SF0181 - State miner's hospital board-2.

 

2001

State of Wyoming

01LSO-0649

 

 

 

SENATE FILE NO.  SF0181

 

 

State miner's hospital board-2.

 

Sponsored by:

 

 

A BILL

 

for

 

 1  AN ACT relating to miners; creating the state miner's
 2  hospital board; providing for membership and duties;
 3  creating a special account to address miner's health
 4  issues; providing for funding; creating a legislative
 5  oversight committee; requiring a report; and providing for
 6  an effective date.

 7 

 8  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

 9 

10         Section 1.  W.S. 30-6-101 through 30-6-103 are created
11  to read:

12 

13                         CHAPTER 6

14              STATE MINER'S HOSPITAL BOARD

15 

16         30-6-101.  State miner's hospital board.

 

Page  1

 

 

 

 1 

 2         (a)  The state miner's hospital board is created
 3  consisting of the following members:

 4 

 5              (i)  Four (4) members of the Sweetwater County
 6  Memorial Hospital Board appointed by a majority vote of the
 7  board;

 8 

 9              (ii)  Two (2) members representing miners, one
10  (1) member from Sweetwater county and one (1) member from
11  Campbell county, both appointed by the governor; and

12 

13              (iii)  One (1) member from the Campbell County
14  Memorial Hospital Board appointed by a majority vote of the
15  board.

16 

17         (b)  Except for initial terms pursuant to subsection
18  (c) of this section, terms of members shall be for two (2)
19  years. Any vacancy shall be filled by the designated
20  appointing authority for the remainder of the unexpired
21  term within not more than thirty (30) days following the
22  date on which the vacancy occurred. Any voting member may
23  serve not more than two (2) consecutive terms. However, a
24  member may be reappointed after a two (2) year absence.

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 1  Each member shall serve until his successor is appointed
 2  and has been qualified. The governor may remove any member
 3  appointed by him pursuant to W.S. 9-1-202.

 4 

 5         (c)  For the initial board, one (1) member appointed
 6  by the governor shall serve a term of two (2) years and one
 7  (1) member appointed by the governor shall serve a term of
 8  one (1) year. Two (2) members appointed by the Sweetwater
 9  County Memorial Hospital Board shall serve a term of two
10  (2) years and two (2) members shall serve a term of one (1)
11  year. The member appointed by the Campbell County Memorial
12  Hospital Board shall serve a term of two (2) years.

13 

14         (d)  The members shall receive per diem and travel
15  expenses in the same manner and amount as authorized under
16  W.S. 9-3-102 and 9-3-103 for state employees when on or
17  conducting official business.

18 

19         (e)  The board shall meet not less than two (2) times
20  each year. At the initial meeting of the board, the board
21  shall elect a chairman. The board is authorized to hire an
22  executive director and secretary to provide administrative
23  support to the board, the legislative oversight committee
24  and the miner's hospital. The executive director and the

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 1  secretary shall be located in Sweetwater county unless
 2  otherwise directed by the board.

 3 

 4         30-6-102.  Account created; expenditures; report.

 5 

 6         (a)  There is created within the special revenue fund
 7  the miner's hospital board account. Not later than July 1,
 8  2001, the state treasurer shall credit to the account two
 9  hundred thousand dollars ($200,000.00) from interest
10  accrued within the miner's hospital account within the
11  permanent land income fund created by W.S. 9-4-310(c)(v).
12  The amount available for appropriation annually to the
13  miner's hospital account shall not exceed an amount equal
14  to five percent (5%) of the balance of both the miner's
15  hospital account within the permanent land fund created by
16  W.S. 9-4-310(a)(ix) and the miner's hospital income account
17  within the permanent land income fund created by W.S.
18  9-4-310(c)(v). The money in the account shall be used to
19  provide for the expenses of the board and its staff, as
20  well as to implement the recommendations of the board.

