H. B. 3101
(By Delegate Amores and Staton)
[Introduced March 18, 2005 ; referred to the
Committee on Education then Finance.]
A BILL to amend the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated section §18-11-27;
and to amend and reenact §61-7-4 of said code, all relating
to the creation and term of the West Virginia University
rifle team special revenue fund; collection and deposits of
monies into the fund; and authorization of expenditures.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding a new section, designated §18-11-27; and that §61-7-4
of said code be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 18. EDUCATION.
ARTICLE 11. WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY.
§18-11-27. Establishment of West Virginia University rifle team
special revenue fund; expenditures.
There is hereby created in the state treasury a special
revenue fund to be known as the "West Virginia University rifle
team special revenue fund" which shall consist any monies collected by the sheriff and deposited into the fund pursuant to
§61-7-4(a) and any additional gifts, grants, contributions or
money from any source specifically designated for deposit in the
fund. Expenditures from the fund shall be made by the Athletics
Director of the West Virginia University for the exclusive
purpose of financially supporting the existence and operation of
the West Virginia University rifle team. Any excess funds
remaining at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to the
general revenue fund but shall remain in the fund as an endowment
for the West Virginia University rifle team. This fund shall
continue in existence until the fiscal year ending in 2010,
unless the Legislature of the State of West Virginia elects to
reenacts the provisions of this section.
CHAPTER 61. CRIMES AND THEIR PUNISHMENT.
ARTICLE 7. DANGEROUS WEAPONS.
§61-7-4. License to carry deadly weapons; how obtained.
(a) Except as provided in subsection (h) of this section,
any person desiring to obtain a state license to carry a
concealed deadly weapon shall apply to the sheriff of his or her
county for such license, and shall pay to the sheriff, at the
time of application, a fee of seventy-five eighty-five dollars,
of which fifteen dollars of that amount shall be deposited in the
courthouse facilities improvement fund created by §29-26-6 of
this code. Ten dollars of the seventy-seven shall be deposited
in the West Virginia University rifle team special revenue fund created by §18-11-27 of this code. Concealed weapons permits may
only be issued for pistols or revolvers. Each applicant shall
file with the sheriff, a complete application, as prepared by the
superintendent of the West Virginia state police, in writing,
duly verified, which sets forth only the following licensing
requirements:
(1) The applicant's full name, date of birth, social
security number and a description of the applicant's physical
features;
(2) That, on the date the application is made, the applicant
is a bona fide resident of this state and of the county in which
the application is made and has a valid driver's license or other
state-issued photo identification showing such residence;
(3) That the applicant is twenty-one years of age or older:
Provided, That any individual who is less than twenty-one years
of age and possesses a properly issued concealed weapons license
as of the effective date of this article shall be licensed to
maintain his or her concealed weapons license notwithstanding the
provisions of this section requiring new applicants to be at
least twenty-one years of age: Provided, however, That upon a
showing of any applicant who is eighteen years of age or older
that he or she is required to carry a concealed weapon as a
condition for employment, and presents satisfactory proof to the
sheriff thereof, then he or she shall be issued a license upon
meeting all other conditions of this section. Upon discontinuance of employment that requires the concealed weapons
license, if the individual issued the license is not yet twenty-
one years of age, then the individual issued the license is no
longer eligible and must return his or her license to the issuing
sheriff;
(4) That the applicant is not addicted to alcohol, a
controlled substance or a drug and is not an unlawful user
thereof;
(5) That the applicant has not been convicted of a felony or
of an act of violence involving the misuse of a deadly weapon;
(6) That the applicant has not been convicted of a
misdemeanor offense of assault or battery either under the
provisions of section twenty-eight, article two of this chapter
or the provisions of subsection (b) or (c), section nine,
article two of this chapter in which the victim was a current or
former spouse, current or former sexual or intimate partner,
person with whom the defendant has a child in common, person with
whom the defendant cohabits or has cohabited, a parent or
guardian, the defendant's child or ward or a member of the
defendant's household at the time of the offense; or a
misdemeanor offense with similar essential elements in a
jurisdiction other than this state;
(7) That the applicant is not under indictment for a felony
offense or is not currently serving a sentence of confinement,
parole, probation or other court-ordered supervision
imposed by a court of any jurisdiction
or is the subject of an emergency or
temporary domestic violence protective order or is the subject of
a final domestic violence protective order entered by a court of
any jurisdiction;
(8) That the applicant is physically and mentally competent
to carry such weapon;
(9) That the applicant has not been adjudicated to be
mentally incompetent;
(10) That the applicant has qualified under the minimum
requirements set forth in subsection (d) of this section for
handling and firing such weapon: Provided, That this requirement
shall be waived in the case of a renewal applicant who has
previously qualified;
(11) That the applicant authorizes the sheriff of the
county, or his or her designee, to conduct an investigation
relative to the information contained in the application.
