H. B. 2651


(By Delegates J. Martin, Michael, Mezzatesta

and Cann)
[Introduced February 22, 1995; referred to the
Committee on Finance.]



A BILL to amend and reenact section five, article two, chapter fifteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to the division of public safety; and increasing salaries for all members by four thousand dollars to be phased in over a two-year period.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section five, article two, chapter fifteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:

ARTICLE 2. DIVISION OF PUBLIC SAFETY.

§15-2-5. Career progression system; salaries; exclusion from wage and hour law, with supplemental payment; bond; leave time for members called to duty in guard or reserves.

The superintendent shall establish within the division of public safety a system to provide for: The promotion of members to the supervisory ranks of sergeant, first sergeant, second lieutenant and first lieutenant; the classification of nonsupervisory members within the field operations force to the ranks of trooper, senior trooper, trooper first class or corporal; the classification of members assigned to the forensic laboratory as criminalist I-VII; and the temporary reclassification of members assigned to administrative duties as administrative support specialist I-VIII.
The superintendent shall, only in the initial implementation of this section, reclassify nonsupervisory members without benefit or requirement of a promotional or reclassification system as long as those reclassified meet the longevity requirements for advancement as follows: Trooper--less than three years; senior trooper--three years to eight years; trooper first class--nine years to fourteen years; corporal--more than fourteen years.
The superintendent is authorized to promulgate legislative rules in accordance with chapter twenty-nine-a of this code for the purpose of ensuring consistency, predictability and independent review of any system developed under the provisions of this section.
The superintendent shall provide to each member a written manual governing any system established under the provisions of this section and specific procedures shall be identified for the evaluation and testing of members for promotion or reclassification and the subsequent placement of any members on a promotional eligibility or reclassification recommendation list.
Members shall receive annual salaries as follows:
ANNUAL SALARY SCHEDULE (BASE PAY)

SUPERVISORY AND NONSUPERVISORY RANKS

Cadet During Training$1,684 Mo.$20,208
Cadet Trooper After Training 1,799 Mo. 21,588
Trooper Second Year 21,984
Trooper Third Year 22,308
Trooper Fourth & Fifth Year 22,560
Senior Trooper 24,360
Trooper First Class 26,160
Corporal 27,960
Sergeant 31,560
First Sergeant 33,360
Second Lieutenant 35,160
First Lieutenant 36,960
Captain 38,760
Major 40,560
Lieutenant Colonel 42,360

ANNUAL SALARY SCHEDULE (BASE PAY)

ADMINISTRATION

SUPPORT SPECIALIST CLASSIFICATION

I22,560
II24,360
III26,160
IV27,960
V31,560
VI33,360
VII35,160
VIII36,960
ANNUAL SALARY SCHEDULE (BASE PAY)

CRIMINALIST CLASSIFICATION

I22,560
II24,360
III26,160
IV27,960
V31,560
VI33,360
VII35,160

Each member of the division whose salary is fixed and specified herein shall receive and be entitled to an increase in salary over that hereinbefore set forth, for grade in rank, based on length of service, including that heretofore and hereafter served with the division as follows: At the end of five years of service with the division, such member shall receive a salary increase of three hundred dollars to be effective during his or her next three years of service and a like increase at three-year intervals thereafter, with such increases to be cumulative.
In applying the foregoing salary schedule where salary increases are provided for length of service, members of the division in service at the time this article becomes effective shall be given credit for prior service and shall be paid such salaries as the same length of service will entitle them to receive under the provisions hereof.
The Legislature finds and declares that because of the unique duties of members of the division, it is not appropriate to apply the provisions of state wage and hour laws to them. Accordingly, members of the division of public safety are hereby excluded from the provisions of state wage and hour law. The express exclusion hereby enacted shall not be construed as any indication that such members were or were not heretofore covered by said wage and hour law.
In lieu of any overtime pay they might otherwise have received under the wage and hour law, and in addition to their salaries and increases for length of service, members who have completed basic training and who are exempt from federal Fair Labor Standards Act guidelines may receive supplemental pay as hereinafter provided.
The superintendent shall, within thirty days after the effective date hereof, promulgate a rule to establish the number of hours per month which shall constitute the standard work month for the members of the division. The rule shall further establish, on a graduated hourly basis, the criteria for receipt of a portion or all of such supplemental payment when hours are worked in excess of said standard work month. The rule shall be promulgated pursuant to the provisions of chapter twenty-nine-a of this code. The superintendent shall certify monthly to the division's payroll officer the names of those members who have worked in excess of the standard work month and the amount of their entitlement to supplemental payment.
The supplemental payment may not exceed two hundred thirty-six dollars monthly. The superintendent and civilian employees of the division are not eligible for any such supplemental payments.
Each member of the division, except the superintendent and civilian employees, shall execute, before entering upon the discharge of his or her duties, a bond with security in the sum of five thousand dollars payable to the state of West Virginia, conditioned upon the faithful performance of his or her duties, and such bond shall be approved as to form by the attorney general and as to sufficiency by the governor.
Any member of the division who is called to perform active duty for training or inactive duty training in the national guard or any reserve component of the armed forces of the United States annually shall be granted upon request leave time not to exceed thirty calendar days for the purpose of performing such active duty for training or inactive duty training and the time so granted may not be deducted from any leave accumulated as a member of the division.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary, effective the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-five, each member shall receive an annual increase in base salary of four thousand dollars to be paid and phased in over a two-year period.



NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to increase the salaries for all members of the Division of Public Safety by four thousand dollars to be phased in over a two year period.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.