ENROLLED

COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE

FOR

COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE

FOR

Senate Bill No. 60

(Senators Williams and Sypolt, original sponsors)

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[Passed March 14, 2015; in effect ninety days from passage.]

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AN ACT to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated §16-2-16, relating to the regulation of food handlers; permitting the issuance of a food handler’s card; permitting the issuance of the food handler’s permit; requiring a food handler’s card to be valid for a certain time frame; requiring a food handler’s permit to be valid for a certain time frame; permitting the food handler’s card to be valid in all counties subject to payment of an additional fee; permitting the food handler’s permit to be valid in all counties subject to payment of an additional fee; requiring a food handler’s card to be obtained within thirty days of being hired; requiring a food handler’s permit to be obtained within thirty days of being hired; requiring the Bureau for Public Health to develop minimum training guidelines; permitting a local health department to adopt certain training programs.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

            That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated §16-2-16, to read as follows:

ARTICLE 2. LOCAL BOARDS OF HEALTH.

§16-2-16. Food handler examinations and cards.

            A food handler permit or card issued pursuant to the procedures put in place by a local county health department shall be valid for at least one year but not longer than three years. The permit or card shall be valid in all counties of this state, if the applicant pays an additional fee not to exceed $10. If required, a permit or card shall be obtained within thirty days of a person being hired in a restaurant or other applicable food establishment. The Bureau for Public Health shall develop minimum guidelines for training programs for individuals seeking a food handler permit or card that may be adopted by local county health departments. In lieu of state guidelines a local health department may use training courses developed by the American National Standards Institute or other nationally recognized entities for food safety training.