COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 142
(By Senators Manchin, Love, White, Dugan, Dittmar,
Blatnik, Yoder, Anderson and Whitlow)
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[Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary;
reported February 6, 1995.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section four, article ten, chapter thirty-eight of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to increasing the allowable residency exemption in federal bankruptcy proceedings to one hundred thousand dollars; requiring that the debtor own the property claimed for a residency exemption or, in the case of a cooperative, that the debtor reside in the said property for a period of thirty-six months prior to the filing of the petition; limiting the exemption to one piece of property; and preserving other property exemptions.

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

ARTICLE 10. FEDERAL TAX LIENS; ORDERS AND DECREES IN BANKRUPTCY.

§38-10-4. Exemptions of property in bankruptcy proceedings.

Pursuant to the "Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978", 92 Stat. 2549, 11 U.S.C. Section 522(b)(1), this state specifically does not authorize debtors who are domiciled in this state to exempt the property specified in the "Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978", 92 Stat. 2549, 11 U.S.C. Section 522(d).
Any person who files a petition under the "Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978" (Public Law 95-598) may exempt from property of the estate in a bankruptcy proceeding the following property:
(a) The debtor's interest, not to exceed one hundred thousand dollars in value, in one piece of real property or personal property that the debtor or a dependent of the debtor has owned as a residence for at least thirty-six months prior to the date of the filing of the petition in a cooperative that owns property that the debtor or a dependent of the debtor has used as a residence for at least thirty-six months prior to the date of the filing of the petition or in a burial plat for the debtor or a dependent of the debtor.
(b) The debtor's interest, not to exceed one thousand two hundred dollars in value, in one motor vehicle.
(c) The debtor's interest, not to exceed two hundred dollars in value in any particular item, in household furnishings, household goods, wearing apparel, appliances, books, animals, crops or musical instruments, that are held primarily for the personal, family or household use of the debtor or a dependent of the debtor: Provided, That the total amount of personal property exempted under this subsection shall not exceed one thousand dollars.
(d) The debtor's interest, not to exceed five hundred dollars in value, in jewelry held primarily for the personal, family or household use of the debtor or a dependent of the debtor.
(e) The debtor's interest, not to exceed four hundred dollars in value, in any property and, in addition, if the debtor does not claim the residency exemption provided in subdivision (a) of this section, the debtor's interest, not to exceed seven thousand five hundred dollars in value, in any property.
(f) The debtor's interest, not to exceed seven hundred fifty dollars in value, in any implements, professional books or tools of the trade of the debtor or the trade of a dependent of the debtor.
(g) Any unmatured life insurance contract owned by the debtor, other than a credit life insurance contract.
(h) The debtor's interest, not to exceed in value four thousand dollars less any amount of property of the estate transferred in the manner specified in Section 542(d) of the "Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978" (Public Law 95-598), in any accrued dividend or interest under, or loan value of, any unmatured life insurance contract owned by the debtor under which the insured is the debtor or an individual of whom the debtor is a dependent.
(i) Professionally prescribed health aids for the debtor or a dependent of the debtor.
(j) The debtor's right to receive:
(1) A social security benefit, unemployment compensation or a local public assistance benefit;
(2) A veterans' benefit;
(3) A disability, illness or unemployment benefit;
(4) Alimony, support or separate maintenance, to the extent reasonably necessary for the support of the debtor and any dependent of the debtor; and
(5) A payment under a stock bonus, pension, profit-sharing, annuity or similar plan or contract on account of illness, disability, death, age or length of service, to the extent reasonably necessary for the support of the debtor and any dependent of the debtor, unless:
(A) Such plan or contract was established by or under the auspices of an insider that employed the debtor at the time the debtor's rights under such plan or contract arose;
(B) Such payment is on account of age or length of service; and
(C) Such plan or contract does not qualify under Section 401(a), 403(a), 403(b), 408 or 409 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
(k) The debtor's right to receive or property that is traceable to:
(1) An award under a crime victim's reparation law;
(2) A payment on account of the wrongful death of an individual of whom the debtor was a dependent, to the extent reasonably necessary for the support of the debtor and any dependent of the debtor;
(3) A payment under a life insurance contract that insured the life of an individual of whom the debtor was a dependent on the date of such individual's death, to the extent reasonably necessary for the support of the debtor and any dependent of the debtor;
(4) A payment, not to exceed seven thousand five hundred dollars on account of personal bodily injury, not including pain and suffering or compensation for actual pecuniary loss, of the debtor or an individual of whom the debtor is a dependent; or
(5) A payment in compensation of loss of future earnings of the debtor or an individual of whom the debtor is or was a dependent, to the extent reasonably necessary for the support of the debtor and any dependent of the debtor.
This section shall not be construed to affect the applicability of any provision of the "Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978" (Public Law 95-598) other than Section 552(d).