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Introduced Version House Bill 4305 History

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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
H. B. 4305


(By Delegate Reynolds)

[Introduced February 2, 2010; referred to the

Committee on the Judiciary.]





A BILL to repeal §8-12-5a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; to amend and reenact §7-1-3 of said code; to amend and reenact §8-12-5 of said code; to amend and reenact §61-7-1, §61-7-2, §61-7-6, §61-7-9, §61-7-11a and §61-7-14 of said code; to amend said code by adding thereto six new sections, designated §61-7-11b, §61-7-16, §61-7-17, §61-7-18, §61-7-19 and §61-7-20; to amend said code by adding thereto two new sections, designated §64-5-1a and §64-5-1b; to amend said code by adding thereto a new section, designated §64-7-3a; to amend said code by adding thereto two new sections, designated §64-10-3a and §64-10-3b; and to amend said code by adding thereto a new article, designated §64-12-1 and §64-12-2, all relating to limitations upon the keeping and bearing of arms; defining terms; repealing language concerning county and municipal ordinances restricting firearms or ammunition; creating additional exceptions to certain restrictions on where deadly weapons may be possessed; declaring the provisions of the code to be the sole means by which the keeping and bearing of arms may be regulated; preempting any ordinance, rule, policy or administrative action inconsistent therewith; exceptions; exempting certain officers, employees and agents of the United States, this state or a political subdivision of this state from restrictions or prohibitions on possessing weapons imposed by private property owners; requiring all property owners that have legally restricted or prohibited the possession or carrying of weapons on their premises to give notice of such prohibitions or restrictions by posting specified signs; format of signs; effect of failure to properly post signs indicating such prohibition or restriction; prohibiting the registration of firearms or firearm owners; exceptions; penalty for unlawfully registering firearms or firearm owners; compliance period for purging prohibited registries; limiting seizures of concealable weapons; providing remedies for unlawful seizure of concealable weapon; establishing regulations for gun buy-back programs to protect interests of owners of stolen firearms and evidence of certain crimes; and repealing certain provisions of the Code of State Rules restricting the possession or carrying of firearms.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §8-12-5a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be repealed; that §7-1-3 of said code be amended and reenacted; that §8-12-5 of said code be amended and reenacted; that §61-7-1, §61-7-2, §61-7-6, §61-7-9, §61-7-11a and §61-7-14 of said code be amended and reenacted; that said code be amended by adding thereto six new sections, designated §61-7-11b, §61-7-16, §61-7-17, §61-7-18, §61-7-19 and §61-7-20; that said code be amended by adding thereto two new sections, designated §64-5-1a and §64-5-1b; that said code be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated §64-7-3a; that said code be amended by adding thereto two new sections, designated §64-10-3a and §64-10-3b; and that said code be amended by adding thereto a new article, designated §64-12-1 and §64-12-2, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 7. COUNTY COMMISSIONS AND OFFICERS.

ARTICLE 1. COUNTY COMMISSIONS GENERALLY.
§7-1-3. Jurisdiction, powers and duties.

The county commissions, through their clerks, shall have the custody of all deeds and other papers presented for record in their counties and the same shall be preserved therein, or otherwise disposed of as now is, or may be prescribed by law. They The county commissions shall have jurisdiction in all matters of probate, the appointment and qualification of personal representatives, guardians, committees, curators and the settlement of their accounts and in all matters relating to apprentices. They The county commissions shall also, under the rules as now are or may be prescribed by law, have the superintendence and administration of the internal police and fiscal affairs of their counties, including the establishment and regulation of roads, ways, streets, avenues, drives and the like, and the naming or renaming thereof, in cooperation with local postal authorities, the Division of Highways and the directors of county emergency communications centers, to assure uniform, nonduplicative conversion of all rural routes to city-type addressing on a permanent basis, bridges, public landings, ferries and mills, with authority to lay and disburse the county levies. They The county commissions shall, in all cases of contest, judge of the election, qualification and returns of their own members, and of all county and district officers, subject to appeal as prescribed by law. The tribunals as have been heretofore established by the Legislature under and by virtue of Section thirty-four, Article VIII of the Constitution of 1872, for police and fiscal purposes, shall, until otherwise provided by law, remain and continue as at present constituted in the counties in which they have been respectively established, and shall be and act as to police and fiscal matters in lieu of the county commission herein mentioned, until otherwise provided by law. And until otherwise provided by law, the clerk as is mentioned in section twenty-six of said article, as amended, shall exercise any powers and discharge any duties heretofore conferred on, or required of, any court or tribunal established for judicial purposes under said section, or the clerk of the court or tribunal, respectively, respecting the recording and preservation of deeds and other papers presented for record, matters of probate, the appointment and qualification of personal representatives, guardians, committees, curators and the settlement of their accounts and in all matters relating to apprentices. The county commission may not limit the right of any person to purchase, possess, transfer, own, carry, transport, sell or store any revolver, pistol, rifle or shotgun or any ammunition or ammunition components to be used therewith nor to so regulate the keeping of gunpowder so as to, directly or indirectly, prohibit the ownership of the ammunition: Provided, That no provision in this section may be construed to limit the authority of a county to restrict the commercial use of real estate in designated areas through planning or zoning ordinances.
CHAPTER 8. MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS.

ARTICLE 12. GENERAL AND SPECIFIC POWERS, DUTIES AND ALLIED RELATIONS OF MUNICIPALITIES, GOVERNING BODIES AND MUNICIPAL OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES; SUITS AGAINST MUNICIPALITIES.
§8-12-5. General powers of every municipality and the governing body thereof.

