COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 355
(By Senator Unger, Foster and Kessler)
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[Originating in the Committee on Pensions;
reported February 19, 2007.]
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A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §15-2-24b; to amend
and reenact
§15-2A-6,
§15-2A-9, §15-2A-10
and §15-2A-12 of
said code; and to amend and reenact §61-7-4 of said code, all
relating to the West Virginia State Police Retirement System;
lowering the normal retirement age; eliminating any reduction
in the disability benefit of a State Police officer who is
disabled on the job; increasing limit on scholarship money
available to certain surviving dependent children; raising
fees for certain finger-printing services and permits to carry
deadly weapon; and dedicating additional fees to the State
Police Retirement Fund.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §15-2-24b; that
§15-2A-6, §15-2A-9, §15-2A-10 and §15-2A-12 of said code be amended
and reenacted; and that §61-7-4 of said code be amended and
reenacted, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 15. PUBLIC SAFETY.
ARTICLE 2. WEST VIRGINIA STATE POLICE.
§15-2-24b. Fees for certain fingerprinting services; dedication
of fees.
In addition to any fees that may be established or
collected by the State Police under any other provision of this
article or rule promulgated pursuant thereto, the State Police
shall collect a fee of ten dollars for performing adult private
employment fingerprinting or fingerprinting for federal firearm
permits. Fees collected pursuant to this section shall be
deposited into the West Virginia State Police Retirement System and
shall be in addition to employer percent-of-payroll contribution.
ARTICLE 2A. WEST VIRGINIA STATE POLICE RETIREMENT SYSTEM.
§15-2A-6. Retirement; commencement of benefits.
(a) A member may retire with full benefits upon attaining the
age of fifty-five fifty and completing twenty twenty-five or more
years of service or attaining the age of fifty-two and completing
twenty years or more of service, by lodging with the Consolidated
Public Retirement Board his or her voluntary petition in writing
for retirement. A member who is less than age fifty-five fifty may
retire upon completing twenty twenty-five years or more of service:
Provided, That he or she will receive a reduced benefit that is of
equal actuarial value to the benefit the member would have received
if the member deferred commencement of his or her accrued
retirement benefit to the age of fifty-five.
(b) When the Retirement Board retires a member with full
benefits under the provisions of this section, the board, by order
in writing, shall make a determination that the member is entitled to receive an annuity equal to two and three-fourths percent of his
or her final average salary multiplied by the number of years, and
fraction of a year, of his or her service in the department at the
time of retirement. The member's annuity shall begin the first day
of the calendar month following the month in which the member's
application for the annuity is filed with the board on or after his
or her attaining age and service requirements, and termination of
employment.
(c) In no event may the provisions of section thirteen,
article sixteen, chapter five be applied in determining eligibility
to retire with either a deferred or immediate commencement of
benefit.
§15-2A-9. Awards and benefits for disability. -- Incurred in
performance of duty.
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a member of
the department who has not yet entered retirement status on the
basis of age and service and who becomes partially disabled by
injury, illness or disease resulting from any occupational risk or
hazard inherent in or peculiar to the services required of members
of the department and incurred pursuant to or while the member was
engaged in the performance of his or her duties as a member of the
department shall, if, in the opinion of the retirement board, he or
she is, by reason of such cause, unable to perform adequately the
duties required of him or her as a member of the department, but is
able to engage in other gainful employment in a field other than
law enforcement, be retired from active service by the board. The
member thereafter is entitled to receive annually and there shall
be paid to the member from the fund in equal monthly installments during the lifetime of the member, or until the member attains the
age of fifty-five or until the disability sooner terminates, one or
the other of two amounts, whichever is greater:
(1) An amount equal to six tenths of the base salary received
in the preceding twelve-month employment period: Provided, That if
the member had not been employed with the department for twelve
months prior to the disability, the amount of monthly salary shall
be annualized for the purpose of determining the benefit; or
(2) The sum of six thousand dollars.
