Senate Bill No. 334
(By Senators Withers, Humphreys, Grubb,
Holliday and Wagner)
____________
[Introduced March 9, 1993; referred to the Committee
on Education; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to repeal section three-a, article nine-a, chapter
eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended; to amend and reenact section
eighteen, article sixteen, chapter five of said code; to
amend and reenact sections two, four, five-a, six, seven,
eight-a and nine, article nine-a, chapter eighteen of said
code; and to further amend said article by adding thereto a
new section, designated section six-b, all relating to
public school support generally; deleting provisions
regarding the foundation allowance regional educational
service agencies for the current fiscal year only;
increasing the percentage of net enrollment that may be
counted as being enrolled in gifted education classes;
increasing the computation for the allowance for
professional educators per one thousand students; setting a
new minimum ratio of professional instructional personnel
per one thousand students; deleting certain publishing
requirements; establishing a new ratio between professional
educators and service personnel; adding certain insurance
costs to fixed cost allowances; providing for a public
employees insurance fund allowance; increasing foundation
allowance for cost of transportation; setting specific
allowance for regional education service agencies;
increasing substitute employee allowance; and removing
county boards from those employers required to contribute to
cost of public employers insurance costs and places those
costs under other education provisions.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section three-a, article nine-a, chapter eighteen of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one,
as amended, be repealed; that section eighteen, article sixteen,
chapter five of said code be amended and reenacted; that sections
two, four, five-a, six, seven, eight-a and nine, article nine-a,
chapter eighteen of said code be amended and reenacted; and that
said article be further amended by adding thereto a new section,
designated section six-b, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 5. GENERAL POWERS AND AUTHORITY OF THE GOVERNOR,
SECRETARY OF STATE AND ATTORNEY GENERAL; BOARD
OF PUBLIC WORKS; MISCELLANEOUS AGENCIES, COMMISSIONS,
OFFICES, PROGRAMS, ETC.
ARTICLE 16. WEST VIRGINIA PUBLIC EMPLOYEES INSURANCE ACT.
§5-16-18. Payment of costs by employer; schedule of insurance;
special funds created; duties of treasurer with respect
thereto.
All employers operating from state general revenue or
special revenue funds or federal funds or any combination thereof
shall budget the cost of insurance coverage provided by the
public employees insurance agency to current and retired
employees of the employer as a separate line item, titled "PEI",
in its respective annual budget and shall be responsible for the
transfer of funds to the director for the cost of insurance for
employees covered by the plan. Each spending unit shall pay to
the director its proportionate share from each source of funds.
Any agency wishing to charge general revenue funds for insurance
benefits for retirees under section thirteen of this article must
provide documentation to the director that such benefits cannot
be paid for by any special revenue account or that the retiring
employee has been paid solely with general revenue funds for
twelve months prior to retirement.
Should the general revenue appropriation for any employer,
including a excluding county
board boards of education, be
insufficient to cover the cost of insurance coverage for such
employer's participating employees, retired employees and
surviving dependents, the employer shall pay the reminder of such
cost from its "personal services" or "unclassified" line items.
or, in the case of a county board of education, from other funds
The amount of such payments for county boards of education shall
be determined by the method set forth in section six-b, article
nine-a, chapter eighteen of this code: Provided, That local
excess levy funds shall be used only for the purposes for whichthey were raised:
Provided, however, That after approval of its
annual financial plan but in no event later than the thirty-first
day of December of each year, the finance board shall notify the
Legislature and county boards of education of the maximum amount
of employer premiums that the county boards of education will be
required to pay for covered employees during the following fiscal
year.
Provided further, That said amount shall not exceed five
million dollars during fiscal year one thousand nine hundred
ninety-three: And provided further, That the finance board and
department of education shall determine the extent to which state
school aid appropriations are being used by the county school
boards to pay employer premiums for employees whose positions are
not funded by state revenues and shall develop and implement a
plan to minimize such expenditures
All other employers not operating from the state general
revenue fund shall pay to the director their share of premium
costs from their respective budgets. The finance board shall
establish such employers' share of premium costs to reflect and
pay the actual costs of such coverage including incurred but not
reported claims.
