FISCAL
NOTE
WEST virginia legislature
2017 regular session
By
[
to the Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.
A BILL amend and reenact §15-2D-3 of the
Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; relating to Capitol Complex security
access; permitting the issuance of electronic keycards to certain individuals
by the Director of the Division of Protective Services; providing for the
renewal thereof; setting expiration dates; requiring the development of forms
for the application for electronic keycards by the director or his or her
designee by eligible individuals; establishing application fee; allowing
certain state employees to waive certain fees;
providing for the deposit of application fees into a special revenue
account; providing that privileges attaching to keycards are not transferable;
and providing for revocation of keycards for violation of the conditions of
issuance and at the discretion of the director.
Be it enacted by the
Legislature of West Virginia:
That §15-2D-3 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2D. DIVISION OF
PROTECTIVE SERVICES.
§15-2D-3. Duties and powers of the director and officers.
(a) The director is responsible for the control and
supervision of the division. The director and any officer of the division
specified by the director may carry designated weapons and have the same powers
of arrest and law enforcement in Kanawha County as members of the West Virginia
State Police as set forth in subsections (b) and (d), section twelve, article
two of this chapter: Provided, That the director and designated members
shall have such powers throughout the State of West Virginia in investigating
and performing law-enforcement duties for offenses committed on the Capitol
Complex or related to the division's
security and protection duties at the Capitol Complex: Provided, however,
That the director and designated members shall have said powers throughout the
state relating to offenses and activities occurring on any property owned,
leased or operated by the State of West Virginia when undertaken at the request
of the agency occupying the property: Provided further, That nothing in
this article shall be construed as to obligate the director or the division to
provide or be responsible for providing security at state facilities outside
the Capitol Complex.
(b) Any officer of the division shall be certified as a
law-enforcement officer by the Governor's Committee on Crime, Delinquency and
Correction or may be conditionally employed as a law-enforcement officer until
certified in accordance with the provisions of section five, article twenty-nine,
chapter thirty of this code.
(c) The director may:
(1) Employ necessary personnel, all of whom shall be
classified exempt, assign them the duties necessary for the efficient
management and operation of the division and specify members who may carry,
without license, weapons designated by the director;
(2) Contract for security and other services;
(3) Purchase equipment as necessary to maintain security at
the Capitol Complex and other state facilities as may be determined by the
Secretary of the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety;
(4) Establish and provide standard uniforms, arms, weapons
and other enforcement equipment authorized for use by members of the division
and shall provide for the periodic inspection of the uniforms and equipment.
All uniforms, arms, weapons and other property furnished to members of the
division by the State of West Virginia is and remains the property of the
state;
(5) Appoint security officers to provide security on premises
owned or leased by the State of West Virginia;
(6) Upon request by the Superintendent of the West Virginia
State Police, provide security for the Speaker of the West Virginia House of
Delegates, the President of the West Virginia Senate, the Governor or a justice
of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals;
(7) Gather information from a broad base of employees at and
visitors to the Capitol Complex to determine their security needs and develop a
comprehensive plan to maintain and improve security at the Capitol Complex
based upon those needs; and
(8) Assess safety and security needs and make recommendations
for safety and security at any proposed or existing state facility as
determined by the Secretary of the Department of Military Affairs and Public
Safety, upon request of the secretary of the department to which the facility
is or will be assigned.
(d) The director shall:
(1) On or before July 1, 1999, propose legislative rules for
promulgation in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code. The rules shall, at a minimum, establish ranks and
the duties of officers within the membership of the division.
(2) On or before July 1, 1999, enter into an interagency
agreement with the Secretary of the Department of Military Affairs and Public
Safety and the Secretary of the Department of Administration, which delineates
their respective rights and authorities under any contracts or subcontracts for
security personnel. A copy of the interagency agreement shall be delivered to
the Governor, the President of the West Virginia Senate and the Speaker of the
West Virginia House of Delegates and a copy shall be filed in the Office of the
Secretary of State and shall be a public record.
(3) Deliver a monthly status report to the Speaker of the
West Virginia House of Delegates and the President of the West Virginia Senate.
(e) Require any service provider whose employees are
regularly employed on the grounds or in the buildings of the Capitol Complex or
who have access to sensitive or critical information submit to a
fingerprint-based state and federal background inquiry through the state
repository, and require a new employee who is employed to provide services on
the grounds or in the building of the Capitol Complex to submit to an
employment eligibility check through E-verify.
(1) After the contract for such services has been approved,
but before any such employees are permitted to be on the grounds or in the
buildings of the Capitol Complex or have access to sensitive or critical
information, the service provider shall submit a list of all persons who will
be physically present and working at the Capitol Complex for purposes of
verifying compliance with this section.
(2) All current service providers shall, within ninety days
of the amendment and reenactment of this section by the eightieth Legislature,
ensure that all of its employees who are providing services on the grounds or
in the buildings of the Capitol Complex or who have access to sensitive or
critical information submit to a fingerprint-based state and federal background
inquiry through the state repository.
(3) Any contract entered into, amended or renewed by an
agency or entity of state government with a service provider shall contain a
provision reserving the right to prohibit specific employees thereof from
accessing sensitive or critical information or to be present at the Capitol
Complex based upon results addressed from a criminal background check.
(4) For purposes of this section, the term "service
provider"
means any person or company that provides employees to a state agency or entity
of state government to work on the grounds or in the buildings that make-up the
Capitol Complex or who have access to sensitive or critical information.
(5) In accordance with the provisions of Public Law 92-544
the criminal background check information will be released to the Director of
the Division of Protective Services.
(f) Any person
may make application to be issued an electronic keycard providing entry through
the exterior doors of Building 1 of the Capitol Complex by submitting a
completed application, on a form to be prescribed by the director, with an
application fee of $250: Provided,
That for current full-time state employees the fee is waived, but the director
shall charge a reasonable fee to cover the costs of a background check. Application fees paid pursuant to this
subsection shall be deposited into the Security Enforcement Fund established in
section seven, article two-d, chapter fifteen of this code. Upon completion of a background check, and
upon the sole discretion of the director, if the director finds that the
applicant does not pose a security threat to any person or the Capitol, then an
electronic keycard may be issued.
Possession of an electronic keycard shall entitle only the person to
whom it is issued to enter any exterior door of Building 1 of the Capitol
Complex without passage through security screening checkpoints. Each electronic
keycard shall be issued for two years.
Every person issued a card must comply with all rules and laws relating
to entry to a government building. The director
can establish additional requirements associated with the use and revocation of
all issued cards and may de-active any card without notice.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is
to allow persons who regularly do business at Building 1 of the State Capitol
Complex, the opportunity to get an exterior door access security card, after
being subject to a background check and paying a $250 fee, upon approval of the
Director of the Division of Protective Services.
Strike-throughs indicate language
that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring
indicates new language that would be added.