In addition to the powers and authority granted by: (i) The Constitution of this state; (ii) other provisions of this chapter; (iii) other general law; and (iv) any charter, and to the extent not inconsistent or in conflict with any of the foregoing except special legislative charters, every municipality and the governing body thereof shall have plenary power and authority therein by ordinance or resolution, as the case may require, and by appropriate action based thereon:
(1) To lay off, establish, construct, open, alter, curb, recurb, pave or repave and keep in good repair, or vacate, discontinue and close, streets, avenues, roads, alleys, ways, sidewalks, drains and gutters, for the use of the public, and to improve and light the same, and have them kept free from obstructions on or over them which have not been authorized pursuant to the succeeding provisions of this subdivision; and, subject to such terms and conditions as the governing body shall prescribe, to permit, without in any way limiting the power and authority granted by the provisions of article sixteen of this chapter, any person to construct and maintain a passageway, building or other structure overhanging or crossing the airspace above a public street, avenue, road, alley, way, sidewalk or crosswalk, but before any permission for any person to construct and maintain a passageway, building or other structure overhanging or crossing any airspace is granted, a public hearing thereon shall be held by the governing body after publication of a notice of the date, time, place and purpose of the public hearing has been published as a Class I legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code and the publication area for the publication shall be the municipality: Provided, That any permit so granted shall automatically cease and terminate in the event of abandonment and nonuse thereof for the purposes intended for a period of ninety days, and all rights therein or thereto shall revert to the municipality for its use and benefit;
(2) To provide for the opening and excavation of streets, avenues, roads, alleys, ways, sidewalks, crosswalks and public places belonging to the municipality and regulate the conditions under which any such opening may be made;
(3) To prevent by proper penalties the throwing, depositing or permitting to remain on any street, avenue, road, alley, way, sidewalk, square or other public place any glass, scrap iron, nails, tacks, wire, other litter or any offensive matter or anything likely to injure the feet of individuals or animals or the tires of vehicles;
(4) To regulate the use of streets, avenues, roads, alleys, ways, sidewalks, crosswalks and public places belonging to the municipality, including the naming or renaming thereof, and to consult with local postal authorities, the Division of Highways and the directors of county emergency communications centers to assure uniform, nonduplicative addressing on a permanent basis;
(5) To regulate the width of streets, avenues and roads, and, subject to the provisions of article eighteen of this chapter, to order the sidewalks, footways and crosswalks to be paved, repaved, curbed or recurbed and kept in good order, free and clean, by the owners or occupants thereof or of the real property next adjacent thereto;
(6) To establish, construct, alter, operate and maintain or discontinue, bridges, tunnels and ferries and approaches thereto;
(7) To provide for the construction and maintenance of water
drains, the drainage of swamps or marshlands and drainage systems;
(8) To provide for the construction, maintenance and covering over of watercourses;
(9) To control and administer the waterfront and waterways of the municipality and to acquire, establish, construct, operate and maintain and regulate flood control works, wharves and public landings, warehouses and all adjuncts and facilities for navigation and commerce and the utilization of the waterfront and waterways and adjacent property;
(10) To prohibit the accumulation and require the disposal of garbage, refuse, debris, wastes, ashes, trash and other similar accumulations whether on private or public property: Provided, That, in the event the municipality annexes an area which has been receiving solid waste collection services from a certificated solid waste motor carrier, the municipality and the solid waste motor carrier may negotiate an agreement for continuation of the private solid waste motor carrier services for a period of time, not to exceed three years, during which time the certificated solid waste motor carrier may continue to provide exclusive solid waste collection services in the annexed territory;
(11) To construct, establish, acquire, equip, maintain and operate incinerator plants and equipment and all other facilities for the efficient removal and destruction of garbage, refuse, wastes, ashes, trash and other similar matters;
(12) To regulate or prohibit the purchase or sale of articles intended for human use or consumption which are unfit for use or consumption, or which may be contaminated or otherwise unsanitary;
(13) To prevent injury or annoyance to the public or individuals from anything dangerous, offensive or unwholesome;
(14) To regulate the keeping of gunpowder and other combustibles: Provided, That any regulation of the keeping of gunpowder may not act, directly or indirectly, to prohibit the otherwise lawful ownership, possession, control or storage of gunpowder or ammunition for firearms;
(15) To make regulations guarding against danger or damage by fire;
(16) To arrest, convict and punish any individual for carrying about his or her person any revolver or other pistol, dirk, bowie knife, razor, slingshot, billy, metallic or other false knuckles or any other dangerous or other deadly weapon of like kind or character;
(17) (16) To arrest, convict and punish any person for importing, printing, publishing, selling or distributing any pornographic publications;
(18) (17) To arrest, convict and punish any person for keeping a house of ill fame, or for letting to another person any house or other building for the purpose of being used or kept as a house of ill fame, or for knowingly permitting any house owned by him or her or under his or her control to be kept or used as a house of ill fame, or for loafing, boarding or loitering in a house of ill fame, or frequenting same;
(19) (18) To prevent and suppress conduct and practices which are immoral, disorderly, lewd, obscene and indecent;
(20) (19) To prevent the illegal sale of intoxicating liquors, drinks, mixtures and preparations;
(21) (20) To arrest, convict and punish any individual for driving or operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated or under the influence of liquor, drugs or narcotics;
(22) (21) To arrest, convict and punish any person for gambling or keeping any gaming tables, commonly called "A, B, C," or "E, O," table or faro bank or keno table, or table of like kind, under any denomination, whether the gaming table be played with cards, dice or otherwise, or any person who shall be a partner or concerned in interest, in keeping or exhibiting the table or bank, or keeping or maintaining any gaming house or place, or betting or gambling for money or anything of value;
(23) (22) To provide for the elimination of hazards to public health and safety and to abate or cause to be abated anything which in the opinion of a majority of the governing body is a public nuisance;
(24) (23) To license, or for good cause to refuse to license in a particular case, or in its discretion to prohibit in all cases, the operation of pool and billiard rooms and the maintaining for hire of pool and billiard tables notwithstanding the general law as to state licenses for any such business and the provisions of section four, article thirteen of this chapter; and when the municipality, in the exercise of its discretion, refuses to grant a license to operate a pool or billiard room, mandamus may not lie to compel the municipality to grant the license unless it shall clearly appear that the refusal of the municipality to grant a license is discriminatory or arbitrary; and in the event that the municipality determines to license any business, the municipality has plenary power and authority and it shall be the duty of its governing body to make and enforce reasonable ordinances regulating the licensing and operation of the businesses;
(25) (24) To protect places of divine worship and to preserve peace and order in and about the premises where held;
(26) (25) To regulate or prohibit the keeping of animals or fowls and to provide for the impounding, sale or destruction of animals or fowls kept contrary to law or found running at large;
(27) (26) To arrest, convict and punish any person for cruelly, unnecessarily or needlessly beating, torturing, mutilating, killing or overloading or overdriving or willfully depriving of necessary sustenance any domestic animal;
(28) (27) To provide for the regular building of houses or other structures, for the making of division fences by the owners of adjacent premises and for the drainage of lots by proper drains and ditches;
(29) (28) To provide for the protection and conservation of shade or ornamental trees, whether on public or private property, and for the removal of trees or limbs of trees in a dangerous condition;
(30) (29) To prohibit with or without zoning the location of occupied house trailers or mobile homes in certain residential areas;
(31) (30) To regulate the location and placing of signs, billboards, posters and similar advertising;
(32) (31) To erect, establish, construct, acquire, improve, maintain and operate a gas system, a waterworks system, an electric system or sewer system and sewage treatment and disposal system, or any combination of the foregoing (subject to all of the pertinent provisions of articles nineteen and twenty of this chapter and particularly to the limitations or qualifications on the right of eminent domain set forth in articles nineteen and twenty of this chapter), within or without the corporate limits of the municipality, except that the municipality may not erect any system partly without the corporate limits of the municipality to serve persons already obtaining service from an existing system of the character proposed and where the system is by the municipality erected, or has heretofore been so erected, partly within and partly without the corporate limits of the municipality, the municipality has the right to lay and collect charges for service rendered to those served within and those served without the corporate limits of the municipality and to prevent injury to the system or the pollution of the water thereof and its maintenance in a healthful condition for public use within the corporate limits of the municipality;
(33) (32) To acquire watersheds, water and riparian rights, plant sites, rights-of-way and any and all other property and appurtenances necessary, appropriate, useful, convenient or incidental to any system, waterworks or sewage treatment and disposal works, as aforesaid, subject to all of the pertinent provisions of articles nineteen and twenty of this chapter;
(34) (33) To establish, construct, acquire, maintain and operate and regulate markets and prescribe the time of holding the same;
(35) (34) To regulate and provide for the weighing of articles sold or for sale;
(36) (35) To establish, construct, acquire, maintain and operate public buildings, municipal buildings or city halls, Auditoriums, arenas, jails, juvenile detention centers or homes, motor vehicle parking lots or any other public works;
(37) (36) To establish, construct, acquire, provide, equip, maintain and operate recreational parks, playgrounds and other recreational facilities for public use and in this connection also to proceed in accordance with the provisions of article two, chapter ten of this code;
(38) (37) To establish, construct, acquire, maintain and operate a public library or museum or both for public use;
(39) (38) To provide for the appointment and financial support of a library board in accordance with the provisions of article one, chapter ten of this code;
(40) (39) To establish and maintain a public health unit in accordance with the provisions of section two, article two, chapter sixteen of this code, which unit shall exercise its powers and perform its duties subject to the supervision and control of the West Virginia Board of Health and State Bureau for Public Health;
(41) (40) To establish, construct, acquire, maintain and operate hospitals, sanitaria and dispensaries;
(42) (41) To acquire, by purchase, condemnation or otherwise, land within or near the corporate limits of the municipality for providing and maintaining proper places for the burial of the dead and to maintain and operate the same and regulate interments therein upon terms and conditions as to price and otherwise as may be determined by the governing body and, in order to carry into effect the authority, the governing body may acquire any cemetery or cemeteries already established;
(43) (42) To exercise general police jurisdiction over any territory without the corporate limits owned by the municipality or over which it has a right-of-way;
(44) (43) To protect and promote the public morals, safety, health, welfare and good order;
(45) (44) To adopt rules for the transaction of business and the government and regulation of its governing body;
(46) (45) Except as otherwise provided, to require and take bonds from any officers, when considered necessary, payable to the municipality, in its corporate name, with such sureties and in a penalty as the governing body may see fit, conditioned upon the faithful discharge of their duties;
(47) (46) To require and take from the employees and contractors such bonds in a penalty, with such sureties and with such conditions, as the governing body may see fit;
(48) (47) To investigate and inquire into all matters of concern to the municipality or its inhabitants;
(49) (48) To establish, construct, require, maintain and operate such instrumentalities, other than free public schools, for the instruction, enlightenment, improvement, entertainment, recreation and welfare of the municipality's inhabitants as the governing body may consider necessary or appropriate for the public interest;
(50) (49) To create, maintain and operate a system for the enumeration, identification and registration, or either, of the inhabitants of the municipality and visitors thereto, or the classes thereof as may be considered advisable;
(51) (50) To require owners, residents or occupants of factory-built homes situated in a factory-built rental home community with at least ten factory-built homes, to visibly post the specific numeric portion of the address of each factory-built home on the immediate premises of the factory-built home of sufficient size to be visible from the adjoining street: Provided, That in the event if no numeric or other specific designation of an address exists for a factory-built home subject to the authorization granted by this subdivision, the municipality has the authority to may provide a numeric or other specific designation of an address for the factory-built home and require that it be posted in accordance with the authority otherwise granted by this section.
(52) (51) To appropriate and expend not exceeding twenty-five cents $0.25 per capita per annum for advertising the municipality and the entertainment of visitors;
(53) (52) To conduct programs to improve community relations and public relations generally and to expend municipal revenue for such purposes;
(54) (53) To reimburse applicants for employment by the municipality for travel and other reasonable and necessary expenses actually incurred by the applicants in traveling to and from the municipality to be interviewed;
(55) (54) To provide revenue for the municipality and appropriate the same to its expenses;
(56) (55) To create and maintain an employee benefits fund which may not exceed one tenth of one percent of the annual payroll budget for general employee benefits and which is set up for the purpose of stimulating and encouraging employees to develop and implement cost-saving ideas and programs and to expend moneys from the fund for these purposes;
(57) (56) To enter into reciprocal agreements with governmental subdivisions or agencies of any state sharing a common border for the protection of people and property from fire and for emergency medical services and for the reciprocal use of equipment and personnel for these purposes;
(58) (57) To provide penalties for the offenses and violations of law mentioned in this section, subject to the provisions of section one, article eleven of this chapter, and such penalties may not exceed any penalties provided in this chapter and chapter sixty-one of this code for like offenses and violations; and
(59) (58) To participate in a purchasing card program for local governments authorized and administered by the State Auditor as an alternative payment method.
CHAPTER 61. CRIMES AND THEIR PUNISHMENT.