The contribution of such other employers (namely: A county,
city or town in the state; any separate corporation or
instrumentality established by one or more counties, cities or
towns, as permitted by law; any corporation or instrumentality
supported in most part by counties, cities or towns; any public
corporation charged by law with the performance of a governmentalfunction and whose jurisdiction is coextensive with one or more
counties, cities or towns; any comprehensive community mental
health center or comprehensive mental retardation facility
established, operated or licensed by the secretary of health and
human resources pursuant to section one, article two-a, chapter
twenty-seven of this code, and which is supported in part by
state, county or municipal funds; and a combined city-county
health department created pursuant to article two, chapter
sixteen of the code) for their employees shall be such percentage
of the cost of the employees' insurance package as the employers
deem reasonable and proper under their own particular
circumstances.
The employee's proportionate share of the premium or cost
shall be withheld or deducted by the employer from such
employee's salary or wages as and when paid and such sums shall
be forwarded to the director with such supporting data as the
director may require.
All moneys received by the public employees insurance agency
shall be deposited in a special fund or funds as are necessary in
the state treasury and the treasurer of the state shall be
custodian of such fund or funds and shall administer such fund or
funds in accordance with the provisions of this article or as the
director may from time to time direct. The treasurer shall pay
all warrants issued by the state auditor against such fund or
funds as the director may direct in accordance with the
provisions of this article. On and after the first day of July,one thousand nine hundred eighty-eight, all payments previously
required to be made to the public employees insurance board shall
be made to the public employees insurance agency.
CHAPTER 18. EDUCATION.
ARTICLE 9A. PUBLIC SCHOOL SUPPORT.
§18-9A-2. Definitions.
For the purpose of this article:
"State board" means the West Virginia board of education.
"County board" or "board" means a county board of education.
"Professional salaries" means the state legally mandated
salaries of the professional educators as provided in article
four, chapter eighteen-a of this code.
"Professional educator" shall be synonymous with and shall
have the same meaning as "teacher" as defined in section one,
article one, chapter eighteen of this code.
"Professional instructional personnel" means a professional
educator whose regular duty is as that of a classroom teacher,
librarian, counselor, attendance director, school psychologist
or school nurse with a bachelors' degree and who is licensed by
the West Virginia board of examiners for registered professional
nurses. A professional educator having both instructional and
administrative or other duties shall be included as professional
instructional personnel for that ratio of the school day for
which he
or she is assigned and serves on a regular full-time
basis in appropriate instruction, library, counseling,
attendance, psychologist or nursing duties.
"Service personnel salaries" shall mean the state legally
mandated salaries for service personnel as provided in section
eight-a, article four, chapter eighteen-a of this code.
"Service personnel" shall mean all personnel as provided for
in section eight, article four, chapter eighteen-a of this code.
For the purpose of computations under this article of ratios of
service personnel to adjusted enrollment, a service employee
shall be counted as that number found by dividing his number of
employment days in a fiscal year by two hundred:
Provided, That
the computation for any such person employed for three and one-
half hours or less per day as provided in section eight-a,
article four, chapter eighteen-a of this code shall be calculated
as one-half an employment day.
"Net enrollment" means the number of pupils enrolled in
special education programs, kindergarten programs and grades one
to twelve, inclusive, of the public schools of the county.
Commencing with the school year beginning on the first day of
July, one thousand nine hundred eighty-eight, net enrollment
further shall include adults enrolled in regular secondary
vocational programs existing as of the effective date of this
section:
Provided, That net enrollment shall include no more
than one thousand such adults counted on the basis of full-time
equivalency and apportioned annually to each county in proportion
to the adults participating in regular secondary vocational
programs in the prior year counted on the basis of full-time
equivalency:
Provided, however, That no tuition or special feesbeyond that required of the regular secondary vocational student
is charged for such adult students.
