§5B-2B-4a. Report to Legislature.

(a) The Legislature finds that:

(1) The state needs to take all necessary steps to retain, educate and train West Virginians to have the skills necessary to compete for job opportunities resulting from horizontal drilling; and

(2) Specific attention shall be made by the State of West Virginia to train and educate West Virginia citizens that have not historically or traditionally been exposed to the oil and gas industry through training programs offered by community colleges, technical schools and institutions and small business owners. Small business owners shall be made aware by the State of West Virginia of any and all programs and grants available to assist them in training said individuals.

(b) To assist in maximizing the economic opportunities available with horizontal drilling, the  board shall make a report to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance and the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability on or before November 1 of each year through 2016, detailing a comprehensive review of the direct and indirect economic impact of employers engaged in the production of horizontal wells in the State of West Virginia, as more specifically defined in article six-a, chapter twenty-two of this code, which shall include:

(1) A review of the total number of jobs created;

(2) A review of total payroll of all jobs created;

(3) The average salary per job type;

(4) A review of total economic impact;

(5) The board’s recommendations for the establishment of an overall workforce investment public education agenda with goals and benchmarks toward maximizing job creation opportunities in the State of West Virginia;

(6) A review of number of jobs created for minorities based on race, ethnicity and gender;

(7) A review of number of jobs created for individuals reemployed from the State of West Virginia’s unemployment rosters;

(8) A review of number of jobs created for returning veterans; and

(9) A review of number of jobs created for legal West Virginia residents and non-West Virginia residents.

(c) To the extent permitted by federal law, and to the extent necessary for the  board to comply with this section, the board, Workforce West Virginia, the Division of Labor and the Office of the Insurance Commissioner may enter into agreements providing for the sharing of job data and related information.