ARTICLE 7. DANGEROUS WEAPONS.
61-7-1. Legislative findings.
The Legislature finds that the overwhelming support of the citizens of West Virginia for article three, section twenty-two of the Constitution of this state, commonly known as the "Right to Keep and Bear Arms Amendment", combined with the obligation of the state to reasonably regulate the right of persons to keep and bear arms for self-defense requires the reenactment of this article.
The Legislature finds and declares that:
(a) The right of individuals to keep and bear arms is protected by both the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article III, §22 of the Constitution of this state;
(b) The individual right to keep and bear arms is a fundamental individual right that predates the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article III, §22 of the Constitution of this state;
(c) The citizens of this state overwhelmingly support Article III, §22 of the Constitution of this state, commonly known as the "Right to Keep and Bear Arms Amendment";
(d) The Legislature has the power to reasonably regulate the right of persons to keep and bear arms in the exercise of its police powers;
(e) An individual's right to self-defense and access to the means of self-defense are strong public policy interests of this state;
(f) The safety and welfare of the citizens of this state are inextricably dependent upon assurances of safety for children attending, and the persons employed by, schools in this state and for those persons employed with the judicial department of this state. It is for the purpose of providing such assurances of safety, therefore, that sections eleven-a and eleven-b of this article are enacted as a reasonable regulation of the manner in which citizens may exercise those rights accorded to them pursuant to Article III, §22 of the Constitution of this state;
(g) A list, record or registry of legally-owned firearms, concealable weapons or law-abiding owners thereof is not a law enforcement tool and can become an instrument for profiling, harassing or abusing law-abiding citizens based on their choice to own a firearm or concealable weapon and exercise their individual right to keep and bear arms. Further, such a list, record or registry has the potential to fall into the wrong hands and become a shopping list for thieves;
(h) A list, record or registry of legally-owned firearms, concealable weapons or law-abiding owners of firearms or concealable weapons is not a tool for fighting terrorism, but rather is an instrument that can be used as a means to profile innocent citizens and to harass and abuse citizens based solely on their choice to own firearms or concealable weapons and exercise their individual right to keep and bear arms;
(i) Lists, records and registries of legally-owned firearms, concealable weapons and law-abiding owners of firearms or concealable weapons have been used in other jurisdictions both domestically and internationally as the foundation for the eventual prohibition and confiscation of firearms or concealable weapons or certain classes of firearms or concealable weapons, in violation of the natural right of free people to keep and bear arms;
(j) Law-abiding owners of firearms and concealable weapons whose names have been illegally recorded in a list, record or registry are entitled to redress; and
(k) There is a need to provide uniform laws throughout the state regulating the ownership, possession, purchase, other acquisition, transport, storage, carrying, sale and other transfer of concealable weapons, firearms and parts, components and ammunition for firearms (including without limitation the possession and carrying thereof in or on any public building or other property owned, leased or controlled by any public agency), and, except as specified in subsection (d), section seventeen, article seven, chapter sixty-one of this code, for the Legislature, to the exclusion of all other public agencies in this state, to exercise exclusive occupation of and preempt the field of regulation in these areas.
§61-7-2. Definitions.
As used in this article, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1) "Blackjack" means a short bludgeon consisting, at the striking end, of an encased piece of lead or some other heavy substance and, at the handle end, a strap or springy shaft which increases the force of impact when a person or object is struck. The term "blackjack" shall include, but not be limited to, a billy, billy club, sand club, sandbag or slapjack.
(2) "Gravity knife" means any knife that has a blade released from the handle by the force of gravity or the application of centrifugal force and when so released is locked in place by means of a button, spring, lever or other locking or catching device.
(3) "Knife" means an instrument, intended to be used or readily adaptable to be used as a weapon, consisting of a sharp- edged or sharp-pointed blade, usually made of steel, attached to a handle which is capable of inflicting cutting, stabbing or tearing wounds. The term "knife" shall include, but not be limited to, any dagger, dirk, poniard or stiletto, with a blade over three and one-half inches in length, any switchblade knife or gravity knife and offensive knife or any other instrument capable of inflicting cutting, stabbing or tearing wounds. A pocket knife with a blade three and one-half inches or less in length, a hunting or fishing knife carried for hunting, fishing, sports or other recreational uses, or a knife designed for use as a tool or household implement is not included within the term "knife" as defined herein in this subdivision and is not considered a deadly weapon or concealable weapon unless such knife is knowingly used or intended to be used to produce serious bodily injury or death.
(4) "Switchblade knife" means any knife having a spring- operated blade which opens automatically upon pressure being applied to a button, catch or other releasing device in its handle.
(5) "Nunchuka" means a flailing instrument consisting of two or more rigid parts, connected by a chain, cable, rope or other nonrigid, flexible or springy material, constructed in such a manner as to allow the rigid parts to swing freely so that one rigid part may be used as a handle and the other rigid part may be used as the striking end.
(6) "Metallic or false knuckles" means a set of finger rings attached to a transverse piece to be worn over the front of the hand for use as a weapon and constructed in such a manner that, when striking another person with the fist or closed hand, considerable physical damage may be inflicted upon the person struck, The terms "metallic or false knuckles" shall include any such instrument without reference regard to the metal or other substance or substances from which the metallic or false knuckles are made.
(7) "Pistol" means a short firearm having a chamber which is integral with the barrel, designed to be aimed and fired by the use of a single hand.
(8) "Revolver" means a short firearm having a cylinder of several chambers that are brought successively into line with the barrel to be discharged, designed to be aimed and fired by the use of a single hand.
(9) "Deadly weapon" means an instrument which is designed to be used to produce serious bodily injury or death or is readily adaptable to such use. The term "deadly weapon" shall include includes, but is not be limited to, the instruments defined in subdivisions (1) through (8), inclusive, of this section or other deadly weapons of like kind or character which may be easily concealed on or about the person firearms and concealable weapons. For the purposes of section one-a, article five, chapter eighteen-a of this code and section eleven-a, article seven of this chapter, in addition to the definition of "knife" set forth in subdivision (3) of this section, the term "deadly weapon" also includes any instrument included within the definition of "knife" with a blade of three and one-half inches or less in length. Additionally, for the purposes of section one-a, article five, chapter eighteen-a of this code, section nineteen, article six of this chapter and section eleven-a of this article and section eleven-a article seven of this chapter, the term "deadly weapon" includes explosive, chemical, biological and radiological materials. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section For the purposes of section one-a, article five, chapter eighteen-a of this code and section eleven-a of this article, the term "deadly weapon" does not include any item or material owned by the school or county board, intended for curricular use, and used by the student at the time of the alleged offense solely for curricular purposes.
(10) "Concealed" means hidden from ordinary observation so as to prevent disclosure or recognition. A deadly weapon is concealed when it is carried on or about the person in such a manner that another person in the ordinary course of events would not be placed on notice that the deadly weapon was being carried.
(11) "Firearm" means any weapon (including a starter pistol) which will or is designed to expel a projectile by action of an explosion.
(12) "Controlled substance" has the same meaning as is ascribed to that term in subsection (d), section one hundred one, article one, chapter sixty-a of this code.
(13) "Drug" has the same meaning as is ascribed to that term in subsection (1), section one hundred one, article one, chapter sixty-a of this code.
(14) "Air gun" means any device other than a firearm which will or is designed to expel a projectile by means of a compressed gas that generates a propelling force.
(15) "Airport operator" has the same meaning as in subsection two, twenty-nine-b, chapter eight of this code.
(16) "Ammunition" means ammunition or cartridge cases, primers, bullets, or propellant powder designed for use in any firearm.
(17) "Ballistic knife" means any knife that has a blade which is forcefully expelled from the handle by means of a spring-loaded device or a compressed gas that generates a propelling force.
(18) "Club" means an instrument that is specially designed, made, or adapted for the purpose of inflicting serious bodily injury or death by striking a person with the instrument, and includes, but is not limited to, a blackjack, mace, metallic or false knuckles, nightstick, nunchuka or tomahawk.
(19) "Concealable weapon" means any club, offensive knife, handgun or other deadly weapons of like kind or character that may be easily concealed on the person. For the purposes of sections seventeen through nineteen of this article, the term "concealable weapon" also includes any air gun, firearm or knife not otherwise included within this definition.
(20) "Conviction" or "convicted," for the purposes of determining whether a person is disqualified from licensure to carry concealed weapons or prohibited from possessing firearms, shall be determined in accordance with the law of the jurisdiction in which the proceedings were held, but does not include any conviction which has been expunged, set aside, vacated or for which a person has been pardoned, unless the expungement or pardon expressly provides that the person may not be licensed to carry concealed weapons or possess firearms.
(21) "Court facility" means the courtroom of the Supreme Court of Appeals, a circuit court, a family court or a magistrate court; the chambers of any justice, judge or magistrate; those portions of a courthouse designated as witness rooms, jury deliberation rooms, attorney conference rooms, prisoner holding cells or law library; offices of the court clerks or other employees of the judicial department of this state; but does not include any common area of ingress or egress to a courthouse that provides access to the noncourt facility areas of a courthouse.
(22) "Courthouse" means any state or local government office facility that houses a court facility.
(23) "Crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year" does not include:
(A) Any federal or state offenses pertaining to antitrust violations, unfair trade practices, restraints of trade or other similar offenses relating to the regulation of business practices; or
(B) Any state offense classified by the laws of the state as a misdemeanor and, punishable by a term of imprisonment of two years or less.
(24) "Family or household member" has the same meaning as in section two hundred four, article twenty-seven, chapter forty- eight.
(25) "Handgun" means any firearm which has a short stock and is designed to be held and fired by the use of a single hand and includes any pistol or revolver.
(26) "Institution of higher education" means any higher education institution as that term is defined in section two, article one, chapter eighteen-b of this code.
(27) "Law-enforcement officer" means any law-enforcement officer or law-enforcement official, as those terms are defined in section one, article twenty-nine, chapter thirty of this code.
(28) "Loaded," with respect to a firearm, means that the firearm:
(A) Has live, unexpended ammunition in the firing position or a position whereby the manual operation of any mechanism once would cause live, unexpended ammunition to be fired;
(B) Has live, unexpended ammunition in a magazine that is locked in place in the firearm;
(C) Has live, unexpended ammunition anywhere in the cylinder, if the firearm is a revolver; or
(D) If the firearm employs a percussion cap, flintlock or other obsolete ignition system, the firearm is capped or primed and has a powder charge and ball or shot in the barrel or cylinders.
(29) "Machine gun" means any machine gun as that term is defined in 26 U.S.C. §5845(b) as it exists as of February 11, 2009.
(30) "Mental health facility" has the same meaning as in section nine, article one, chapter twenty-seven of this code.
(31) "Motor vehicle" has the same meaning as in section one, article one, chapter seventeen-a of this code.
(32) "Offensive knife" means a:
(A) Knife with a blade over three and one-half inches;
(B) Hand instrument designed to cut or stab another by being thrown, including, but not limited to, any throwing star or oriental dart;
(C) Ballistic knife;
(D) Dagger, including, but not limited to, a dirk, stiletto, and poniard;
(E) Bowie knife;
(F) Gravity knife;
(G) Switchblade knife;
(H) Sword; or
(I) Spear, but does not include any pocket knife with a blade three and one-half inches or less in length, a hunting or fishing knife carried for hunting, fishing, sports or other recreational uses, or a knife designed for use as a tool or household implement.
(33) "Private property owner" means any property owner other than:
(A) A public agency; or
(B) A lessee or other person charged with the care, custody or control of any property owned, leased or controlled by a public agency, except where the person is a lessee of a residential premises or is exercising temporary control over other premises the person exclusively occupies as a temporary place of lodging.
(34) "Property owner" means an owner, lessee or other person charged with the care, custody and control of real property. For the purposes of this definition, "person" means an individual or any entity which may acquire title to real property.
(35) "Public agency" means:
(A) This state or any political subdivision of this state;
(B) Any department, agency, authority, board, commission, council, state institution of higher education, airport operator, government corporation or other entity or instrumentality of this state or any political subdivision of this state;
(C) Any public agency within the meaning of section two, article nine-a, chapter six of this code;
(D) Any public body within the meaning of section two, article one, chapter twenty-nine-b;
(E) Any other entity or instrumentality:
(i) That receives a majority of its annual operating revenue from funds appropriated by the Legislature, the governing body of any political subdivision of this state, any entity described in paragraphs (B), (C) or (D) of this subdivision or a combination of these sources;
(ii) Whose chief executive or administrative officer or a majority of whose board of directors or substantially similar governing body is elected, appointed or subject to the confirmation of any entity otherwise described in this subdivision; or
(F) Any officer, director, employee or other agent of any entity described in paragraphs (A) through (E) of this subdivision.
(36) "Public building" means any building that is owned by a public agency or those portions of any building that is not owned by a public agency that is leased or controlled by a public agency.
(37) "Readily accessible for immediate use" and "about the person" mean that a firearm, ammunition or other deadly weapon is carried on the person or within such close proximity and in such a manner that it can be retrieved and used as easily and quickly as if carried on the person.
(38) "School bus" has the same meaning as in section one, article one, chapter seventeen-a of this code.
(39) "School safety zone" means:
(A) Any public or private primary or secondary school building and its improved grounds, whether leased or owned by the school, including any vocational education building, structure, facility or grounds thereof where secondary vocational education programs are conducted;
(B) The interior of a school bus when that school bus is actually in use by any school described in paragraph (A) of this subdivision for the purpose of transporting one or more primary or secondary school students to or from school or school-related activities, including curricular, cocurricular, noncurricular, extracurricular and supplementary activities; or
(C) That portion of any property not described in paragraph (A) of this subdivision that is open to the public and then exclusively used for school-sponsored functions or extracurricular activities, while those functions or activities are occurring.
(40) "State institution of higher education" has the same meaning as in section two, article one, chapter eighteen-b.
(41) "State or local government office facility" means any public building in which employees of a public agency regularly are present for the purpose of performing their official duties as employees of the public agency, but excludes: (i) Any public building that is used primarily as a shelter, restroom or rest facility; (ii) any public building or portion of a public building that is used as a parking facility for motor vehicles; or (iii) any portion of any other public building accessible only from the exterior of the public building, separate from those portions of the public building in which employees of a public agency regularly are present for the purpose of performing their official duties as employees of the public agency, that is used primarily as a shelter, restroom or rest facility.
(42) "Unloaded," with respect to a firearm, means the state of a firearm not being loaded, as that term is defined in subdivision (28) of this section.
(43) "West Virginia law-enforcement agency" has the same meaning as in section one, article twenty-nine, chapter thirty.
§61-7-6. Exceptions to requirement for license to carry concealed weapons.
The licensure provisions set forth in this article do not apply to:
(1) Any person carrying a deadly weapon upon his or her own premises; nor shall anything herein prevent a person from carrying any firearm, unloaded, from the place of purchase to his or her home, residence or place of business or to a place of repair and back to his or her home, residence or place of business, nor shall anything herein prohibit a person from possessing a firearm while hunting in a lawful manner or while traveling from his or her home, residence or place of business to a hunting site and returning to his or her home, residence or place of business;
(2) Any person who is a member of a properly organized target- shooting club authorized by law to obtain firearms by purchase or requisition from this state or from the United States for the purpose of target practice from carrying any pistol, as defined in this article, unloaded, from his or her home, residence or place of business to a place of target practice and from any place of target practice back to his or her home, residence or place of business, for using any such weapon at a place of target practice in training and improving his or her skill in the use of the weapons;
(3) Any law-enforcement officer; or law-enforcement official as defined in section one, article twenty-nine, chapter thirty of this code
(4) Any employee of the West Virginia Division of Corrections duly appointed pursuant to the provisions of section five, article five, chapter twenty-eight of this code sections eleven-b and eleven-c, article one, chapter twenty-five while the employee is on duty;
(5) Any member of the Armed Forces of the United States or the militia of this state while the member is on duty;
(6) Any circuit judge, including any retired circuit judge designated senior status by the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney or a duly appointed investigator employed by a prosecuting attorney;
(7) Any resident of another state who holds a valid license or permit to carry a concealed weapon by a state or a political subdivision which has entered into a reciprocity agreement with this state, subject to the provisions and limitations set forth in section six-a of this article;
(8) Any federal law-enforcement officer or federal police officer authorized to carry a weapon in the performance of the officer's duty; and
(9) Any Hatfield-McCoy regional recreation authority ranger while the ranger is on duty.
§61-7-9. Possession of machine guns; penalties.
(a) It shall be unlawful for any No person to may carry, transport or have in his possession, possess any machine gun, submachine gun, or any other fully automatic weapon unless he or she the person has fully complied with applicable federal statutes the National Firearms Act, 26 U.S.C. Chapter 53, as it exists as of February 11, 2009, and all applicable federal rules and regulations of the secretary of the treasury of the United States relating to such firearms promulgated pursuant to the National Firearms Act, as they exist as of February 11, 2009.
(b) Any person who violates the provision subsection (a) of this section shall be is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $1,000 nor more than $5,000, or shall be confined in the county jail for not less than ninety days or nor more than one year, or both.
§61-7-11a. Possessing deadly weapons on school property; exceptions; penalty; reports by school principals; revocation of driver's license.