"Adjusted enrollment" means the net enrollment plus twice
the number of pupils enrolled for special education. Commencing
with the school year beginning on the first day of July, one
thousand nine hundred ninety, adjusted enrollment means the net
enrollment plus twice the number of pupils enrolled for special
education, including exceptional gifted, plus the number of
pupils in grades nine through twelve enrolled for honors and
advanced placement programs, plus the number of pupils enrolled
on the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred eighty-nine,
in the gifted program in grades nine through twelve:
Provided,
That commencing with the school year beginning on the first day
of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety, no more than
four five
percent of net enrollment of grades one through eight may be
counted as enrolled in gifted education and no more than
six
seven percent of net enrollment of grades nine through twelve may
be counted as enrolled in gifted education, exceptional gifted
education (subject to the limitation set forth in section one,
article twenty of this chapter) and honors and advanced placement
programs for the purpose of determining adjusted enrollment
within a county:
Provided, however, That nothing herein shall be
construed to limit the number of students who may actually enroll
in gifted, honors or advanced placement education programs in any
county:
Provided further, That until the school year beginning
on the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-two,the preceding percentage limitations shall not restrict the
adjusted enrollment definition for a county to the extent that
those limitations are exceeded by students enrolled in gifted
education programs on the first day of July, one thousand nine
hundred eighty-nine: And Provided further, That no pupil may be
counted more than three times for the purpose of determining
adjusted enrollment. Such enrollment shall be adjusted to the
equivalent of the instructional term and in accordance with such
eligibility requirements and rules as established by the state
board. No pupil shall be counted more than once by reason of
transfer within the county or from another county within the
state, and no pupil shall be counted who attends school in this
state from another state.
"Levies for general current expense purposes" means on each
hundred dollars of valuation, twenty-two and five-tenths cents on
Class I property, forty-five cents on Class II property, and
ninety cents on Classes III and IV property.
"Basic resources per pupil" for the state and the several
counties means the total of (a) property tax revenues computed
at the maximum regular levy rates as provided by section six-c,
article eight, chapter eleven of this code, at a uniform rate of
ninety-five percent, but excluding revenues from increased levies
as provided in section ten, article X of the Constitution of West
Virginia, and (b) basic state aid as provided in sections twelve
and thirteen of this article, but excluding the foundation
allowance to improve instructional programs as provided insection ten of this article, and excluding any funds appropriated
for the purpose of achieving salary equity among county board
employees, this total divided by the number of students in
adjusted enrollment:
Provided, That beginning with the school
year commencing on the first day of July, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-one, and thereafter, the foundation allowance for
transportation cost as provided in section seven of this article
shall also be excluded and the total shall be divided by the
number of students in net enrollment:
Provided, however, That
any year's allocations to the counties of the eighty percent
portion of the foundation allowance to improve instructional
programs, as provided in section ten of this article, shall be
determined on the basis of the immediately preceding school
year's basic resources per pupil.
§18-9A-4. Foundation allowance for professional educators.
The basic foundation allowance to the county for
professional educators shall be the amount of money required to
pay the state minimum salaries, in accordance with provisions of
article four, chapter eighteen-a of the code, to such personnel
employed:
Provided,
That in making this computation no county
shall receive an allowance for such personnel which number is in
excess of fifty-four and thirty-three one-hundredths and one-half
professional educators to each one thousand students in adjusted
enrollment: Provided, however, That for the school year
commencing on the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-one, and thereafter, no county shall receive an allowancefor such personnel which number is in excess of fifty-three and
one-half professional educators to each one thousand students in
adjusted enrollment:
Provided, further however,
That any county
not qualifying under the provision of section fourteen of this
article shall be eligible for a growth rate in professional
personnel in any one year not to exceed twenty percent of its
total potential increase under this provision, except that in no
case shall such limit be fewer than five professionals:
And
Provided further,
That the number of and the allowance for
personnel paid in part by state and county funds shall be
prorated: And provided further, That where two or more counties
join together in support of a vocational or comprehensive high
school or any other program or service, the professional
educators for such school or program may be prorated among the
participating counties on the basis of each one's enrollment
therein and that such personnel shall be considered within the
above-stated limit: And provided further, That in the school
year beginning the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred
eighty-eight, and in each school year thereafter, each county
board shall establish and maintain a minimum ratio of fifty
fifty-one professional instructional personnel, excluding
substitute teachers, per one thousand students in adjusted
enrollment: And provided further, That no county shall have less
than a total of five principals and central office
administrators. Any county board which does not establish and
maintain this minimum ratio shall suffer a pro rata reduction inthe allowance for professional educators under this section:
And
provided further,
That no county shall be penalized if it has
increases in enrollment during that school year, and no county
shall be penalized if for the school year, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-three--ninety-four, only the number of
professional instructional personnel is greater than fifty but
less than fifty-one per one thousand students in adjusted
enrollment:
And provided further,
That any county board which
does not establish and maintain this minimum ratio shall utilize
any and all allocations to it by provision of section fourteen of
this article solely to employ professional instructional
personnel until the minimum ratio is attained. Every county
shall utilize methods other than reductions in force, such as
attrition and early retirement, before implementing their
reductions in force policy to comply with the limitations of this
section. It is the intent of the Legislature that in planning
reductions in force to comply with reduced ratios of professional
educators to students in adjusted enrollment, county boards shall
consider positions for elimination in the following order: (1)
Central office administrators, (2) assistant principals, and (3)
principals.
