A second legislative committee is examining West Virginia government's fleet of state vehicles with an eye on cutting costs.
Members of the Joint Standing Committee on Finance want to know whether it would be cheaper for state agencies to rent vehicles for state employees rather than buy them.
The committee also wants to know whether the state could save tax dollars by purchasing new state-owned vehicles less often. State agencies typically retire vehicles after four years and 100,000 miles.
Kenny Yoakum, executive director of the state Fleet Management Office, said the agencies determine how many vehicles they need and whether the cars are being used enough.
"The day-to-day operation is up to the agency," Yoakum said. "Every agency knows how their vehicles are being utilized."
The Joint Committee on Government Organization started reviewing the state fleet earlier this year. The Legislative Auditor has sent letters to state agencies asking about state-owned vehicles.
West Virginia has more state vehicles per-capita than 15 Southern states, according to data from the Southern Legislative Conference. West Virginia also has the second-largest state vehicle fleet based on the number of government employees. There's one state vehicle in the Mountain State for every five government workers.
The Department of Transportation has 2,536 of the vehicles - the most of any state agency. The Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety, which includes the West Virginia State Police, has 1,692 government vehicles, followed by public colleges and universities, with 998, and the Department of Commerce, with 965 vehicles.
Light-duty trucks are the most popular type of vehicle in the West Virginia fleet. SUVs and cars rank closely behind. The fleet also includes 36 buses and two recreational vehicles.
The Fleet Management Office reported that state-vehicle orders are trending downward. State agencies purchased about 400 new vehicles during the past fiscal year, compared to 800 vehicles in each of the previous two years.
Both legislative committees also are looking into why the state Division of Motor Vehicles has issued 10,500 state-vehicle license plates, even though there are 3,000 fewer vehicles in the state fleet.
An official with the Division of Motor Vehicles said state agencies rarely return the plates to the DMV.
Reach Eric Eyre at ericeyre@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-4869 or follow @ericeyre on Twitter.