21 

22         (b)  With the approval of the legislative oversight
23  committee created by W.S. 30-6-103, the board shall:

24 

 

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 1              (i)  Serve disabled or incapacitated miners in
 2  this state with emphasis on pulmonary/respiratory, hearing
 3  loss, cardiac and musculoskeletal conditions of miners due
 4  to labor in the mining industry;

 5 

 6              (ii)  Develop a plan to meet the miner's health
 7  care needs in this state. In recommending plans for meeting
 8  the miner's health care needs in this state, the board
 9  shall base its initial recommendations upon the report
10  entitled "The Health Care Needs Assessment of Wyoming
11  Miners," dated November 13, 2000 prepared by BBC Research
12  and Consulting specifically dealing with both the medical
13  and geographic findings, as well as phase II of the plan
14  identifying alternative programs to address the needs
15  identified in the plan. The plan shall be based upon the
16  anticipated revenue to the account created by subsection
17  (a) of this section;

18 

19              (iii)  Promulgate rules and regulations to
20  implement the provisions of this act including eligibility
21  for services for miners, establish administrative
22  procedures for auditing and accountability;

23 

 

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 1              (iv)  Have authority to contract with service
 2  providers for the purposes of this act.

 3 

 4         (c)  Each biennium the board shall recommend
 5  expenditures of any monies in the account created by
 6  subsection (a) of this section for purposes of addressing
 7  miner's health issues based upon the plan prepared by the
 8  board under subsection (b) of this section. The
 9  recommendations shall be reviewed by the joint
10  appropriations interim committee and any recommendations
11  from the committee shall be included in the budget for
12  appropriation. Any recommendations shall require
13  legislative appropriation to become effective.

14 

15         (d)  Not later than December 1 of each year, the board
16  shall report to the governor and the joint appropriations
17  interim committee on the activities of the board including
18  any recommendations made for expenditure of monies from the
19  account created by subsection (a) of this section to
20  address miner's health issues in this state.

21 

22         (e)  As used in this section:

23 

 

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 1              (i)  "Coal or other mine" means an area of land
 2  from which minerals are extracted and processed in
 3  nonliquid form or, if in liquid form, through an in situ
 4  leach process;

 5 

 6              (ii)  "Disabled" means a miner whose physical or
 7  mental condition permanently prevents him from performing
 8  any substantial gainful employment;

 9 

10              (iii)  "Incapacitated" means any miner with any
11  physical impairment due to labor while working in the mines
12  of this state which interferes with any major life
13  activity;

14 

15              (iv)  "Miner" means a resident of Wyoming who has
16  worked in a mine in this state who is or was employed at a
17  coal or other mine or at a processing or conversion
18  facility contiguous to the mine and dependent upon the
19  output of that mine as feedstock. "Miner" shall include the
20  operator of the mine or plant if the operator works on a
21  continuing or irregular basis;

22 

23              (v)  "Mining" means coal mining, metal ore mining
24  and nonmetallic mineral mining and quarrying. "Mining"

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 1  includes coal, trona, bentonite, gypsum, sand and gravel
 2  and other stone and uranium mining.

 3 

 4         30-6-103.  Legislative oversight committee.

 5 

 6         (a)  There is created the state miner's hospital board
 7  legislative oversight committee consisting of:

 8 

 9              (i)  Two (2) members of the senate appointed by
10  the president of the senate, one (1) member from each
11  political party;

12 

13              (ii)  Three (3) members of the house of
14  representatives appointed by the speaker, not more than two
15  (2) of whom shall be from the same political party.

16 

17         (b)  The committee shall include one (1) member from
18  Campbell county and one (1) member from Sweetwater county.

19 

20         (c)  The committee shall serve in an advisory capacity
21  to the board for the purposes of this act, and provide
22  appropriate legislative recommendations. The committee
23  shall counsel with and advise the board for the

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 1  administration and performance of all the duties of the
 2  board pursuant to this act.

 3 

 4         Section 2.  This act is effective July 1, 2001.

 5 

 6                         (END)

 

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