Upon attaining age fifty-five fifty, the member shall receive
the benefit provided in section six of this article
if it is a
higher benefit than the benefit the member is receiving under the
disability provisions set out above,
as it would apply to his or
her final average salary based on earnings from the department
through the day immediately preceding his or her disability. The
recalculation of benefit upon a member attaining age fifty-five
fifty shall be considered to be a retirement under the provisions
of section six of this article, for purposes of determining the
amount of annual annuity adjustment and for all other purposes of
this article. A benefit received by a member based on a disability
as set out above may not be reduced during the lifetime of the
member: Provided, That a member who is partially disabled under
this article may not, while in receipt of benefits for partial
disability, be employed as a law-enforcement officer: Provided
however, That a member retired on a partial disability under this
article may serve as an elected sheriff or appointed chief of
police in the state without a loss of disability retirement
benefits so long as such elected or appointed position is shown to the satisfaction of the board, to require the performance of
administrative duties and functions only, as opposed to the full
range of duties of a law-enforcement officer.
(b) Any member who has not yet entered retirement status on
the basis of age and service and who becomes physically or mentally
disabled by injury, illness or disease on a probable permanent
basis resulting from any occupational risk or hazard inherent in or
peculiar to the services required of members of the department and
incurred pursuant to or while the member was or is engaged in the
performance of his or her duties as a member of the department to
the extent that the member is incapacitated ever to engage in any
gainful employment, the member is entitled to receive annually, and
there shall be paid to the member from the fund in equal monthly
installments during the lifetime of the member or until the
disability sooner terminates, an amount equal to the amount of the
base salary received by the member in the preceding twelve-month
employment period.
(c) The superintendent of the department may expend moneys
from funds appropriated for the department in payment of medical,
surgical, laboratory, X ray, hospital, ambulance and dental
expenses and fees, and reasonable costs and expenses incurred in
the purchase of artificial limbs and other approved appliances
which may be reasonably necessary for any member of the department
who is temporarily, permanently or totally disabled by injury,
illness or disease resulting from any occupational risk or hazard
inherent in or peculiar to the service required of members of the
department and incurred pursuant to or while the member was or
shall be engaged in the performance of duties as a member of the department. Whenever the superintendent determines that any
disabled member is ineligible to receive any of the aforesaid
benefits at public expense, the superintendent shall, at the
request of the disabled member, refer the matter to the board for
hearing and final decision. In no case will the compensation
rendered to health care providers for medical and hospital services
exceed the then current rate schedule in use by the Bureau of
Employment Programs, Workers' Compensation Division
approved by the
West Virginia Insurance Commissioner
.
§15-2A-10. Same -- Due to other causes.
(a) If any member while in active service of the state Police
department becomes partially or totally disabled on a probable
permanent basis to the extent that the member cannot adequately
perform the duties required of a member of the department from any
cause other than those set forth in the preceding section and not
due to vicious habits, intemperance or willful misconduct on his or
her part, the member shall be retired by the board. There shall be
paid annually to the member from the fund in equal monthly
installments, commencing on the date the member is retired and
continuing during the lifetime of the member; or until the member
attains the age of fifty-five fifty; while in status of retirement
an amount equal to one-half the base salary received by the member
in the preceding twelve-month period: Provided, That if the member
had not been employed with the department for twelve months prior
to the disability, the amount of monthly salary shall be annualized
for the purpose of determining the benefit.
(b) Upon attaining age fifty-five fifty, the member shall
receive the benefit provided in section six of this article as it would apply to his or her final average salary based on earnings
from the department through the day immediately preceding his or
her disability. The recalculation of benefit upon a member
attaining age fifty-five fifty shall be considered to be a
retirement under the provisions of section six of this article, for
purposes of determining the amount of annual annuity adjustment and
for all other purposes of this article.
§15-2A-12. Awards and benefits to dependents of member - when
member dies in performance of duty, etc.; dependent
child scholarship and amount.
The surviving spouse, the dependent child or children or
dependent parent or parents of any member who has lost or shall
lose his or her life by reason of injury, illness or disease
resulting from an occupational risk or hazard inherent in or
peculiar to the service required of members while the member was
engaged in the performance of his or her duties as a member of the
department, or the survivor of a member who dies from any cause
after having been retired pursuant to the provisions of section
nine of this article, is entitled to receive and shall be paid from
the fund benefits as follows: To the surviving spouse annually, in
equal monthly installments during his or her lifetime, one or the
other of two amounts, which shall become immediately available and
which shall be the greater of:
(1) An amount equal to nine tenths of the base salary received
in the preceding twelve-month employment period by the deceased
member: Provided, That if the member had not been employed with
the department for twelve months prior to his or her death, the
amount of monthly salary shall be annualized for the purpose of determining the benefit; or
(2) The sum of ten thousand dollars.
