West Virginia House Bill 2935 (2017): Resilience and Flood Protection Plan Act

The State Resilience and Flood Plan Protection Act was amended in 2023.

Enacted in 2017 by the West Virginia legislature, House Bill 2935 established the State Resiliency Office within the West Virginia Department of Commerce, and formed a Joint Legislative Committee on Flooding. The legislation recognized that all 55 counties and 32 major watersheds have been impacted by flooding, resulting in hundreds of deaths and repeated federal disaster declarations.

The legislation established the Joint Legislative Committee on Flooding, composed of ten legislators, to oversee flood protection initiatives and receive quarterly and annual reports from the State Resiliency Office. This committee is responsible for studying floodplain management and recommending legislative measures to reduce the risk of flooding.

The legislation incorporated the State Resiliency and Flood Protection Plan Act, which established and tasked the State Resiliency Office with coordinating statewide disaster recovery and resiliency efforts. The Office’s duties include reviewing and updating the state flood protection plan, recommending legislation to mitigate flood damage, reporting quarterly to the Joint Legislative Committee on Flooding (described further below), cataloging capital expenditures for flood mitigation, coordinating with federal agencies on flood projects, improving floodplain management, providing public education on flooding issues, establishing a centralized flood information website, monitoring and directing federal funds for disaster recovery and resiliency, pursuing additional funding sources, and facilitating interagency communication to enhance disaster resilience. The Office acts through its Board, which was also established in HB 2935.

The State Resiliency Office Board is composed of members of various state agencies or their designees, including the Secretaries of Commerce, Environmental Protection, Military Affairs and Public Safety, and Transportation, as well as the Directors of the Division of Natural Resources, the State Conservation Agency, Homeland Security and Emergency Management, and the Adjutant General of the National Guard. Chaired by the Secretary of Commerce, the Board meets at least quarterly and adopts decisions by majority vote. The Chair of the State Resiliency Office Board must report quarterly to the Joint Legislative Committee on Flooding on the Office’s efforts toward reducing and mitigating flood damage, as well as produce a yearly report including budget requests and recommended legislation. The Board must provide staffing support to ensure that meetings are properly noticed and facilitated, minutes and records are maintained, correspondence is managed, and reports are produced timely.

The State Resiliency Office and Board were subsequently modified by SB 389 and SB 677.

Publication Date: 2017

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