(a) The Legislature hereby finds that the safety and welfare of the citizens of this state are inextricably dependent upon assurances of safety for children attending, and the persons employed by, schools in this state and for those persons employed with the judicial department of this state. It is for the purpose of providing such assurances of safety, therefore, that subsections (b), (g) and (h) of this section are enacted as a reasonable regulation of the manner in which citizens may exercise those rights accorded to them pursuant to section twenty-two, article three of the Constitution of the State of West Virginia.
(b) (1) It shall be unlawful for any (a) Except as otherwise provided by subsection (b) of this section, no person to may possess any firearm or any other deadly weapon on within any school bus, as defined in section one, article one, chapter seventeen-a of this code, or in or on any public or private primary or secondary education building, structure, facility or grounds thereof, including any vocational education building, structure, facility or grounds thereof where secondary vocational education programs are conducted safety zone or at any school-sponsored function.
(2) (b) This subsection shall Subsection (a) of this section does not apply to:
(A) (1) A law-enforcement officer acting in his or her official capacity;
(B) (2) A person specifically authorized by the board of Education of the county or principal of the school where the property is located to conduct programs with valid educational purposes;
(C) (3) A person who as otherwise permitted by the provisions of this article, possesses an unloaded firearm or any deadly weapon other than a loaded firearm in or on a motor vehicle other than a school bus, or leaves an unloaded firearm or any deadly weapon other than a loaded firearm in a locked motor vehicle other than a school bus;
(D) (4) Programs or raffles conducted with the approval of the county board of education or school which include the display of unloaded deadly weapons other than loaded firearms; or
(5) Any person who possesses a deadly weapon as a part of any program sponsored or facilitated by either the school or any organization authorized by the school to conduct its programs either on or off the school premises;
(6) A person possessing a knife or blade which he or she uses customarily in his or her occupation, profession or trade;
(E) (7) The official mascot of West Virginia University, commonly known as "The Mountaineer", acting in his or her official capacity;
(8) A person transporting a deadly weapon other than a loaded firearm, while traversing school premises for the purpose of gaining access to public or private lands open to hunting; or
(9) Any person authorized by the county school superintendent in the case of the county schools, or the chief administrative officer of a private school, in writing, to carry such weapon.
(c) Each principal or other chief administrator of a public or private school shall display at all public entrances to school buildings, sports arenas, gymnasiums, stadiums and cafeterias; at the corners of school property that make a turn of thirty degrees or more and are not enclosed by fences, walls or other complete barriers with gates or controlled entrances; at the gate or controlled entrances of enclosed properties; and at the entrance of any access road for all open areas owned, operated, leased or controlled by the school, signs conforming to the specifications of section sixteen of this article, which shall include the following text:
"UNLAWFUL POSSESSION OF A WEAPON ON SCHOOL PROPERTY IN WEST VIRGINIA IS A FELONY.
"POSTED PURSUANT TO WV CODE SECTION ELEVEN-A, ARTICLE SEVEN, CHAPTER SIXTY ONE OF THIS CODE."
Failure to post the required signs shall bar any prosecution under this subsection of any person who is not a minor and not a student of a primary or secondary school. Failure to post the required signs shall not prohibit any prosecution or other disciplinary action against any minor or student.
(3) (d) Any person violating who violates subsection (a) of this subsection shall be section is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned in the penitentiary of this state for a definite term of years of not less than two years nor more than ten years, or fined not more than $5,000, or both.
(c) (e) It shall be the duty of The principal of each school subject to the authority of the State Board of Education to shall report any violation of subsection (b) (a) of this section discovered by such principal to the State Superintendent of Schools within seventy-two hours after such the violation occurs. The State Board of Education shall keep and maintain such reports and may prescribe rules establishing policy and procedures for the making and delivery of the same those reports as required by this subsection. In addition, it shall be the duty of The principal of each school subject to the authority of the State Board of Education to shall also report any violation of subsection (b) (a) of this section discovered by such the principal to the appropriate local office of the West Virginia division of public safety State Police within seventy-two hours after such the violation occurs.
(d) (f) In addition to the methods of disposition provided by article five, chapter forty-nine of this code, any court which adjudicates a person minor who is fourteen years of age or older as delinquent for a violation of subsection (b) (a) of this section may, in its discretion, order the Division of Motor Vehicles to suspend any driver's license or instruction permit issued to such person the delinquent minor for such an appropriate period of time, as the court may deem appropriate, such suspension, however, not to extend beyond such person's nineteenth birthday, as specified by the court's order; or, where such the person has not been issued a driver's license or instruction permit by this state, order the Division of Motor Vehicles to deny such the person's application for the same driver's license or instruction permit for such an appropriate period of time, as the court may deem appropriate, such denial, however, not to extend beyond such the person's nineteenth birthday, as specified by the court's order. Any suspension ordered by the court pursuant to this subsection shall be effective upon the date of entry of such the order. Where the court orders the suspension of a driver's license or instruction permit pursuant to this subsection, the court shall confiscate any driver's license or instruction permit in the adjudicated person's possession and forward the same confiscated driver's license or instruction permit to the Division of Motor Vehicles.
(e) (g) (1) If a person eighteen years of age or older is convicted of violating subsection (b) (a) of this section and if such person does not act to appeal such conviction within the time periods described in subdivision (2) of this subsection, such the person's license or privilege to operate a motor vehicle in this state shall be revoked in accordance with the provisions of this section subsection.
(2) The clerk of the circuit court in which the a person is convicted as described in subdivision (1) of this subsection shall forward to the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles a transcript certified abstract of the judgment of conviction immediately upon the judgment becoming final. If the conviction is the judgment of a magistrate court, the magistrate court clerk shall forward such transcript when the person convicted has not requested an appeal within twenty days of the sentencing for such conviction. If the conviction is the judgment of a circuit court, the circuit clerk shall forward such transcript when the person convicted has not filed a notice of intent to file a petition for appeal or writ of error within thirty days after the judgment was entered.
(3) If, upon examination of the transcript certified abstract of the judgment of conviction transmitted to the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles pursuant to subdivision (2) of this subsection, the Commissioner shall determine of Motor Vehicles determines that the person was convicted as described in subdivision (1) of this subsection, the commissioner shall make and enter an order revoking such the person's license or privilege to operate a motor vehicle in this state for the greater of: (i) A period of one year; or in the event (ii) if the person is a student enrolled in a secondary school, for a period of one year or until the person's twentieth birthday. whichever is the greater period The order shall contain the reasons for the revocation and the revocation period. The order of suspension revocation shall advise the person that because of the receipt of the court's transcript, a presumption exists that the person named in the order of suspension revocation is the same person named in the transcript. The commissioner may grant an administrative hearing which substantially complies with the requirements of the provisions of section two, article five-a, chapter seventeen-c of this code upon a preliminary showing that a possibility exists that the person named in the notice of conviction is not the same person whose license is being suspended revoked. Such request for A person seeking a hearing pursuant to this subdivision shall be made request the hearing within ten days after receipt of a copy of the order of suspension revocation. The sole purpose of this hearing shall be for the person requesting the hearing to present evidence that he or she the person is not the person named in the notice. In the event If the commissioner grants an administrative hearing, the commissioner shall stay the license suspension revocation pending the commissioner's order resulting from the hearing.
(4) For the purposes of this subsection, a person is convicted when such person enters a plea of guilty or is found guilty by a court or jury.
(f) (1) (h) It shall be unlawful for Any parent(s), guardian(s) or custodian(s) of a person less than eighteen years of age an unemancipated minor who knows that said person the unemancipated minor is in violation of subsection (b) (a) of this section, or who has reasonable cause to believe that said person's violation of said the unemancipated minor will imminently violate subsection is imminent (a) of this section, to fail to shall immediately report such knowledge or belief to the appropriate school or law-enforcement officials.
(2) (i) Any person violating this who violates subsection shall be (h) of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $1,000, or shall be confined in jail for not more than one year, or both.
(g) (1) It shall be unlawful for any person to possess any firearm or any other deadly weapon on any premises which houses a court of law or in the offices of a family law master.
(2) This subsection shall not apply to:
(A) A law-enforcement officer acting in his or her official capacity; and
(B) A person exempted from the provisions of this subsection by order of record entered by a court with jurisdiction over such premises or offices.
(3) Any person violating this subsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars, or shall be confined in jail not more than one year, or both.
(h) (1) It shall be unlawful for any person to possess any firearm or any other deadly weapon on any premises which houses a court of law or in the offices of a family law master with the intent to commit a crime.
(2) Any person violating this subsection shall be guilty of a felony, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned in the penitentiary of this state for a definite term of years of not less than two years nor more than ten years, or fined not more than five thousand dollars, or both.
(i) Nothing in this section may be construed to be in conflict with the provisions of federal law.
§61-7-11b. Possession of deadly weapons in courthouse prohibited; exceptions; penalty; posting of signs.
(a) Except as otherwise provided by subsection (b) of this section, no person may:
(1) Possess any deadly weapon within a courthouse; or
(2) Convey or attempt to convey any deadly weapon into a courthouse.
(b) Subsection (a) of this section does not apply to:
(1) A law-enforcement officer acting in his or her official capacity; or
(2) A person exempted from the provisions of subsection (a) of this section by order of record entered by a court with jurisdiction over the applicable courthouse. For the purposes of section seventeen of this article, this subdivision is a specific statutory authorization of restrictions or prohibitions on the possession and carrying of concealable weapons, firearms and parts, components and ammunition for firearms.
(c) The authority in control of each courthouse shall cause to be displayed at all public entrances to the courthouse, signs conforming to the specifications of section sixteen of this article, which shall contain the following text:
"POSSESSING A DEADLY WEAPON WITHIN ANY COURTHOUSE OR CONVEYING OR ATTEMPTING TO CONVEY A DEADLY WEAPON INTO A COURTHOUSE IN WEST VIRGINIA IS PROHIBITED BY LAW AND PUNISHABLE AS A MISDEMEANOR. POSSESSING A DEADLY WEAPON WITHIN ANY COURTHOUSE OR CONVEYING OR ATTEMPTING TO CONVEY A DEADLY WEAPON INTO A COURTHOUSE, WITH THE INTENT TO COMMIT A CRIME, IS PUNISHABLE AS A FELONY. A LICENSE TO CARRY A CONCEALED WEAPON IS NOT AN EXCEPTION TO EITHER OF THESE PROVISIONS.
"POSTED PURSUANT TO W.Va. CODE SECTION ELEVEN-B, ARTICLE SEVEN, CHAPTER SIXTY OF THIS CODE."
(d) Except as otherwise provided by subsection (e) of this section, any person who violates subsection (a) of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $1,000, confined in jail for not more than one year, or both. No person may be convicted of an offense under this subsection if the notice required by subsection (c) of this section was not posted at each entrance to the courthouse in the form required by section sixteen of this article and subsection (c) of this section.
(e) Any person who violates subsection (a) of this section with the intent to cause a deadly weapon to be used in the commission of any crime within a courthouse is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned for a definite term of not less than two years nor more than ten years, fined not more than $10,000, or both.
§61-7-14. Right of private property owners to limit possession of deadly weapons on premises.