In addition thereto, the surviving spouse is entitled to
receive and there shall be paid to the person one hundred fifty
dollars monthly for each dependent child or children. If the
surviving spouse dies or if there is no surviving spouse, there
shall be paid monthly to each dependent child or children from the
fund a sum equal to one third of the surviving spouse's
entitlement. If there is no surviving spouse and no dependent
child or children, there shall be paid annually in equal monthly
installments from the fund to the dependent parents of the deceased
member during their joint lifetimes a sum equal to the amount which
a surviving spouse, without children, would have received:
Provided, That when there is but one dependent parent surviving,
that parent is entitled to receive during his or her lifetime
one-half the amount which both parents, if living, would have been
entitled to receive.
Any person qualifying as a surviving dependent child under
this section, in addition to any other benefits due under this or
other sections of this article, is entitled to receive a
scholarship to be applied to the career development education of
that person. This sum, up to but not exceeding seven thousand five
hundred forty-five thousand dollars, shall be paid from the fund
to any university or college in this state or to any trade or
vocational school or other entity in this state approved by the
board, to offset the expenses of tuition, room and board, books,
fees or other costs incurred in a course of study at any of these
institutions so long as the recipient makes application to the board on an approved form and under rules provided by the board,
and maintains scholastic eligibility as defined by the institution
or the board. The board may by appropriate rules define age
requirements, physical and mental requirements, scholastic
eligibility, disbursement methods, institutional qualifications and
other requirements as necessary and not inconsistent with this
section.
Awards and benefits for a surviving spouse or dependents of a
member received under any section or any of the provisions of this
retirement system are in lieu of receipt of any benefits for these
persons under the provisions of any other state retirement system.
Receipt of benefits under any other state retirement system is in
lieu of any right to receive any benefits under this retirement
system, so that only a single receipt of state retirement benefits
occurs.
It is the intent of the Legislature that the levels of
benefits provided by operation of this section from the effective
date of the enactment of this section during the regular session of
the Legislature, two thousand five, be the same levels of benefits
as provided by this section as amended and reenacted during the
fourth extraordinary session of the Legislature, two thousand five.
Accordingly, the effective date of the operation of this section as
amended and reenacted during the fourth extraordinary session of
the Legislature, two thousand five, is expressly made retrospective
to the ninth day of April, two thousand five.
CHAPTER 61. CRIMES AND THEIR PUNISHMENT.
ARTICLE 7. DANGEROUS WEAPONS.
§61-7-4. License to carry deadly weapons; how obtained.
(a) Except as provided in subsection (h) of this section, any
person desiring to obtain a state license to carry a concealed
deadly weapon shall apply to the sheriff of his or her county for
such license, and shall pay to the sheriff, at the time of
application, a fee of seventy-five dollars, of which fifteen
dollars of that amount shall be deposited in the courthouse
facilities improvement fund created by section six, article
twenty-six, chapter twenty-nine of this code. Concealed weapons
permits may only be issued for pistols or revolvers. Each
applicant shall file with the sheriff, a complete application, as
prepared by the superintendent of the West Virginia state police,
in writing, duly verified, which sets forth only the following
licensing requirements:
(1) The applicant's full name, date of birth, social security
number and a description of the applicant's physical features;
(2) That, on the date the application is made, the applicant
is a bona fide resident of this state and of the county in which
the application is made and has a valid driver's license or other
state-issued photo identification showing such residence;
(3) That the applicant is twenty-one years of age or older:
Provided, That any individual who is less than twenty-one years of
age and possesses a properly issued concealed weapons license as of
the effective date of this article shall be licensed to maintain
his or her concealed weapons license notwithstanding the provisions
of this section requiring new applicants to be at least twenty-one
years of age:
Provided, however, That upon a showing of any
applicant who is eighteen years of age or older that he or she is
required to carry a concealed weapon as a condition for employment, and presents satisfactory proof to the sheriff thereof, then he or
she shall be issued a license upon meeting all other conditions of
this section. Upon discontinuance of employment that requires the
concealed weapons license, if the individual issued the license is
