H. B. 4659
(By Delegates Miley and Fragale)
[Introduced February 21, 2006; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §7-7-7 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended; and to amend and reenact §23-2-1b of said
code, all relating to the payment of workers' compensation
premiums by the county commission and relating to individual
compensation of elected county officials, assistants, deputies
and employees, providing for the return of surplus salary
funds contained in elected officials' unspent salary line
items as a result of being off while on workers' compensation
to the county commission for payment of workers' compensation
premiums.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §7-7-7 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be
amended and reenacted; and that §23-2-1b of said code be amended
and reenacted, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 7. COUNTY COMMISSIONS AND OFFICERS.
ARTICLE 7. COMPENSATION OF ELECTED COUNTY OFFICIALS.
§7-7-7. County assistants, deputies and employees; their number
and compensation; county budget.
The county clerk, circuit clerk, joint clerk of the county
commission and circuit court, if any, sheriff, county assessor and
prosecuting attorney, by and with the advice and consent of the
county commission, may appoint and employ, to assist them in the
discharge of their official duties for and during their respective
terms of office, assistants, deputies and employees. The county
clerk may designate one or more of his or her assistants as
responsible for all probate matters.
The county clerk, circuit clerk, joint clerk of the county
commission and circuit court, if any, sheriff, county assessor and
prosecuting attorney shall, prior to the second day of March of
each year, file with the county commission a detailed request for
appropriations for anticipated or expected expenditures for their
respective offices, including the compensation for their
assistants, deputies and employees, for the ensuing fiscal year.
The county commission shall, prior to the twenty-ninth day of
March of each year by order fix the total amount of money to be
expended by the county for the ensuing fiscal year, which amount
shall include the compensation of county assistants, deputies and
employees. Each county commission shall enter its order upon its
county commission record.
The county clerk, circuit clerk, joint clerk of the county
commission and circuit court, if any, sheriff, county assessor and
prosecuting attorney shall then fix the compensation of their
assistants, deputies and employees based on the total amount of
money designated for expenditure by their respective offices by the
county commission and the amount expended shall not exceed the
total expenditure designated by the county commission for each
office.
The county officials, in fixing the individual compensation of
their assistants, deputies and employees and the county commission
in fixing the total amount of money to be expended by the county,
shall give due consideration to the duties, responsibilities and
work required of the assistants, deputies and employees and their
compensation shall be reasonable and proper.
After the county commission has fixed the total amount of
money to be expended by the county for the ensuing fiscal year and
after each county official has fixed the compensation of each of
his or her assistants, deputies and employees, as provided in this
section, each county official shall file prior to the thirtieth day
of June, with the clerk of the county commission, a budget
statement for the ensuing fiscal year setting forth the name, or
the position designation if then vacant, of each of his or her
assistants, deputies and employees, the period of time for which
each is employed, or to be employed if the position is then vacant, and his or her monthly or semimonthly compensation.
Prior to the end of the fiscal year, or at any time a surplus
is created, the county clerk, circuit clerk, sheriff, county
assessor and prosecuting attorney are required to return to the
county commission any surplus created in their respective salary
line item that is a result of an assistant, deputy or employee
being out of work on workers' compensation leave during the current
fiscal year. The returned salary funds shall be allocated by the
county commission to the payment of workers' compensation premiums.
All budget statements required to be filed by this section shall be
verified by an affidavit by the county official making them. Among
other things contained in the affidavit shall be the statement that
the amounts shown in the budget statement are the amounts actually
paid or intended to be paid to the assistants, deputies and
employees without rebate, and without any agreement, understanding
or expectation that any part thereof shall be repaid to him or her,
and that, prior to the time the affidavit is made, nothing has been
paid or promised him or her on that account, and that if he or she
shall thereafter receive any money, or thing of value, on account
thereof, he or she will account for and pay the same to the county.
Until the statements required by this section have been filed, no
allowance or payments shall be made to any county official or their
assistants, deputies and employees.
Each county official named in this section shall have the authority to discharge any of his or her assistants, deputies or
employees by filing with the clerk of the county commission a
discharge statement specifying the discharge action:
Provided,
That no deputy sheriff appointed pursuant to the provisions of
article fourteen, chapter seven of this code, shall be discharged
contrary to the provisions of that article.
CHAPTER 23. WORKERS' COMPENSATION.
ARTICLE 2. EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYEES SUBJECT TO CHAPTER;
EXTRATERRITORIAL COVERAGE.
§23-2-1b. Special provisions as to premiums.
(a) Except as provided
for in subsection (b) of this section,
every executive officer of an association or of a corporation, any
member of a partnership or owner of a sole proprietorship which has
not elected to forgo coverage under this chapter for such officer,
member or owner shall pay premiums based upon the actual salary
paid to such employee up to an amount sufficient to qualify such
employee to receive the maximum level of benefits, but in no event
shall the basis for premium be less than the salary necessary to
provide such employee with the minimum level of benefits.
(b) Every executive officer of a not-for-profit association or
of a not-for-profit corporation which has not elected to forgo
coverage under this chapter for such officer, member or owner shall
pay premiums based upon the actual salary paid to such employee up
to an amount sufficient to qualify such employee to receive the maximum level of benefits, but in no event shall the basis for
premium be less than one hundred dollars.
(c) Every elected official or officer, whether full-time or
part-time and including members of the Legislature, whose
governmental entity elects coverage under this chapter for such
elected official or officer, shall pay or have paid for him or her
premiums based upon the actual salary paid to such elected official
or officer up to an amount sufficient to qualify such elected
official or officer to receive the maximum level of benefits, but
in no event shall the basis for premium be less than the salary
necessary to provide such elected official or officer with the
minimum level of benefits. For the purposes of this subsection, an
elected official or officer shall include a person appointed to an
elected position to complete a term for that elected position.
(d) The premium and actual expenses in connection with
governmental agencies and departments of the State of West Virginia
shall be paid out of the State Treasury from appropriations made
for such agencies and departments, in the same manner as other
disbursements are made by such agencies and departments.
(e) County commissions, municipalities, other political
subdivisions of the state, county boards of education, emergency
service organizations organized as aforesaid and volunteer fire
departments or companies shall provide for the funds to pay their
prescribed premiums into the fund and such premiums and premiums of state agencies and departments, including county boards of
education, shall be paid into the fund in the same manner as herein
provided for other employers subject to this chapter.
(f) County commissions and municipalities are hereby
authorized to pay all or any part of the premiums prescribed for
such emergency service organizations organized as aforesaid and
such duly incorporated volunteer fire departments or companies as
may provide services within the county or municipality.
(g) Prior to the end of the fiscal year, or at any time a
surplus is created the county clerk, circuit clerk, sheriff, county
assessor and prosecuting attorney are required to return to the
county commission any surplus created in their respective salary
line item that is a result of an assistant, deputy or employee
being out of work on workers' compensation leave during the current
fiscal year. The returned salary funds shall be allocated by the
county commission to the payment of workers' compensation premiums.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to allow counties to recoup
allocated, but unspent, salary funds from elected officials and
apply the recouped funds to the counties' workers' compensation
premiums. This bill will also end the common practice of elected
officials allocating surplus salary funds - created by workers who
are off on compensation - to their assistants, deputies and
employees in the form of fiscal year end pay increases.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
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