COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 4166
(By Delegates Hamilton, Klempa, Miley, Duke,
Ellem, Wells and Manchin)
(Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary)
[February 3, 2010]
A BILL to amend and reenact §8-15-17 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to firefighter transfers of
employment to other fire departments.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §8-15-17 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 15. FIRE FIGHTING; FIRE COMPANIES AND DEPARTMENTS; CIVIL
SERVICE FOR PAID FIRE DEPARTMENTS.
§8-15-17. Form of application; age and residency requirements;
exceptions.
The Firemen's Civil Service Commission in each municipality
shall require individuals applying for admission to any competitive
examination provided for under the civil service provisions of this
article or under the rules of the commission to file in its office,
within a reasonable time prior to the proposed examination, a
formal application in which the applicant shall state under oath or affirmation:
(1) His or her full name, residence and post-office address;
(2) His or her United States citizenship, age and the place
and date of his or her birth;
(3) His or her state of health, and his or her physical
capacity for the public service;
(4) His or her business and employments and residences for at
least three previous years; and
(5) Any other information as may reasonably be required,
touching upon the applicant's qualifications and fitness for the
public service.
Blank forms for the applications shall be furnished by the
commission, without charge, to all individuals requesting the same.
The commission may require, in connection with the application,
certificates of citizens, physicians and others, having pertinent
knowledge concerning the applicant, as the good of the service may
require.
No application for
original appointment shall be received if
the individual applying is less than eighteen years of age or more
than thirty-five years of age at the date of his or her
application,
unless the applicant is presently seeking employment
as a transfer from another paid fire department:
Provided, That in
the event any applicant formerly served upon the paid fire
department of the municipality to which he or she makes
application, for a period of more than one year, and resigned from the department at a time when there were no charges of misconduct
or other misfeasance pending against the applicant, within a period
of two years next preceding the date of his or her application, and
at the time of his or her application resides within the corporate
limits of the municipality in which the paid fire department to
which he or she seeks appointment by reinstatement is located, then
the individual shall be eligible for appointment by reinstatement
in the discretion of the Firemen's Civil Service Commission, even
though the applicant shall be over the age of thirty-five years,
and the applicant, providing his or her former term of service so
justifies, may be appointed by reinstatement to the paid fire
department without a competitive examination, but the applicant
shall undergo a medical examination; and if the individual shall be
so appointed by reinstatement to the paid fire department, he or
she shall be the lowest in rank in the department next above the
probationers of the department.
Any applicant for original appointment must have been a
resident for one year, during some period of time prior to the date
of his or her application, of the municipality in which he or she
seeks to become a member of the paid fire department:
Provided,
That if the commission determines it necessary it may consider for
original appointment applicants who are not residents of the
municipality but who have been residents of the county in which the
municipality or any portion of the territory thereof is located for
a period of at least one year.