~
(West Vi~inia
~

"I

WEST VIRGINIA DEVELOPMENT OFFICE

USA

1900 Kanawha Boulevard East · Charleston, WV 25305-0311
(304) 558-2234 · (800) 982-3386 · WVDO.org

August 2,20 17

Re becca L. Stepto
Executi ve Director
West Virgini a Ethi cs Commiss ion
2 10 Brooks Street, Ste. 300
Charleston, WV 253 0 I
RE:

Request for Exempti on ofa Public Contract on behalf of the West Virgi ni a Development
Office/West Virginia Offi ce of Tourism.

Dear Ms. Stepto:
Please accept thi s letter as a formal request on behalf o rthe West Virgini a Deve lopment Offi ce C' WVDO")
and the Office of Touri sm to receive an exempti on pursuant to West Virginia Code § 6B-2-5(d)(4) from
the prohi bition aga in st interests in public contracts. The agencies respectfully submit that thi s exempti on
is imperative to the success of our efforts to fulfill the mandate and mission to attract substanti al economic
opportunity to our state.
Spec ifica lly, the WVDO seeks an exemption from the WV Ethics Act to attend the Business Summit at the
Greenbrier Resort on August 29-3 1, 201 7. More broadl y, the WVDO and Offi ce of Tourism seek an
exemption from the Ethics Act fo r future functions and/or events occurring at the Greenbri er Res0l1 that
represent bu siness recruitment opportuniti es for West Virginia.
The WVDO routinely attend s fun ctions and/or events at the Greenbrier Resort as palt of its normal business
operations. In the near term , the WV DO would like to attend the annual Business Sum mit scheduled later
thi s month, provide on-site lodgin g for necessary personnel and host business prospects as it would in any
other venue to support its miss ion to recruit new and better jobs to West Virginia. In the past, the WVDO
has used the Business Summit as a vehicle to interact with business leaders from West Virginia to learn
about their operations and identi fy oppol1unities to grow those companies. In additi on, the WVDO can
meet and network with compani es or profess ional s attend ing the event who may have interest in bringing
bu siness to the state. The WVDO believes it would pl ace a hardship on the agency and substanti ally
interfere with its purpose if it is un able to attend the Business Summit becau se it is the only functi on of its
kind during the year th at convenes all these bu sinesses and their representat ives in a single location.
The WVDO has also used the Greenbrier to host site location consultants in West Virgi ni a. These
indi viduals act as intermediary counse lors between their corporate clients eva luating signifi cant ca pital
investments and state economic deve lopment agencies representing potential locations fo r those
investments. The WVDO has no current plans to host such an event but would like the nex ibility to do so

 Rebecca Stepto
Page 2
August 2, 2017

again because the Greenbrier is the best location in the state to make a positive impression for individuals
who are unfamiliar with the state of West Virginia and the opportun ities that exist here.
The purpose of requesting the broader exempt ion is to address other potenti al conflicts with the Eth ics Act
and alleviate the need to seek event by event exemptions. For example, the WV Tourism Office is often
invited to attend events at the Greenbrier and would appreciate similar guidance or flexibility. These types
of engagements necessarily require th e expenditure of public resources to stay on premises and patronize
the facilities on site for entel1ainment purposes. Moreover, it is impossible to promote tourism in West
Virginia and avoid the state's most-recognized reS0l1. Accordingly, eliminating the Greenbrier as a venue
to promote tourism substantially interferes with the Tourism Office's mi ssion to recruit and promote
tourism opportunities in the state.
The WVDO and WV Tourism Office requests that this matter be considered by the Commiss ion at the very
earliest opportun ity given the time constraints as a result of the soon approaching date of this first event.
Your attention and eff0l1s are greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,

Joshua L. Jarrell
Deputy Cab inet Secretary/General Counsel