a general rule that more than half of the voting members must be present to constitute a quorum.

Added a requirement that the annual meeting held in June must be used specifically for the purpose of electing board officers.

TECHNICAL

Relettered the remaining subsections of the article to accommodate the new meeting and quorum provisions.

Committee Substitute → Engrossed Committee Substitute · 5 edits · Apr 9, 2025

MODERATE

This bill updates the composition and governance rules for West Virginia's state university boards. Key changes include increasing the number of lay members appointed by the Governor at West Virginia University from 16 to 19, adding a new requirement that one board member must have a background in agriculture or forestry, and clarifying that elected faculty, students, and employees serve as nonvoting advisory members. The bill also adds a specific criterion for the Governor to consider the needs of West Virginia citizens when making appointments.

Scope change

The scope of the bill remains focused on institutional boards of governors, but the applicability of specific membership requirements has expanded to include new agricultural/scientific background criteria and adjusted member counts for specific universities.

REQUIREMENT

Increased the number of lay members appointed by the Governor on the West Virginia University Board of Governors from 16 to 19.

Added a new requirement that one member of the West Virginia University and West Virginia State University boards must have a background in agriculture, forestry, or related sciences.

Added a mandate for the Governor to consider the needs of the state and its citizens when making appointments to institutional boards.

DEFINITION

Clarified that elected faculty, student, and classified employee representatives serve as nonvoting advisory members.

ELIGIBILITY

Updated eligibility rules to explicitly state that representatives from faculty, students, and employees are not prevented from serving on governing boards despite other restrictions.

Introduced Version → Committee Substitute · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to expand the scope of governance at West Virginia's state universities by increasing the number of lay members on the West Virginia University Board of Governors from 12 to 15. It also updated the list of institutions with boards of governors to reflect recent name changes and clarified the representation of classified and non-classified employees. Additionally, the substitute version added specific requirements for graduates of WVU Institute of Technology and Potomac State College to have representatives on the WVU board, alongside the existing requirement for an agriculture background member.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to include updated institutional names and added specific representation requirements for graduates of WVU Institute of Technology and Potomac State College on the WVU Board of Governors.

REQUIREMENT

Increased the number of lay members appointed by the Governor to the West Virginia University Board of Governors from 12 to 15.

Added a requirement that one board member must be a graduate of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology and another must be a graduate of Potomac State College of West Virginia University.

TECHNICAL

Updated the list of institutions with boards of governors to reflect name changes, such as renaming Bluefield State College to Bluefield State University and Pierpont Community and Technical College to BridgeValley Community and Technical College.

ELIGIBILITY

Clarified that representatives from both classified and non-classified employees serve as nonvoting advisory members, replacing the previous distinction that treated them as separate categories.

Relating to requirements for WVU and WVSU Board of Governors

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