not yet twenty-one years of age, then the individual issued the
license is no longer eligible and must return his or her license to
the issuing sheriff;
(4) That the applicant is not addicted to alcohol, a
controlled substance or a drug and is not an unlawful user thereof;
(5) That the applicant has not been convicted of a felony or
of an act of violence involving the misuse of a deadly weapon;
(6) That the applicant has not been convicted of a
misdemeanor offense of assault or battery either under the
provisions of section twenty-eight, article two of this chapter or
the provisions of subsection (b) or (c), section nine, article two
of this chapter in which the victim was a current or former spouse,
current or former sexual or intimate partner, person with whom the
defendant has a child in common, person with whom the defendant
cohabits or has cohabited, a parent or guardian, the defendant's
child or ward or a member of the defendant's household at the time
of the offense; or a misdemeanor offense with similar essential
elements in a jurisdiction other than this state;
(7) That the applicant is not under indictment for a felony
offense or is not currently serving a sentence of confinement,
parole, probation or other court-ordered supervision imposed by a
court of any jurisdiction or is the subject of an emergency or
temporary domestic violence protective order or is the subject of
a final domestic violence protective order entered by a court of any jurisdiction;
(8) That the applicant is physically and mentally competent to
carry such weapon;
(9) That the applicant has not been adjudicated to be mentally
incompetent;
(10) That the applicant has qualified under the minimum
requirements set forth in subsection (d) of this section for
handling and firing such weapon:
Provided, That this requirement
shall be waived in the case of a renewal applicant who has
previously qualified;
(11) That the applicant authorizes the sheriff of the county,
or his or her designee, to conduct an investigation relative to the
information contained in the application.
(b) The sheriff shall conduct an investigation which shall
verify that the information required in subdivisions (1), (2), (3),
(5), (6), (8) and (9), subsection (a) of this section are true and
correct.
(c) Sixty dollars of the application fee and any fees for
replacement of lost or stolen licenses received by the sheriff
shall be deposited by the sheriff into a concealed weapons license
administration fund. Such fund shall be administered by the
sheriff and shall take the form of an interest bearing account with
any interest earned to be compounded to the fund. Any funds
deposited in this concealed weapon license administration fund are
to be expended by the sheriff to pay for the costs associated with
issuing concealed weapons licenses. Any surplus in the fund on
hand at the end of each fiscal year may be expended for other
law-enforcement purposes or operating needs of the sheriff's office, as the sheriff may consider appropriate.
(d) All persons applying for a license must complete a
training course in handling and firing a handgun. The successful
completion of any of the following courses fulfills this training
requirement:
(1) Any official national rifle association handgun safety or
training course;
(2) Any handgun safety or training course or class available
to the general public offered by an official law-enforcement
organization, community college, junior college, college or private
or public institution or organization or handgun training school
utilizing instructors duly certified by such institution;
(3) Any handgun training or safety course or class conducted
by a handgun instructor certified as such by the state or by the
national rifle association;
(4) Any handgun training or safety course or class conducted
by any branch of the United States military, reserve or national
guard.
A photocopy of a certificate of completion of any of the
courses or classes or an affidavit from the instructor, school,
club, organization or group that conducted or taught said course or
class attesting to the successful completion of the course or class
by the applicant or a copy of any document which shows successful
completion of the course or class shall constitute evidence of
qualification under this section.
(e) All concealed weapons license applications must be
notarized by a notary public duly licensed under article four,
chapter twenty-nine of this code. Falsification of any portion of the application constitutes false swearing and is punishable under
the provisions of section two, article five, chapter sixty-one of
this code.
(f) If the information in the application is found to be true
and correct, the sheriff shall issue a license. The sheriff shall
issue or deny the license within forty-five days after the
application is filed if all required background checks authorized
by this section are completed.
(g) Before any approved license shall be issued or become
effective, the applicant shall pay to the sheriff a fee in the
amount of
fifteen forty-five dollars which the sheriff shall
forward to the superintendent of the West Virginia state police
within thirty days of receipt.