(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of this article, any owner, lessee or other person charged with the care, custody and control of real Except as otherwise provided in this section, a private property owner may restrict or prohibit the carrying, openly or concealed, of any firearm or deadly weapon on private property under his or her the domain Provided, That for purposes of this section "person" means an individual or any entity which may acquire title to real property of the private property owner in accordance with the provisions of this section and section sixteen, article seven, chapter sixty-one, notwithstanding any license or other authorization any person subject to the restriction or prohibition has to carry the weapon.
(b) A private property owner who establishes any restriction or prohibition on the carrying a deadly weapon pursuant to subsection (a) of this section shall give notice of the prohibition or restriction in the form required by section sixteen, article seven, chapter sixty-one, unless the restriction or prohibition pertains to the private property owner's private residence or temporary place of abode. No property owner, employer or other person may subject any person who violates any prohibition or restriction, other than a restriction or prohibition imposed by the private property owner with regard to the private property owner's private residence or temporary place of abode, on carrying a deadly weapon unless the private property owner gave notice of the prohibition or restriction in the specific form required by this subsection or the person who violated the restriction or prohibition carried the weapon in violation of federal law or a provision of this article other than this section. The signage requirements of this subsection are mandatory, technical requirements that no person may waive under any circumstance. Any contractual provision waiving the right to notice in the form required by this subsection is unlawful and unenforceable.
(c) Any private property owner who establishes a restriction or prohibition on the carrying of a deadly weapon pursuant to subsection (a) of this section and, unless the restriction or prohibition pertains to the private property owner's private residence or temporary place of abode, gives notice of the restriction or prohibition in accordance with subsection (b) of this section and section sixteen, article seven, chapter sixty-one, may, upon discovering that a person is possessing or carrying a deadly weapon on the private property owner's premises in violation of the restriction or prohibition established and, unless the restriction or prohibition pertains to the private property owner's private residence or temporary place of abode, posted by the private property owner pursuant to this section, personally demand either that the person leave the premises or demand that the person leave the premises or temporarily relinquish custody of the deadly weapon while the person remains on the premises.
(d) A person who possesses or carries a deadly weapon on a private property owner's premises in violation of a restriction or prohibition established and, unless the restriction or prohibition pertains to the private property owner's private residence or temporary place of abode, posted by the private property owner pursuant to this section and section sixteen, article seven, chapter sixty-one, and complies with the personal demand of the private property owner under subsection (c) of this section upon being confronted about the violation, is immune from criminal and civil liability for the violation and may not be subjected to any other form of adverse action by the private property owner.
(e)
Any person carrying or possessing who possesses or carries a firearm or other deadly weapon on the property premises of another who refuses to temporarily relinquish possession of such firearm or other deadly weapon, upon being requested to do so, or to leave such premises, while in possession of such firearm or other deadly weapon, shall be a private property owner in violation of a restriction or prohibition established and, unless the restriction or prohibition pertains to the private property owner's private residence or temporary place of abode, posted by the private property owner pursuant to this section and section sixteen, article seven, chapter sixty-one, and defies a personal demand of the private property owner under subsection (c) of this section upon being confronted about the violation, unless the violation is committed in a motor vehicle parking lot or parking facility open to the general public, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $1,000, or confined in the county jail for not more than six months, or both. Provided, That the provisions of Any person who possesses or carries a deadly weapon in a motor vehicle parking lot or parking facility, in violation of a restriction or prohibition established and posted by the private property owner pursuant to this section and section sixteen, article seven, chapter sixty-one, and defies a demand of the private property owner under subsection (c) of this section upon being confronted about the violation, is immune from criminal liability under this section and instead is subject only to a civil action for trespass based on the violation.
(f) Any prohibition or restriction on possessing or carrying any weapon under
this section does not apply to: those persons set forth in subsections (3) through (6) of section six of this code while such persons are acting in an official capacity: Provided, however, That under no circumstances may any person possess or carry or cause the possession or carrying of any firearm or other deadly weapon on the premises of any primary or secondary educational facility in this state unless such person is a law-enforcement officer or he or she has the express written permission of the county school superintendent
(1) Any officer, employee or agent of the United States, this state or any political subdivision of this state, when that person is acting in an official capacity and is lawfully present within or upon the premises; or
(2) Any person serving any summons, subpoena or other legal process for any proceeding before any court or administrative agency of this state, the United States or another state, while that person is actually engaged in the service of process, if that person is otherwise lawfully present within or upon the premises.
§61-7-16. Regulation of signs prohibiting weapons; failure to post constitutes defense.
(a) All signs indicating a prohibition or restriction on possessing or carrying handguns or other deadly weapons must be in the form prescribed by this section.
(b) A sign regulated by this section is not valid or enforceable unless the sign:
(1) Expresses the prohibition in both written language interdict and universal sign language;
(2) Is posted at each entrance into a building where a person is prohibited or restricted from carrying a designated weapon, including each separate entry door at any entrance equipped with more than one door, and must be:
(A) Clearly visible from outside the building from a distance of at least thirty feet;
(B) Not less than eight inches wide by twelve inches tall in size with an opaque white background;
(C) Contain in black one-inch tall or larger uppercase type at the bottom of the sign and centered between the lateral edges of the sign, words indicating the nature of the prohibition and text not less than one and one-half-spaced, fourteen-point type detailing the prohibition or restriction and any exemptions applicable to the prohibition or restriction;
(D) Contain a black silhouette of a handgun inside a red circle at least seven inches in diameter with a red diagonal line that runs from the lower left to the upper right at a forty-five degree angle from the horizontal;
(E) A diameter of a circle; and
(F) Placed not less than forty inches and not more than sixty inches from the bottom of the building's entrance door; and
(3) If the premises where designated weapons are prohibited does not have doors, then the signs contained in subdivision (1) of this subsection must be:
(A) Not less than thirty inches wide by forty-eight inches tall in size;
(B) Contain in black three-inch tall or larger uppercase type at the bottom of the sign and centered between the lateral edges of the sign, words indicating the nature of the prohibition or restriction and text not less than one and one-half-spaced, eighteen-point type detailing the prohibition or restriction and any exemptions applicable to the prohibition or restriction;
(C) Contain a black silhouette of a handgun inside a red circle at least thirty inches in diameter with a red diagonal line that is at least two inches wide and runs from the lower left to the upper right at a forty-five degree angle from the horizontal and must be a diameter of a circle whose circumference is at least two inches wide;
(D) Placed not less than forty inches and not more than ninety- six inches above the ground; and
(E) Posted in sufficient quantities to be clearly visible from any point of entry onto the premises and readable from a distance of at least thirty feet.
(c) Any sign regulated by this section must expressly declare whether persons licensed or otherwise authorized by law to carry concealed handguns are exempt from the restriction or prohibition. Failure to state that a person licensed or otherwise authorized by law to carry concealed handguns constitutes an exception from the prohibition or restriction for persons licensed or otherwise authorized by law to carry concealed handguns.
(d) The requirements of this section are mandatory, technical requirements with which any entity subject to this section must strictly comply.
(e) Except as otherwise provided by a more specific provision of this code, it is a defense to any criminal offense under this code prohibiting or restricting the possession or carrying of deadly weapons in specified locations, a defense to any civil action for trespassing and a bar to termination from public or private employment or any other adverse action taken against a person by a property owner resulting from an alleged violation of a restriction or prohibition on carrying deadly weapons, that the person was licensed or otherwise authorized by law to carry concealed handguns and that the signage required to be posted under this section was not properly posted.
§61-7-17. Uniform law; preemption; exceptions; construction.
(a) This article is uniformly applicable throughout this state and in all its political subdivisions.
(b) Except as otherwise provided in this section and notwithstanding any provision of this code, the Code of State Rules, the common law of this state or other applicable law of this state to the contrary:
(1) The Legislature fully occupies and preempts the entire field of regulation of concealable weapons, firearms and parts, components and ammunition for any firearm within this state, to the exclusion of all other public agencies within this state;
(2) Except as specifically provided otherwise by the United States Constitution, the Constitution of this state, federal law or a specific provision of this code, any person, without further license, permission, restriction, delay or process, may own, possess, carry, purchase, sell, transfer, transport, store and keep any concealable weapon, firearm and parts, components and ammunition for any firearm; and
(3) Any ordinance, resolution, motion, rule, policy, condition of employment or contracting, public employee or contractor code of conduct, state institution of higher education student code of conduct, administrative action or any other action of any public agency, other than those expressly exempted by subsection (d) of this section, pertaining, either directly or indirectly, to concealable weapons, firearms or parts, components or ammunition for any firearm, or otherwise inconsistent with this subsection, regardless of whether the same is adopted before, on or after the effective date of this section, is void.
(c) In this section, the possession, transporting or carrying of concealable weapons, firearms and parts, components and ammunition for any firearm include, but are not limited to, the possession, transporting or carrying, openly or concealed, on or about the person, of a concealable weapon, a firearm or parts, components or ammunition for any firearm.
(d) Subsection (b) of this section does not apply to:
(1) A county or municipal planning or zoning ordinance that regulates or prohibits the commercial sale of concealable weapons, firearms and parts, components and ammunition for any firearm, in areas zoned for residential or agricultural uses;
(2) A county or municipal planning or zoning ordinance that specifies the hours of operation or the geographic areas where the commercial sale of concealable weapons, firearms and parts, components and ammunition for any firearm may occur, if the ordinance:
(A) Is consistent with planning or zoning ordinances for other retail establishments in the same geographic area;
(B) Does not result in a de facto prohibition of the commercial sale or other transfer of concealable weapons, firearms or parts, components and ammunition for any firearm, in areas zoned for commercial, retail or industrial uses; and
(C) Does not prohibit or restrict the commercial sale or other transfer of concealable weapons, firearms or parts, components and ammunition for any firearm, in areas zoned for commercial, retail or industrial uses, based on the day of the week or time of the day of the sale or other transaction, at any time between the hours of eight o'clock antemeridian and ten o'clock postmeridian on any day;
(3) Rules established by the Director of the Division of Natural Resources pursuant to chapter twenty of this code regulating hunting to the extent those rules do not contain more restrictive provisions regulating the possession, carrying or transportation of firearms than provided by the Legislature in article two, chapter twenty of this code;
(4) The otherwise lawful disarming of any person lawfully detained by or in the lawful custody of any law-enforcement, corrections or other criminal justice agency or mental institution;
(5) Firearm safety rules applicable to any shooting range owned, leased or controlled by, or to the conduct of participants in any firearm safety or training class or hunter safety class conducted or supervised by or conducted on property owned, leased or controlled by, the public agency that established and enforces those rules;
(6) Any rules or administrative actions of any correctional facility, jail, detention center, juvenile facility, juvenile detention center or mental health facility, other than rules or administrative actions that prohibit the possession, carrying or storage of concealable weapons, firearms and parts, components and ammunition for firearms in motor vehicles operated or parked in any publicly-accessible parking lot to which inmates, patients or other persons in custody do not have access;
(7) Any resolution, motion, rule or policy adopted by the State Board of Education, a county board of education, a primary or secondary school under the jurisdiction of a county board of education or a state institution of higher education relating to:
(A) Students receiving military training in the Reserved Officers' Training Corps or other military training program administered by the educational institution;
(B) Athletic events involving firearms or concealable weapons; or
(C) Authorizing a resident of a dormitory located at a state institution of higher education to request in writing only a roommate who will not possess deadly weapons within the dormitory room, providing for the exclusion of deadly weapons from any dormitory room whose residents make the election described in this paragraph in writing, reserving to the residents of any such room the right to mutually agree in writing to make or change an election under this paragraph at any time, and to enforce any valid, written election under this paragraph;
(8) Any regulation of the possession, carrying, storage, transportation, use, care or maintenance of weapons owned by any public agency;
(9) Any regulation of the possession, carrying, storage, transportation, use, care or maintenance of weapons in the course of employment by a public agency by individuals who are:
(A) Employed as law-enforcement officers or security personnel; or
(B) Required by the public agency to possess, carry, transport or store a weapon;
(10) Any otherwise lawful order of any justice, judge or magistrate regulating or prohibiting firearms or other weapons in his or her courtroom or chambers; or
(11) Any otherwise lawful action that is expressly authorized by the Legislature in this code. For the purposes of this subdivision, a provision of this code that does not specifically and directly refer to concealable weapons, firearms or parts, components or ammunition for firearms, or to deadly weapons, may not be construed to provide express authorization.
(e) Notwithstanding any provision of this code, the Code of State Rules, the common law of this state or other applicable law of this state to the contrary, and except as specifically provided by the United States Constitution, federal law or the Constitution of this state, when any person, group or entity challenges any ordinance, resolution, motion, rule, policy, administrative action or any other act of any public agency as being in conflict with this section:
(1) The court shall presume that the challenged ordinance, resolution, motion, rule, policy, administrative action or other act is in conflict with this section unless the public agency proves beyond a reasonable doubt that the challenged ordinance, resolution, motion, rule, policy, administrative action or other act is not preempted by this section and does not otherwise conflict with this section;
(2) The court shall view all evidence in the light most favorable to the person, group or entity challenging the ordinance, resolution, motion, rule, policy, administrative action or other act of a public agency, as a violation of this section;
(3) The court shall draw all presumptions, inferences and judgments of credibility in the manner most favorable to the person, group or entity challenging the ordinance, resolution, motion, rule, policy, administrative action or other act of a public agency, as a violation of this section;
(4) The court shall analyze the law and facts in the light most favorable to the person, group or entity challenging the ordinance, resolution, motion, rule, policy, administrative action or other act of a public agency, as a violation of this section, to faithfully fulfill the requirements of subdivisions (1) through (3) of this subsection;
(5) The court shall liberally construe the provisions of this subsection and subsections (b) and (c) of this section and narrowly construe the provisions of subsection (d) of this section and any provision of this code purporting to provide express authorization as that term is described in subdivision (11), subsection (d) of this section;
(6) In any appeal of a case arising under this section, any decision of the trial court in favor of the public agency shall be reviewed
de novo and no deference shall be accorded to any judgment of the trial court favoring the public agency or any individual decision of the trial court challenged on appeal; and
(7) In addition to any other relief provided, the court shall award costs and reasonable attorney fees to any person, group or entity that substantially prevails in a challenge to an ordinance, resolution, motion, rule, policy, administrative action or any other act of any public agency as being in conflict with this section, including all attorney fees reasonably connected with attempts by the challenging party to seek the public agency's compliance with this section prior to commencement of any civil action seeking enforcement of this section.
§61-7-18. Prohibition of registration of firearms and concealable weapons; exceptions; penalty.
(a)
Legislative findings and intent. -- The Legislature intends through the provisions of this section to:
(1) Protect the right of individuals to keep and bear arms as protected by both the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article III, § of the state Constitution;
(2) Protect the privacy rights of law-abiding owners of firearms and concealable weapons; and
(3) Establish protections from registration of firearms, concealable weapons or law-abiding owners thereof supplemental to section seventeen of this article.
(b)
Prohibitions. -- No state governmental agency or county, municipality, special district or other political subdivision or official, agent or employee of such state or other governmental entity or any other person, public or private, may keep or cause to be kept any list, record or registry of privately-owned firearms, concealable weapons or any list, record or registry of the owners thereof.
(c)
Exceptions. -- The provisions of subsection (b) of this section does not apply to:
(1) Records of weapons that have been used in committing any crime;
(2) Records relating to any person who has been convicted of a crime;
(3) Records of weapons that have been reported stolen that are retained for a period not in excess of ten days after such weapons are recovered. Official documentation recording the theft of a recovered weapon may be maintained no longer than the balance of the year entered, plus two years;
(4) Firearm records that must be retained by licensed firearm dealers under federal law, including copies of such records transmitted to law-enforcement agencies. However, no state governmental agency or county, municipality, special district or other political subdivision or official, agent or employee of such state or other governmental entity or any other person, private or public, may accumulate, compile, computerize or otherwise collect or convert such written records into any form of list, registry or database for any purpose;
(5) Records of an insurer that, as a condition to providing insurance against theft or loss of a firearm or concealable weapons, identify such weapon. Such records may not be sold, commingled with records relating to other weapons or transferred to any other person or entity. The insurer may not keep a record of such weapon more than sixty days after the policy of insurance expires or after notification by the insured that the insured is no longer the owner of such weapon;
(6) Lists of customers of a dealer in firearms or concealable weapons retained by such dealer, provided that such lists do not disclose the particular weapons purchased. Such lists, or any parts thereof, may not be sold, commingled with records relating to other weapons, or transferred to any other person or entity;
(7) Sales receipts retained by the seller of firearms or concealable weapons or by a person providing credit for such purchase, provided that such receipts may not serve as or be used for the creation of a database for registration of firearms or concealable weapons;
(8) Personal records of firearms or concealable weapons maintained by the owner of such firearms or concealable weapons;
(9) Records maintained by a business that stores or acts as the selling agent of firearms or concealable weapons on behalf of the lawful owner of the weapons;
(10) Membership lists of organizations comprised of owners of firearms or concealable weapons;
(11) Records maintained by an employer or contracting entity of the firearms or concealable weapons owned by its officers, employees or agents, if such weapons are used in the course of business performed on behalf of the employer;
(12) Records maintained pursuant to section four, article seven of this chapter pertaining to any person who is or was a licensee or applicant under section four, article seven of this chapter, at any time within the prior two calendar years;
(13) Records of weapons involved in criminal investigations, criminal prosecutions, criminal appeals and post-conviction motions, civil proceedings relating to the surrender or seizure of firearms or concealable weapons including protective injunctions, commitments to mental institutions and sheriff's levies pursuant to court judgments, and voluntary surrender by the owner or custodian of the weapon;
(14) Paper documents relating to weapons involved in criminal cases, criminal investigations and criminal prosecutions, civil proceedings relating to the surrender or seizure of weapons including protective injunctions, commitments to mental institutions and sheriff's levies pursuant to court judgments, and voluntary surrender by the owner or custodian of the weapon; or
(15) Noncriminal records relating to the receipt, storage or return of concealable weapons, including, but not limited to, records relating to weapons impounded for storage or safekeeping, receipts proving that a weapon was returned to the rightful owner and supporting records of identification and proof of ownership, or records relating to weapons impounded pursuant to levies or court orders:
Provided, That such records may not be compiled, sorted, or otherwise arranged into any lists, indexes, or registries of concealable weapons or owners thereof.
(d)
Penalties. --
(1) Any person who knowingly and willfully violates any provision of this section is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned for not less than one year nor more than five years, fined not more than $50,000, or both. Any person who otherwise violates any provision of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be confined in jail for not more than one year, fined not more than $10,000, or both.
(2) Except as required by the provisions of the state Constitution or the United States Constitution, no public funds may be used to defend the unlawful conduct of any person charged with a violation of this section, except where such funds are obligated or paid after the final dismissal of charges against such person or acquittal at trial. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this subdivision, public funds may be expended to provide the services of the office of public defender or court-appointed counsel as otherwise provided by law.
(3) The governmental entity, or the designee of such governmental entity, in whose service or employ a list, record or registry was compiled in violation of this section may be assessed a fine of not more than $5 million, if the court determines that the evidence shows that the list, record or registry was compiled or maintained with the knowledge or complicity of the management of the governmental entity. The Attorney General or any person aggrieved by a violation of this section may bring a civil action to enforce the fines assessed under this subdivision.
(4) The prosecuting attorney shall investigate complaints of criminal violations of this section occurring within his or her county and, where evidence indicates a violation may have occurred, shall prosecute violators.
(5) The prosecuting attorney, the Attorney General and any person aggrieved by a violation of this section shall have concurrent power to bring a civil action to enforce this section. In addition to any other relief provided, the court shall award costs and reasonable attorney fees to any person who prevails in a civil action to enforce this section or in an action for a writ of mandamus to compel a prosecuting attorney to act pursuant to subdivision (4) of this subsection.
(e)
Construction. -- This section shall be construed to effectuate its remedial and deterrent purposes. This section may not be construed to grant any substantive, procedural privacy right or civil claim to any criminal defendant, and a violation of this section may not be grounds for the suppression of evidence in any criminal case.
(f)
Closed records. -- Information specified in subdivisions (3), (4), (11), (12), (13), (14) and (15), subsection (c) of this section shall be closed from public access and exempt from chapter twenty-nine-b of this code.
(g)
Grace period. -- Any list, record or registry maintained or under construction on the effective date of this section shall be destroyed, unless prohibited by law, within sixty calendar days after the effective date of this section. Thereafter, failure to destroy any such list, record or registry shall result in civil and criminal liability under this section.
§61-7-19. Restrictions on seizures of firearms and concealable weapons; exceptions; civil relief.

