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The West Virginia Government Transparency & Performance Act (WV-GT&P)

West Virginia state companion to GT&P. Extends the WV Freedom of Information Act (W. Va. Code Ch. 29B), Legislative Auditor oversight, and WV Medicaid Fraud Control Unit mechanisms.

THE WEST VIRGINIA GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY & PERFORMANCE ACT (WV-GT&P)

Vehicle: State passage. West Virginia Legislature, regular session. Primary referral to House / Senate Government Organization.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE

This Act may be cited as the “West Virginia Government Transparency & Performance Act (WV-GT&P).”

SECTION 2. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT

The Legislature finds that West Virginia operates the Freedom of Information Act under W. Va. Code Ch. 29B; that the Open Governmental Proceedings Act operates under W. Va. Code Ch. 6 Art. 9A; that the Legislative Auditor operates under W. Va. Code Ch. 4 Art. 2; that state-agency budget submissions under the State Budget Office include performance measures; that whistleblower protection operates under the West Virginia Whistle-Blower Law (W. Va. Code Sec. 6C-1-1 et seq.); that state employment is governed by W. Va. Code Ch. 29 Art. 6; and that WV has no comprehensive state False Claims Act as of enactment, with Medicaid fraud addressed through the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit under W. Va. Code Sec. 9-7-1 et seq. This Act extends these frameworks.

TITLE I — DEFINITIONS & COORDINATION WITH WEST VIRGINIA LAW

Sec. 101. Definitions

  1. (a) “State agency” has the meaning in W. Va. Code Sec. 12-3-1.
  2. (b) “Legislative Auditor” means the office under W. Va. Code Ch. 4 Art. 2.
  3. (c) “MFCU” means the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit under W. Va. Code Sec. 9-7-1.

Sec. 102. Coordination with Existing West Virginia Law

  1. (a) Consistent with:
  • W. Va. Code Ch. 29B (FOIA).
  • W. Va. Code Ch. 6 Art. 9A (Open Governmental Proceedings Act).
  • W. Va. Code Ch. 4 Art. 2 (Legislative Auditor).
  • W. Va. Code Sec. 6C-1-1 et seq. (Whistle-Blower Law).
  • W. Va. Code Ch. 29 Art. 6 (Division of Personnel).
  • W. Va. Code Sec. 9-7-1 et seq. (MFCU).
  • W. Va. Code Ch. 29A (Administrative Procedures Act).

TITLE II — STATE-AGENCY OUTCOME PUBLICATION

Sec. 201. West Virginia Agency Outcome Dashboard

  1. (a) The State Budget Office, in coordination with the Legislative Auditor and the Performance Evaluation and Research Division, shall maintain a WV Agency Outcome Dashboard (“WV-AOD”).
  2. (b) Each State agency shall publish, for each major program, machine-readable performance data on cost per unit, output volume, and outcome measurement.
  3. (c) Updated at least quarterly.

Sec. 202. Integration with Budget Submissions

  1. (a) Each State agency shall include WV-AOD data in its annual budget submission.

TITLE III — STATE CIVIL-SERVICE ACCOUNTABILITY

Sec. 301. Published Performance Expectations

  1. (a) W. Va. Code Ch. 29 Art. 6 (Division of Personnel) shall be applied so that executive and director positions have published annual performance expectations tied to program measures.
  2. (b) Two-cycle failure grounds non-retention.

TITLE IV — REGULATORY PARTICIPATION

Sec. 401. West Virginia Regulatory Participation Dashboard

  1. (a) The Secretary of State, in coordination with agencies that adopt rules under W. Va. Code Ch. 29A, shall publish a West Virginia Regulatory Participation Dashboard.
  2. (b) Informational.

TITLE V — WHISTLEBLOWER REWARDS

Sec. 501. Medicaid Fraud Control Unit Reward Enhancement

  1. (a) W. Va. Code Sec. 9-7-1 et seq. is hereby amended so that a person providing original information leading to a Medicaid-fraud recovery by the MFCU may receive a reward aligned with the federal range under 31 U.S.C. Sec. 3730(d).
  2. (b) Amounts payable drawn from amounts recovered to the State.
  3. (c) This Section does not create a general state false-claims cause of action.

TITLE VI — IMPLEMENTATION & GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 601. Severability

If any provision is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect the remainder.

Sec. 602. Effective Date

This Act shall take effect July 1 of the year following enactment.

Canonical federal version: GT&P. Other West Virginia bills: WV-ACSA, WV-MEWRA, WV-AI-Workforce.