No county shall increase the number of administrative
personnel employed as either professional educators or pay grade
"H" service personnel above the number which were employed, or
for which positions were posted, on the thirtieth day of June,
one thousand nine hundred ninety ninety-four, and, therefore,county boards shall whenever possible utilize classroom teachers
for curriculum administrative positions through the use of
modified or extended contracts:
Provided,
That the governor
shall submit a recommendation to the Legislature at the beginning
of the regular session thereof in the year one thousand nine
hundred ninety-one, which proposes a method for establishing a
responsible level of administrative support for each county
school system and a pay scale differentiation on a daily rate
between classroom positions and administrative positions when all
other factors are equal.
Every county board of education shall annually determine the
number of professional educators employed that exceeds the number
allowed by the public school support plan and determine the
amount of salary supplement that would be available per state
authorized employee if all expenditures for such excess employees
were converted to annual salaries for state authorized
professional educators within their county. Such information
shall be published annually in each school report card of each
such county.
§18-9A-5a. Ratio of foundation allowances for professional
educators and service personnel to net enrollment.
(a) The purpose of this section is to establish maximum
ratios between the numbers of professional educators and service
personnel in the counties which are funded through the public
school support plan and the net enrollment in the counties, such
ratios are in addition to the ratios provided for in sectionsfour and five of this article. It is the intent of the
Legislature to adjust these ratios pursuant to legislative act as
may be appropriate when additional personnel are needed to
perform additional duties.
(b) Commencing with the school year one thousand nine
hundred eighty-nine--ninety, and each year thereafter, in
computing the basic foundation allowance to a county for
professional educators and the basic foundation allowance to a
county for service personnel under sections four and five of this
article, a county shall not receive an allowance for such
personnel which number per one thousand students in net
enrollment is in excess of the number of seventy-five and
one-half professional educators and the number of forty-four and
one-half service personnel in the county. computed as follows:
Maximum professionalMaximum service
For theeducators per 1000personnel per 1000
school yearnet enrollment thenet enrollment the
preceding yearpreceding year
1989-9076.545.5
1990-9176.045.0
1991-9275.544.5
1992-9375.044.0
1993-9474.543.75
1994-95 and74.043.5
thereafter
(c) Every county shall utilize methods other than reductionsin force, such as attrition and early retirement, before
implementing their reductions in force policy to comply with the
limitations of this section.
(d) For the school years one thousand nine hundred eighty-
nine--ninety and one thousand nine hundred ninety--ninety-one
only, if a school district loses more than six percent of the
number chargeable for the previous school year for professional
educator positions or service personnel positions, due to the
maximum ratios established in subsection (b) of this section, it
may apply to the state board for a waiver of said ratios to the
extent that the loss exceeds either six percent of its
professional educators or service personnel: Provided, That the
county board of education establishes and maintains the minimum
ratio of professional instructional personnel per one thousand
students in adjusted enrollment as required in section four of
this article. Waivers shall be determined on a case by case
basis according to rules adopted by the state board and granted
to the extent funds are appropriated by the Legislature for this
purpose. Prior to the adoption of such rules, the state board
shall conduct a thorough review of the staffing patterns in each
county. Any personnel positions funded as a result of a waiver
granted under the provisions of this subsection shall not be
included in the computations set forth in sections four and five
of this article.
