SB 96 — Requiring disclaimers on third-party, nongovernment solicitations mailed or otherwise provided to businesses

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Red = new code to be enacted WEST VIRGINIAvirginia LEGISLATURElegislature REGULARregular SESSIONsession IntroducedCommittee Substitute for Senate Bill 96 By Senators SmithSmith, Martin, Romano, Rucker, Caputo, Lindsay, and MartinWoodrum [Introduced[Originating Januaryin 12,2022;the Committee on the Judiciary;

referredand then to theFinance; Committee on the Judiciary;

andreported thenon toFebruary the24, Committee2022] on  Finance]  A BILL to amend and reenact §59-1-2a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to requiring disclaimers on third-party,third party, nongovernment solicitations of services for filing business annual reports with the Secretary of State;

and creating criminal and civil penalties.penalties.  Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

(5) “Domestic corporation” means a corporation for profit, which is not a foreign corporation, incorporated under or subject to Chapterchapter 31D of this code.

(11) “Registration fee” means the fee for the issuance of a certificate relating to the initial registration of a corporation, limited partnership, domestic limited liability companycompany, or foreign limited liability company described in §59-1-2(a)(2) of this code.

(13) “Veteran-owned business” or “Active-duty“active-duty member-owned business” mean a business that meets the following criteria:

(A) Is at least 51 percent unconditionally owned by one or more veterans, active-duty members of any branch of the United States militarymilitary, or their respective spouses;

or (B) In the case of a publicly owned business, at least 51 percent of the stock is unconditionally owned by one or more veterans, active-duty members of any branch of the United States militarymilitary, or their respective spouses.

The annual report fees received by the Secretary of State pursuant to this subsection shall be deposited by the Secretary of State in the generalGeneral administrativeAdministrative feesFees accountAccount established by §59-1-2 of this code.

— It shall be the duty of each corporation, limited partnership, limited liability company, and foreign limited liability company required to pay the annual report fees imposed under this article to remit them with a properly completed annual report to the Secretary of State, and if it fails to do soso, it shall be subject to the late fees prescribed in subsection (h) of this section and dissolution or revocation,revocation pursuant to this code:

(2) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this code to the contrary, upon receipt of notice from the Secretary of State that a corporation, limited partnership, limited liability company, and foreign limited liability company is more than 30 days delinquent in the payment of annual report fees or in the filing of an annual report required by this section, the Tax Commissioner may suspend, cancelcancel, or withhold a business registration certificate issued to or applied for by the delinquent corporation, limited partnership, limited liability company, or foreign limited liability company until the same is paid and filed in the manner provided for the suspension, cancellationcancellation, or withholding of business registration certificates for other reasons under §11-12-1 et seq.

The fees received by the Secretary of State pursuant to this subsection shall be deposited by the Secretary of State in the generalGeneral administrativeAdministrative feesFees accountAccount established by §59-1-2 of this code.

(n) Any person, firm, corporation, or association that is a nongovernmental entity who solicits the purchase of or payment for a product or service from businesses with which they do not have a pre-existing commercial relationship for annual report filing under subsection (d) of this section by means of a mailing, electronic mail, or facsimile, shall include all of the following requirements on each solicitation:

“THIS PRODUCT OR SERVICE HAS NOT BEEN APPROVED OR ENDORSED BY ANY GOVERNMENTGOVERNMENTAL AGENCY, AND THIS OFFER IS NOT BEING MADE BY AN AGENCY OF THE GOVERNMENT”;

“Annual Report filings may be filed directly with the Secretary of State for the statutory $25 fee.”fee”. (o) Any person who violates subsection (n) of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined up to $1,000 for each noncompliant solicitation, or confined in jail for a period of up to one year, or both fined and confined.

(o) Any person who violates subsection (n) of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined up to $1,000 for each noncompliant solicitation, or confined in jail for a period of up to one year, or both fined and confined.

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The purpose of this bill is to require certain disclosures on solicitations mailed or otherwise provided to businesses by third-party, nongovernmental entities offering unsolicited products or services for filing an annual report with the Secretary of State, and to create criminal penalties and civil remedies to persons harmed by violations.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.

Bill Status  |  Bill Tracking  |  Legacy WV Code  |  Bulletin Board  |  District Maps  |  Senate Roster  |  House Roster  |  Live  |  Blog  |  Jobs  |  Links  |  Home This Web site is maintained by the West Virginia Legislature's Office of Reference & Information.