Introduced Version
House Bill 2294 History
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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
H. B. 2294
(By Delegates Ferns, Williams, Perdue, Perry,
R. Phillips and Ferro)
[Introduced February 13, 2013; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §61-7-16, relating to
the transport and storage of firearms in private vehicles;
definition; providing that rules or policies shall not be
established that prohibit a person's lawful transport or
storage of a firearm or ammunition; civil actions for
violations; recovery for employees discharged for violation of
rule or policy prohibited by section; limitation on liability;
and exemptions.
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 §61-7-16, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 7. DANGEROUS WEAPONS.
§61-7-16. Transport and storage of firearms in private vehicles.
_____(a) As used in this section, "motor vehicle" means any automobile, truck, minivan, sports utility vehicle, motorcycle,
motor scooter, or any other vehicle required to be registered under
state law when operated on the highways of this state.
_____(b) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a business
entity, owner, manager, or legal possessor of real property, or
public or private employer may not establish, maintain, or enforce
a policy or rule that prohibits or has the effect of prohibiting a
person's otherwise lawful transportation or storage of a firearm or
ammunition when:
_____(1) The firearm or ammunition:
_____(A) Is kept from ordinary observation within the person's
attended, privately-owned motor vehicle; or
_____(B) Is kept from ordinary observation and locked within the
trunk, glove box, or interior of the person's privately-owned motor
vehicle or a container securely affixed to the vehicle; and
_____(2) The vehicle is operated or parked in a location where it
is otherwise permitted to be.
_____(c) A person who is injured or incurs damages, or the
survivors of a person killed, as a result of a violation of
subsection (b) may bring a civil action in the appropriate court
against any business entity, owner, manager, or legal possessor of
real property, or public or private employer who committed or
caused the violation. A person who is denied the opportunity to
transport or store a firearm or ammunition by a policy or rule prohibited by subsection (b), may bring a civil action in the
appropriate court to enjoin any business entity, owner, manager, or
legal possessor of real property, or public or private employer
from violating subsection (b). In any actions brought pursuant to
this section, court costs and attorney fees shall be awarded to the
prevailing plaintiff.
_____(d) An employee discharged by a public or private employer for
a violation of a policy or rule prohibited by subsection (b) is
entitled to full recovery as specified in subdivisions (1) to (4),
inclusive, of this subsection. If demand for the recovery has not
been satisfied within forty-five calendar days, the employee may
bring a civil action in the appropriate court of this state against
the public or private employer and is entitled to the following:
_____(1) Reinstatement to the same position held at the time of his
or her termination from employment, or to an equivalent position;
_____(2) Reinstatement of the employee's full fringe benefits and
seniority rights, as appropriate;
_____(3) Compensation, if appropriate, for lost wages, benefits, or
other lost remuneration caused by the termination; and
_____(4) Payment of reasonable attorney fees and legal costs
incurred.
_____(e) No business entity, owner, manager, or legal possessor of
real property, or public or private employer is liable in any civil
action for damages, injuries, or death resulting from or arising out of another person's actions involving a firearm or ammunition
transported or stored pursuant to subsection (b), including, but
not limited to, the theft of a firearm from an employee's or
invitee's automobile, unless the business entity, owner, manager,
or legal possessor of real property, or public or private employer
intentionally solicited or procured the other person's injurious
actions.
_____(f) The prohibitions in subsection (b) do not apply if:
_____(1) The motor vehicle is on the grounds of an owner-occupied
single-family detached residence or a tenant-occupied single-family
detached residence;
_____(2) The motor vehicle is an employer-owned motor vehicle being
used during and in the course of an employee's duties on behalf of
the employer;
_____(3) The motor vehicle is on the grounds of any public or
private primary or secondary school, including any vocational
education facility where secondary vocational education programs
are conducted, unless it is operated and attended by a person
twenty-one years of age or older who is temporarily on the grounds
for the purpose of picking up or dropping off a student who is
attending classes or participating in an activity at the school or
vocational education facility;
_____(4) The motor vehicle is located in any place where firearms
are prohibited by federal law; or
_____(5) The motor vehicle is located on the grounds of any
facility owned or operated by the Division of Corrections, the
Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority or the Division
of Juvenile Services.
_____(g) This section applies notwithstanding, and is specifically
intended to control any contrary provisions or applications of:
_____(1) Subsection (g) of section eleven-a of this article
(premises which house courts of law or offices of family master);
_____(2) Section fourteen of this article (right of any owner,
lessee or other person charged with the care, custody and control
of real property to prohibit the carrying of any firearm on
property under his or her domain);
_____(3) Section three, article three-b of this chapter (trespass
on property other than structure or conveyance);
_____(4) Section five, article three-b of this chapter (trespass on
state government property);
_____(5) Subsection (b) of section nineteen, article six of this
chapter (State Capitol Complex);
_____(6) Any rule or policy established by the Division of Veterans
Affairs under section 3, article two of chapter nine-a (see W. Va.
Code St. R. §86-1-5.3.7., authorizing transporting or possessing
weaponry on the ground of State Home for Veterans);
_____(7) Any rule or policy established by the Higher Education
Policy Commission, Council for Community and Technical College Education, or the governing board of any institution of higher
learning under articles one, one-b, one-d, two-a, two-b, two-c and
four of chapter eighteen-b (governance of institutions of higher
learning); and
_____(8) Any rule or policy established by the Division of National
Resources under section seven, article one of chapter twenty (see
W. Va. Code R. §58-31-2.14, generally prohibiting uncased firearms
in state parks, state forests, and state wildlife management areas,
and on state trails).
_____(h) It is the intent of this section to reinforce and protect
the right of each citizen lawfully to transport and store firearms
within his or her private motor vehicle for lawful purposes in any
place where the vehicle is otherwise permitted to be. This section
is to be liberally construed to effectuate this purpose.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to protect the lawful
transport and storage of firearms in private vehicles.
This section is new; therefore, it has been completely
underscored.