Senate Bill No. 461
(By Senator Sprouse)
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[Introduced March 24, 1997; referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend chapter five of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding
thereto a new article, designated article twenty-six-b,
relating to the creation of the task force on gangs;
legislative findings; membership; report to Legislature and
governor; and dissolution date.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That chapter five of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by adding thereto
a new article, designated article twenty-six-b, to read as
follows:
Article 26B. Task Force on Gangs.
§5-26B-1. Legislative findings.
The Legislature finds that a proliferation of gangs and gang
activities in the state's schools and communities may be raising crime rates and affecting the quality of life for law-abiding
citizens. In order to address the seriousness of this problem,
the Legislature finds that a task force should be created to
study gangs and gang activity in the state and to report
findings, statistics and possible solutions to the Legislature.
§5-26B-2. Task force on gangs created; primary function;
membership; content of report to Legislature.
(a) There is created the West Virginia task force on gangs.
The task force shall consist of fifteen members, as follows:
(1) The superintendent of the division of public safety, ex
officio, or his or her designee;
(2) The commissioner of the division of corrections, ex
officio, or his or her designee;
(3) The director of criminal justice and highway safety, ex
officio, or his or her designee;
(4) The superintendent of the department of education, ex
officio, or his or her designee;
(5) The commissioner of the bureau of employment programs,
ex officio, or his or her designee;
(6) The coordinator of the governor's cabinet on children
and families, ex officio, or his or her designee;
(7) The executive director of the regional jail facility and
authority, ex officio, or his or her designee;
(8) A representative of the governor's office, to be appointed by the governor;
(9) Two members of the West Virginia Senate, to be appointed
by the president of the Senate;
(10) Two members of the West Virginia House of Delegates, to
be appointed by the speaker of the House;
(11) A representative of municipal government, to be
appointed by the governor;
(12) A representative of county government, to be appointed
by the governor; and
(13) A representative of local law enforcement, to be
appointed by the governor.
There shall also be present at all meetings a staff attorney
from the legislative manager's office whose duty it shall be to
undertake any research needed by the task force, and to draft a
report and legislation as directed by the task force. The staff
attorney is not a member of the task force.
(b) The task force has as its primary function to produce a
report on gangs and gang activity in the state, including in the
report proposed legislation to address problems and issues
uncovered by the task force. The report will be presented, in
written form, to the governor and to both houses of the
Legislature on or before the first day of January, one thousand
nine hundred ninety-nine.
(c) It shall be the duty of the task force to meet at least four times at places and times to be agreed upon at the first
meeting. Eight members constitutes a quorum for the purpose of
meeting and conducting business. At the first meeting, the task
force shall elect a chair person, set goals for the task force,
decide upon research needed, if any, to assist the task force in
reaching its goals, and set deadlines for drafting the report and
accompanying legislation.
(d) The final report shall address at least the following:
(1) Problems encountered with gangs and gang activities in
various regions of the state;
(2) Problems encountered with gangs and gang activities in
the state's schools;
(3) Representative experiences of municipal, county and
state law-enforcement agencies and of local school systems in
dealing with gangs and gang activities;
(4) Local and state initiatives or legislation which have
dealt effectively with gangs or gang activities in other states;
(5) Proposed legislation, including drafts of the
legislation, to address problems concerning gangs or gang
activities in the state;
(6) Proposals for other initiatives or action which may be
taken by municipal, county or state government; local or state
law-enforcement agencies; county boards of education; the state
board of education; or the governor which would be effective in dealing with the problem of gangs or gang activities; and
(7) Any and all dissenting views from any of the task force
members as to any of the proposals made or legislation drafted by
the task force.
§5-26B-3. Compensation of the membership; dissolving the task
force.
The members of the task force shall be paid a perdiem sum
commensurate with that paid to legislative members for attending
interim meetings. In addition, each member will be reimbursed
for actual and necessary expenses incident to the performance of
his or her duties pursuant to this article.
The task force shall be dissolved upon completion of the
mandates imposed upon it by this article, or after the first day
of January, one thousand nine hundred ninety-nine, whichever
comes first.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create the West
Virginia Task Force on Gangs. The task force is made up of
fifteen members, including state agency representatives,
legislative members and representatives from local schools and
law enforcement. The task force shall exist until January 1,
1999. Its primary function is to present a report, including
proposed legislation, to the governor and the Legislature
concerning gangs and gang activities in the state.
This article is new, therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.