§18-9A-6. Foundation allowance for fixed charges.
The total allowance for fixed charges shall be the sum ofthe following:
(1) The sum of the foundation allowance for professional
educators and the foundation allowance for other personnel, as
determined in sections four and five above, multiplied by the
current social security rate of contribution; plus
(2) The sum of the foundation allowance for professional
educators and the foundation allowance for other personnel, as
determined in sections four and five above, multiplied by four
hundredths of one percent as an allowance for unemployment
compensation contribution; plus
(3) The sum of the foundation allowance for professional
educators and the foundation allowance for other personnel, as
determined in sections four and five above, multiplied by the
rate which is derived by dividing the total contributions for
workers' compensation for professional educators and other
personnel by the total of the state minimum salaries. The
computation of this rate shall be determined by using data of
the most recent year for which available; plus
(4) The teachers retirement fund allowance as determined in
section six-a of this article; plus
(5) The public employees insurance fund allowance as
determined in section six-b.
§18-9A-6b. Public employees insurance fund allowance.
(1) County boards of education shall only be responsible for
payments to the public employees insurance agency for
professional employees who are employed above and beyond thoseauthorized by sections four or five-a of this article, whichever
is less and service personnel who are employed above and beyond
those authorized by sections five and five-a of this article
whichever is less. For each employee employed beyond those
authorized by sections four or five-a of this article, the county
boards of education which employs such employee, shall forward to
the public employees insurance agency an amount equal to the
number of such employees times the average premium for all county
boards of education as established by the public employees
insurance agency financial board. The average premium rate for
all county boards of education employees shall be incorporated
into each financial plan developed by the finance board in
accordance with section five, article sixteen, chapter five of
this code. Such average premium rate shall include any
proportionate share of retiree subsidy established by the finance
board.
(2) The total public employees insurance fund allowance
shall be the number of professional educators employed by the
county boards of education pursuant to sections four or five-a of
this article, whichever is less plus the number of service
personnel employed by county boards of education pursuant to
sections five or five-a of this article, whichever is less,
multiplied by the average premium rate for all county boards of
education employees established by the public employees insurance
agency finance board. The average premium rate for all county
boards of education employees shall be incorporated into eachfinancial plan developed by the finance board in accordance with
section five, article sixteen, chapter five of this code. Such
premiums shall include any proportionate share of retirees
subsidy established by the finance board.
§18-9A-7. Foundation allowance for transportation cost.
The allowance in the foundation school program for each
county for transportation shall be the sum of the following
computations:
(1) Eighty Ninety percent of the transportation cost within
each county for maintenance, operation and related costs,
exclusive of all salaries;
(2) The total cost, within each county, of insurance
premiums on buses, buildings and equipment used in
transportation: Provided, That such premiums were procured
through competitive bidding;
(3) For the school year beginning the first day of July, one
thousand nine hundred eighty-nine, and thereafter, an amount
equal to ten percent of the current replacement value of the bus
fleet within each county as determined by the state board, such
amount to be used only for the replacement of buses. In
addition, in any school year in which its net enrollment for
increases when compared to the net enrollment for the year
immediately preceding, a school district may apply to the state
superintendent for funding for an additional bus. Furthermore,
large, sparsely populated counties may also apply to the state
superintendent for funding for additional mini-buses. The statesuperintendent shall make a decision regarding each application
based upon an analysis of the individual school district's net
enrollment history and transportation needs or, in the case of a
large, sparsely populated county, the population of the county:
Provided, That the superintendent shall not consider any
application which fails to document that the county has applied
for federal funding for additional buses. If the state
superintendent finds that a need exists, a request for funding
shall be included in the budget request submitted by the state
board for the upcoming fiscal year;
(4) Eighty Ninety percent of the cost of contracted
transportation services and public utility transportation with
each county;
(5) Aid in lieu of transportation equal to the state average
amount per pupil for each pupil receiving such aid within each
county; and
(6) Ninety percent of the total cost of transportation
operations and related expenses, excluding salaries and
maintenance for transporting students to and from classes at a
multicounty vocational center.
The total state share for this purpose shall be the sum of
the county shares: Provided, That no county shall receive an
allowance which is greater than one-third above the computed
state average allowance per mile multiplied by the total mileage
in the county.