Thirty dollars of each forty-five
dollar fee received by the superintendent shall be deposited in the
West Virginia State Police Retirement Fund, and shall be in
addition to employer percent-of-payroll contribution.
The Any such
license shall be valid for five years throughout the state, unless
sooner revoked.
(h) All persons holding a current and valid concealed weapons
license as of the sixteenth day of December, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-five, shall continue to hold a valid concealed
weapons license until his or her license expires or is revoked as
provided in this article:
Provided, That all reapplication fees
shall be waived for applications received by the first day of
January, one thousand nine hundred ninety-seven, for any person
holding a current and valid concealed weapons license as of the
sixteenth day of December, one thousand nine hundred ninety-five,
which contains use restrictions placed upon the license as a condition of issuance by the issuing circuit court. Any licenses
reissued pursuant to this subsection will be issued for the time
period of the original license.
(i) Each license shall contain the full name, social security
number and address of the licensee and a space upon which the
signature of the licensee shall be signed with pen and ink. The
issuing sheriff shall sign and attach his or her seal to all
license cards. The sheriff shall provide to each new licensee a
duplicate license card, in size similar to other state
identification cards and licenses, suitable for carrying in a
wallet, and such license card is deemed a license for the purposes
of this section.
(j) The superintendent of the West Virginia state police shall
prepare uniform applications for licenses and license cards showing
that such license has been granted and shall do any other act
required to be done to protect the state and see to the enforcement
of this section.
(k) In the event an application is denied, the specific
reasons for the denial shall be stated by the sheriff denying the
application. Any person denied a license may file, in the circuit
court of the county in which the application was made, a petition
seeking review of the denial. Such petition shall be filed within
thirty days of the denial. The court shall then determine whether
the applicant is entitled to the issuance of a license under the
criteria set forth in this section. The applicant may be
represented by counsel, but in no case shall the court be required
to appoint counsel for an applicant. The final order of the court
shall include the court's findings of fact and conclusions of law. If the final order upholds the denial, the applicant may file an
appeal in accordance with the rules of appellate procedure of the
supreme court of appeals.
(l) In the event a license is lost or destroyed, the person to
whom the license was issued may obtain a duplicate or substitute
license for a fee of five dollars by filing a notarized statement
with the sheriff indicating that the license has been lost or
destroyed.
(m) The sheriff shall, immediately after the license is
granted as aforesaid, furnish the superintendent of the West
Virginia state police a certified copy of the approved application.
It shall be the duty of the sheriff to furnish to the
superintendent of the West Virginia state police at any time so
requested a certified list of all such licenses issued in the
county. The superintendent of the West Virginia state police shall
maintain a registry of all persons who have been issued concealed
weapons licenses.
(n) All licensees must carry with them a state-issued photo
identification card with the concealed weapons license whenever the
licensee is carrying a concealed weapon. Any licensee who fails to
have in his or her possession a state-issued photo identification
card and a current concealed weapons license while carrying a
concealed weapon shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than fifty or more than
two hundred dollars for each offense.
(o) The sheriff shall deny any application or revoke any
existing license upon determination that any of the licensing
application requirements established in this section have been violated by the licensee.
(p) No person who is engaged in the receipt, review or in the
issuance or revocation of a concealed weapon license shall incur
any civil liability as the result of the lawful performance of his
or her duties under this article.
(q) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this
section, with respect to application by a former law-enforcement
officer honorably retired from agencies governed by article
fourteen, chapter seven of this code; article fourteen, chapter
eight of this code; article two, chapter fifteen of this code; and
article seven, chapter twenty of this code, an honorably retired
officer is exempt from payment of fees and costs as otherwise
required by this section, and the application of the honorably
retired officer shall be granted without proof or inquiry by the
sheriff as to those requirements set forth in subdivision (9),
subsection (a) of this section, if the officer meets the remainder
of the requirements of this section and has the approval of the
appropriate chief law-enforcement officer.
NOTE: This committee substitute would lower the normal
retirement age for State Police officers under this retirement
plan, eliminate any reduction in the benefit of a State Police
officer who is disabled on the job, raise the cap on scholarship
money available certain surviving dependent children, and increase
and dedicate certain fees to the State Police Retirement Fund.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
§15-2-24b is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring
have been omitted.