SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 40

(By Senators Ihlenfeld, Jeffries, Romano, Lindsay, and Unger)

[Introduced March 22, 2021]

Requesting the Joint Committee on Government and Finance study the benefits of a deferred retirement option program (DROP) for the West Virginia State Police; determine the most appropriate and fair method of implementing this program; consider any potential unintended consequences of this program; and determine how this program should be used to keep our best and most experienced law-enforcement officers in positions to mentor, train, protect, and serve the citizens of West Virginia.

Whereas, The West Virginia State Police has served the State of West Virginia with distinction for over 100 years; and

Whereas, The law-enforcement officers of the West Virginia State Police are some of our most experienced, highly trained, and well-respected law-enforcement officers in the State of West Virginia; and

Whereas, The West Virginia State Police serve, defend, and protect the citizens of the State of West Virginia throughout every region, county, and city of this state; and

Whereas, The West Virginia State Police is currently having difficulty replacing retired law- enforcement officers and maintaining its full strength to fulfill its mission to this state; therefore, be it

Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That the Joint Committee on Government and Finance study the benefits of a deferred retirement option program (DROP) for the West Virginia State Police; determine the most appropriate and fair method of implementing this program; consider any potential unintended consequences of this program; and determine how this program should be used to keep our best and most experienced law-enforcement officers in positions to mentor, train, protect, and serve the citizens of West Virginia; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the Joint Committee on Government and Finance study the causes leading to the retirement of our West Virginia State Police law-enforcement officers, especially those who are electing early retirement; determine the most appropriate method to encourage and compensate these experienced law-enforcement officers to remain in service to West Virginia; ensure that the West Virginia State Police is retaining our best law-enforcement officers and permitting fair advancement opportunities to those officers; and determine the best method of ensuring the accumulated knowledge and skill of our more experienced law-enforcement officers prepares our younger officers; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the Joint Committee on Government and Finance enlist the assistance of all ranks, organizations, groups, and departments of the West Virginia State Police as is necessary to conduct the study; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the Joint Committee on Government and Finance report to the regular session of the Legislature, 2022, on its findings, conclusions, and recommendations, together with drafts of any legislation necessary to effectuate its recommendations; and, be it

 Further Resolved, That the expenses necessary to conduct this study, to prepare a report, and to draft necessary legislation be paid from legislative appropriations to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance.