Senate Bill No. 306

(By Senators Barnes, Green, Helmick, Sypolt and Williams)

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[Introduced January 27, 2011; referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.]

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A BILL to amend and reenact §7-4-1 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to requiring prosecuting attorneys who elect to carry a concealed firearm to receive certification to carry a concealed firearm nationwide as provided in the federal Law-Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2004.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

    That §7-4-1 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:

ARTICLE 4. PROSECUTING ATTORNEY, REWARDS AND LEGAL ADVICE.

§7-4-1. Duties of prosecuting attorney; further duties upon request of Attorney General.

    (a) It shall be the duty of The prosecuting attorney to shall attend to the criminal business of the state in the county in which he the prosecuting attorney is elected and qualified. and When he the prosecuting attorney has information of the violation of any penal law committed within such the county in which the prosecuting attorney is elected and qualified, he the prosecuting attorney shall institute and prosecute all necessary and proper proceedings against the offender and may in such case issue or cause to be issued a summons for any witness he may deem the prosecuting attorney considers material. Every public officer shall give him the prosecuting attorney information of the violation of any penal law committed within his the county in which the prosecuting attorney is elected and qualified. It shall also be the duty of The prosecuting attorney to shall attend to civil suits in such the county in which the prosecuting attorney is elected and qualified, in which the state or any department, commission, or board, thereof or other instrumentality of the state is interested, and to advise, attend to, bring, prosecute or defend, as the case may be, all matters, actions, suits and proceedings in which such the county or any county board of education is interested.

    (b) Any prosecuting attorney or assistant prosecuting attorney who elects to carry a concealed firearm pursuant to the federal Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act, 18 U.S.C. §926B, shall undergo annual firearms training and certification established by the sheriff’s department of his or her county, similar to that which is provided to members of the sheriff’s department eligible for training and certification under 18 U.S.C. §926B, and which shall reasonably accommodate any physical disability of the trainee. Any prosecuting attorney or assistant prosecuting attorney who elects to undergo training and certification pursuant to this subsection shall provide, at his or her own expense, a suitable firearm and any ammunition actually expended in training and certification pursuant to this subsection. Upon completion of training and certification pursuant to this subsection, each prosecuting attorney or assistant prosecuting attorney shall be issued a photographic identification and certification card, suitable to be carried in a wallet, valid for one year, which shall contain the name, title, official address, full-face color photograph of said prosecuting attorney or assistant prosecuting attorney, the sheriff’s signature, the expiration date, the words “qualified law-enforcement officer under 18 U.S.C. §926B” in conspicuous type and shall indicate completion of periodic training consistent with this subsection and 18 U.S.C. §926B. Prosecuting attorneys and assistant prosecuting attorneys shall have all the rights and authorities necessary in order to comply with 18 U.S.C. §926B and receive the rights, benefits, privileges and immunities conferred under 18 U.S.C. §926B. This subsection is supplemental and additional to existing rights to bear arms, and nothing in this subsection shall impair or diminish such rights.

    (c) It shall be the duty of The prosecuting attorney to shall keep his or her office open in the charge of a responsible person during the hours polls are open on general, primary and special county-wide election days, and the prosecuting attorney, or his assistant prosecuting attorneys, if any, shall be available for the purpose of advising election officials. It shall be the further duty of The prosecuting attorney, when requested by the Attorney General, to shall perform or to assist the Attorney General in performing, in the county in which he the prosecuting attorney is elected and qualified, any legal duties required to be performed by the Attorney General, and which are not inconsistent with the duties of the prosecuting attorney as the legal representative of such the county. It shall also be the duty of The prosecuting attorney, when requested by the Attorney General, to shall perform or to assist the Attorney General in performing any legal duties required to be performed by the Attorney General, in any county other than that the county in which such the prosecuting attorney is elected and qualified, and for the performance of any such duties in any county other than that the county in which such the prosecuting attorney is elected he and qualified, the prosecuting attorney shall be paid his or her actual expenses.

    (d) Upon the request of the Attorney General, the prosecuting attorney shall make a written report of the state and condition of the several causes all cases in which the state is a party, pending in his the county, and upon any matters referred to him the prosecuting attorney by the Attorney General as provided by law.

    NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require prosecuting attorneys, who elect to carry a concealed firearm, to receive certification to carry a concealed firearm nationwide as provided in the federal Law-Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2004.

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