§18-9A-8a. Foundation allowance for regional educational service
agencies.
For the fiscal year beginning on the first day of July, one
thousand nine hundred ninety-one, and for each fiscal year
thereafter, the foundation allowance for regional educational
service agencies shall be equal to sixty-three one-hundredths
percent of the allocation for professional educators as
determined in section four of this article three million seven
hundred thousand dollars. The allowance shall be distributed to
the regional educational service agencies in accordance with
rules adopted by the state board. The allowance for regional
educational service agencies shall be excluded from the
computation of total basic state aid as provided for in section
twelve of this article.
§18-9A-9. Foundation allowance for other current expense and
substitute employees.
The total allowance for other current expense and substitute
employees shall be the sum of the following: Provided, That each
of the three amounts amount set forth in subparagraphs
subparagraph (1) (2) and (3) of this section shall not exceed the
preceding year's allowance by more than four five percent:
(1) For current expense, for the year one thousand nine
hundred ninety--ninety-one and thereafter, ten percent of the sum
of the computed state allocation for professional educators and
service personnel as determined in sections four and five of this
article. Distribution to the counties shall be made proportional
to the average of each county's average daily attendance for thepreceding year and the county's second month net enrollment; plus
(2) For professional educator substitutes, or current
expense, two and five-tenths percent of the computed state
allocation for professional educators as determined in section
four of this article. Distribution to the counties shall be made
proportional to the number of professional educators authorized
for the county in compliance with sections four and five-a of
this article each county shall be reimbursed at a rate of ninety-
five percent of the actual expenditure made by the county in
providing substitutes for professional educators during the most
recent fiscal year in which complete data is available; plus
(3) For service personnel substitutes, or current expense,
two and five-tenths percent of the computed state allocation for
service personnel as determined in section five of this article.
Distribution to the counties shall be made proportional to the
number of service personnel authorized for the county in
compliance with sections five and five-a of this article each
county shall be reimbursed at a rate of ninety-five percent of
the actual expenditure made by the county in providing
substitutes for service personnel during the most recent fiscal
year in which complete data is available; plus
(4) For academic materials, supplies and equipment for use
in instructional programs, two hundred dollars multiplied by the
number of professional instructional personnel employed in the
schools of the county. Distribution shall be made to each county
for allocation to the faculty senate of each school in the countyon the basis of two hundred dollars per professional
instructional personnel employed at the school. Faculty senate
means a faculty senate created pursuant to section five, article
five-a of this chapter. Decisions for the expenditure of such
funds shall be made at the school level by the faculty senate in
accordance with the provisions of said section five, article
five-a, and shall not be used to supplant the current expense
expenditures of the county.
(5) For the school year one thousand nine hundred ninety--
ninety-one only, There shall be a one-time an additional
appropriation of five hundred thousand one million dollars to be
distributed to the counties on a needs basis. Funds shall be
distributed to those very few counties in which costs for the
delivery of educational services are extraordinarily greater than
in the vast majority of counties, thus impairing the quality of
education in those few counties. The factors used to determine
eligibility for funds shall be sparsity of student population,
combined with geographical barriers to the efficient
transportation of students; or extraordinary growth in net
enrollment for school year one thousand nine hundred ninety--
ninety-one which exceed the allowance for increased enrollment
appropriated in the budget for that year. Prior to the
distribution of funds, the state superintendent shall establish
that the applying county has demonstrated efficiency and fiscal
responsibility in staffing, and in maximum sharing of services
with adjoining counties and the regional educational serviceagency for that county in the use of the total local county
budget.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill generally is to amend
various provisions of the education code to provide for increased
professional educator ratios and other increases in the funding
for public schools. The bill increases the number of
professional educators and professional instructional personnel,
by eliminating further reductions in professional and service
personnel positions based on net enrollment. It increases the
caps on special education. It establishes a system for funding
insurance premiums for county boards of education employees paid
to the premiums for county boards of education employees paid to
the public employees insurance agency and increases reimbursement
rate for transportation paid to county boards of education. The
bills also changes the mechanism for reimbursements to county
boards of education for substitute professional and service
personnel.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.
§18-9A-6b is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.