Senate Bill No. 454
(By Senators Wagner, Bailey and Buckalew)
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[Introduced February 20, 1995;
referred to the Committee on Natural Resources.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section eight, chapter one hundred
ninety-four, acts of the Legislature, regular session, one
thousand nine hundred eighty-three, relating to limiting the
jurisdiction of park rangers to make arrests on the property
of the park district.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section eight, chapter one hundred ninety-four , acts of
the Legislature, regular session, one thousand nine hundred eighty-
three, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
GREATER HUNTINGTON PARK AND RECREATION DISTRICT.
§8. Law enforcement.
(a) The park district is authorized and empowered to employ
as many park rangers as the park district shall deem proper and
necessary. Park rangers shall have the power to issue traffic citations for violations of ordinances promulgated by the park
district upon the property under the jurisdiction of the park
district. Park rangers may not carry a gun without obtaining a
license therefor as required by law.
(b) Police officers employed by the city of Huntington, town
of Milton, village of Barboursville, members of the West Virginia
department of public safety and sheriff's deputies in Cabell and
Wayne counties are hereby authorized and empowered to make arrests
for violations of ordinances promulgated by the park district upon
property within the park district which is under the jurisdiction
of the park district; and all of the foregoing officers of the law,
except members of the Huntington police department, are hereby
authorized and empowered to make arrests for violations of
ordinances promulgated by the park district upon property under the
jurisdiction of the park district which is outside of the park
district.
(c) For violations of park district ordinances, jurisdiction
of all citations and warrants issued under this section is hereby
granted to courts having criminal jurisdiction of misdemeanors
committed upon property which is owned or controlled by the park
district.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to limit the jurisdiction of park rangers to being authorized to issue traffic citations
only.