(a) If a law-enforcement officer stops a person to question the person regarding a possible violation of this article, for a traffic stop, or for any other law-enforcement purpose, if the person surrenders a firearm or concealable weapon to the officer, either voluntarily or pursuant to a request or demand of the officer, and if the officer does not charge the person with a violation of this article or arrest the person for any offense, the person is not otherwise prohibited by law from possessing the firearm or concealable weapon, and the firearm or concealable weapon is not contraband, the officer shall return the firearm or concealable weapon to the person at the termination of the stop. If a court orders a law-enforcement officer to return a firearm or concealable weapon to a person pursuant to the requirements of this subsection, subdivision (2), subsection (b) of this section shall apply.
(b) If a law-enforcement officer stops or detains a person for any law-enforcement purpose and the person voluntarily or pursuant to a request or demand of the officer surrenders a firearm or concealable weapon to the officer, if a law-enforcement officer stops a motor vehicle for any purpose and a person in the motor vehicle voluntarily or pursuant to a request or demand of the officer surrenders a firearm or concealable weapon to the officer, or if a law-enforcement officer otherwise seizes a firearm or concealable weapon from a person:
(1) If the law-enforcement officer does not return the firearm or concealable weapon to the person at the termination of the stop or otherwise promptly return the firearm or concealable weapon to the person after the seizure of the firearm or concealable weapon, the officer or other personnel at the officer's law-enforcement agency shall maintain the integrity and identity of the firearm or concealable weapon in such a manner so that if the firearm or concealable weapon subsequently is to be returned to the person it can be identified and returned to the person in the same condition it was in when it was seized; and
(2) If the law-enforcement officer does not return the firearm or concealable weapon to the person at the termination of the stop or otherwise promptly return the firearm or concealable weapon to the person after the seizure of the firearm or concealable weapon, if a court finds that a law-enforcement officer failed to return the firearm or concealable weapon to the person after the person has demanded the return of the firearm or concealable weapon from the officer, and if the court orders a law-enforcement officer to return the firearm or concealable weapon to the person, in addition to any other relief ordered, the court also shall award reasonable costs and attorney's fees to the person who sought the order to return the firearm or concealable weapon.
(c) In this section, the term "law-enforcement officer" means any law-enforcement officer, as that term is defined in section two, article seven of this chapter, who is employed by a West Virginia law-enforcement agency.
§61-7-20. Requirements for local gun buy-back programs.
(a) Every West Virginia law-enforcement agency that participates in a "gun buy-back program" or other program in which firearms or ammunition are purchased or surrendered for the purpose of destruction shall assure that:
(1) The serial number of each firearm that is purchased or surrendered to the program is checked against local, state and federal records of stolen firearms and, if the West Virginia law- enforcement agency finds that the firearm is a stolen firearm, that the firearm is not destroyed without the express written permission of the lawful owner of the firearm and, if the lawful owner of the firearm does not give express written permission for the firearm to be destroyed, that the firearm is returned to its lawful owner;
(2) If the West Virginia law-enforcement agency determines that a firearm that is purchased by, or surrendered to the "gun buy-back program" is stolen, that the West Virginia law-enforcement agency makes an effort to arrest the thief or any person who possessed the firearm knowing it was stolen; and
(3) Prior to the destruction of any firearm that is purchased or surrendered, that the West Virginia law-enforcement agency makes a written determination as to whether the firearm may have been used in a crime, and that if the West Virginia law-enforcement agency determines that the firearm probably was used in a crime, that the firearm is retained for evidence, and if the West Virginia law-enforcement agency determines that the firearm probably was not used in a crime, if the firearm is a rifled firearm, that a fired bullet and fired cartridge case is retained for possible use as evidence and that if the firearm is a smooth bore firearm, that a fired cartridge case is retained for possible use as evidence.
(b) Prior to returning a stolen firearm to a lawful owner, the West Virginia law-enforcement agency shall determine whether the lawful owner of the firearm is prohibited from possessing a firearm under federal law and the laws of the state in which the owner resides. If the lawful owner of the firearm is prohibited from to possessing a firearm under federal law or the laws of the state in which the owner resides, the law-enforcement agency may destroy the firearm after compliance with subdivision (2), subsection (a) of this section.
CHAPTER 64. LEGISLATIVE RULES.

