§21A-2-6c. Payment withholding and interception.

(a) All state, county, district and municipal officers and agents making contracts on behalf of the State of West Virginia or any political subdivision thereof shall withhold payment in the final settlement of contracts until the receipt of a certificate from the commissioner to the effect that all payments, interest and penalties thereon accrued against the contractor under this chapter have been paid or that provisions satisfactory to the commissioner have been made for payment. Any official violating this subsection is guilty of a misdemeanor and, on conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $1,000 or confined in a county or regional jail for not more than one year, or both fined and confined.

(b) Any agency of the state, for the limited purpose of intercepting, pursuant to section sixteen, article five of this chapter and pursuant to section five-a, article two, chapter twenty-three of this code, any payment by or through the state to an employer who is in default in payment of contributions, premiums, deposits, interest or penalties under the provisions of this chapter or of chapter twenty-three of this code, shall assist the commissioner in collecting the payment that is due. For this purpose, disclosure of joint delinquency and default lists of employers with respect to unemployment compensation and workers' compensation as provided in section one-c, article one, chapter twenty-three of this code contributions, premiums, interest, deposits or penalties is authorized. The bureau and the workers' compensation commission may enter into an interagency agreement to effect the provisions of this section. The lists may be in the form of a computerized database to be accessed by the Auditor, the Department of Tax and Revenue, the Department of Administration, the Division of Highways or any other appropriate state agency or officer.