ARTICLE 5. AUTHORIZATION FOR DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN RESOURCES TO PROMULGATE LEGISLATIVE RULES.

§64-5-1a. Health and Human Resources; child care centers licensing.
The legislative rule contained in title seventy-eight, series one, and filed in the State Register on April 25, 2007, under the authority of section four, article two-b, chapter forty-nine of this code, relating to Department of Health and Human Resources (Child Care Centers Licensing, 78 CSR 1) is reauthorized with the following amendment:
On page seventy, section one, by striking subsection 20.3.a in its entirety and renumbering subsequent subsections.
§64-5-1b. Health and Human Resources; child-care and treatment facilities.
The legislative rule contained in title seventy-eight, series three, and filed in the State Register on May 2, 2007, under the authority of section three, article seventeen, chapter twenty-seven, sections four, six and seven of article one-a, chapter twenty-seven and article two-b, chapter forty-nine of this code, relating to the Department of Health and Human Resources (Minimum Licensing Requirements for Residential Child Care and Treatment Facilities for Children and Transitioning Adults in West Virginia, 78 CSR 3) is reauthorized with the following amendment:
On page thirty-one, section three, by striking subsection 12.5.c in its entirety and renumbering subsequent subsections accordingly.
ARTICLE 7. AUTHORIZATION FOR DEPARTMENT OF TAX AND REVENUE TO PROMULGATE LEGISLATIVE RULES.

§64-7-3a. Lottery Commission; limited gaming facility rule.
The legislative rule contained in title eighty-seven, series four, filed in the State Register on April 20, 2000, under the authority of section five, article twenty-five, chapter twenty-nine of this code, relating to the West Virginia Lottery Commission (Limited Gaming Facility Rule 179 CSR 4) is reauthorized with the following amendment:
On page twelve, section four, by striking subsection 3.12 in its entirety and renumbering subsequent subsections accordingly.
ARTICLE 10. AUTHORIZATION FOR BUREAU OF COMMERCE TO PROMULGATE
LEGISLATIVE RULES.

§64-10-3a. Division of Natural Resources; Commercial Whitewater Outfitters.

The legislative rule contained in title fifty-eight, series twelve and filed in the state Register on March 27, 2008, under the authority of section twenty-three-a, article two, chapter twenty of this code, relating to the Division of Natural Resources (Commercial Whitewater Outfitters 58 CSR 12) is reauthorized with the following amendment:
On page seven, section twelve, by striking subsection 9.13 in its entirety and renumbering subsequent subsections accordingly.
§64-10-3b. Division of Natural Resources; public use of state parks.
The legislative rule contained in title fifty-eight, series thirty-one and filed in the State Register on May 4, 2006, under the authority of section seven, article one, chapter twenty of this code, relating to the Division of Natural Resources (Public use of West Virginia State Parks, State Forests, and State Wildlife Management Areas Under the Division of Natural Resources 58 CSR 31) is reauthorized with the following amendment:
On page two, section thirty-one, subsection 2.14 by striking "firearms, uncased".
On page two, section thirty-one, subsection 2.14.a by striking "rifle, pistol, skeet, trap, target or shooting" and inserting "archery" in its place.
ARTICLE 12. RACING COMMISSION.
§64-12-1. Thoroughbred racing.

The legislative rule contained in title one hundred seventy- eight, series one and filed in the state Register on April 6, 2007, under the authority of sections five, six, eight and thirteen, article twenty-three, chapter nineteen of this code, relating to the Racing Commission (Thoroughbred Racing 178 CSR 1) is reauthorized with the following amendment:
On page thirty, section one, subsection 37.6 by striking "firearm, or other deadly weapon".
§64-12-2. Greyhound racing.
The legislative rule contained in title one hundred seventy- eight, series two and filed in the State Register on May 5, 2006, under the authority of sections six, article twenty-three, chapter nineteen of this code, relating to the Racing Commission(Greyhound Racing 178 CSR 2) is reauthorized with the following amendment:
On page twenty-nine, section two, subsection 40.6 by striking "carries or exhibits a deadly weapon".




NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to reform the state preemption of firearm regulations and establish uniform signage requirement for all places, both public and private property, where the possession or carrying of weapons has been prohibited.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.

§61-7-1 has been completely rewritten.
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