(b) The sheriff shall conduct an investigation which shall
verify that the information required in subdivisions (1), (2),
(3), (5), (6), (8) and (9), subsection (a) of this section are
true and correct.
(c) Sixty dollars of the application fee and any fees for
replacement of lost or stolen licenses received by the sheriff
shall be deposited by the sheriff into a concealed weapons
license administration fund. Such fund shall be administered by
the sheriff and shall take the form of an interest bearing account with any interest earned to be compounded to the fund.
Any funds deposited in this concealed weapon license
administration fund are to be expended by the sheriff to pay for
the costs associated with issuing concealed weapons licenses.
Any surplus in the fund on hand at the end of each fiscal year
may be expended for other law-enforcement purposes or operating
needs of the sheriff's office, as the sheriff may consider
appropriate.
(d) All persons applying for a license must complete a
training course in handling and firing a handgun. The successful
completion of any of the following courses fulfills this training
requirement:
(1) Any official national rifle association handgun safety
or training course;
(2) Any handgun safety or training course or class available
to the general public offered by an official law-enforcement
organization, community college, junior college, college or
private or public institution or organization or handgun training
school utilizing instructors duly certified by such institution;
(3) Any handgun training or safety course or class conducted
by a handgun instructor certified as such by the state or by the
national rifle association;
(4) Any handgun training or safety course or class conducted
by any branch of the United States military, reserve or national
guard.
A photocopy of a certificate of completion of any of the
courses or classes or an affidavit from the instructor, school,
club, organization or group that conducted or taught said course
or class attesting to the successful completion of the course or
class by the applicant or a copy of any document which shows
successful completion of the course or class shall constitute
evidence of qualification under this section.
(e) All concealed weapons license applications must be
notarized by a notary public duly licensed under article four,
chapter twenty-nine of this code. Falsification of any portion
of the application constitutes false swearing and is punishable
under the provisions of section two, article five, chapter sixty-
one of this code.
(f) If the information in the application is found to be
true and correct, the sheriff shall issue a license. The sheriff
shall issue or deny the license within forty-five days after the
application is filed if all required background checks authorized
by this section are completed.
(g) Before any approved license shall be issued or become
effective, the applicant shall pay to the sheriff a fee in the
amount of fifteen dollars which the sheriff shall forward to the
superintendent of the West Virginia state police within thirty
days of receipt. Any such license shall be valid for five years
throughout the state, unless sooner revoked.
(h) All persons holding a current and valid concealed weapons license as of the sixteenth day of December, one thousand
nine hundred ninety-five, shall continue to hold a valid
concealed weapons license until his or her license expires or is
revoked as provided in this article: Provided, That all
reapplication fees shall be waived for applications received by
the first day of January, one thousand nine hundred ninety-seven,
for any person holding a current and valid concealed weapons
license as of the sixteenth day of December, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-five, which contains use restrictions placed upon
the license as a condition of issuance by the issuing circuit
court. Any licenses reissued pursuant to this subsection will be
issued for the time period of the original license.
(i) Each license shall contain the full name, social
security number and address of the licensee and a space upon
which the signature of the licensee shall be signed with pen and
ink. The issuing sheriff shall sign and attach his or her seal
to all license cards. The sheriff shall provide to each new
licensee a duplicate license card, in size similar to other state
identification cards and licenses, suitable for carrying in a
wallet, and such license card is deemed a license for the
purposes of this section.
(j) The superintendent of the West Virginia state police
shall prepare uniform applications for licenses and license cards
showing that such license has been granted and shall do any other
act required to be done to protect the state and see to the enforcement of this section.
(k) In the event an application is denied, the specific
reasons for the denial shall be stated by the sheriff denying the
application. Any person denied a license may file, in the
circuit court of the county in which the application was made, a
petition seeking review of the denial. Such petition shall be
filed within thirty days of the denial. The court shall then
determine whether the applicant is entitled to the issuance of a
license under the criteria set forth in this section. The
applicant may be represented by counsel, but in no case shall the
court be required to appoint counsel for an applicant. The final
order of the court shall include the court's findings of fact and
conclusions of law. If the final order upholds the denial, the
applicant may file an appeal in accordance with the rules of
appellate procedure of the supreme court of appeals.
(l) In the event a license is lost or destroyed, the person
to whom the license was issued may obtain a duplicate or
substitute license for a fee of five dollars by filing a
notarized statement with the sheriff indicating that the license
has been lost or destroyed.
(m) The sheriff shall, immediately after the license is
granted as aforesaid, furnish the superintendent of the West
Virginia state police a certified copy of the approved
application. It shall be the duty of the sheriff to furnish to
the superintendent of the West Virginia state police at any time so requested a certified list of all such licenses issued in the
county. The superintendent of the West Virginia state police
shall maintain a registry of all persons who have been issued
concealed weapons licenses.
(n) All licensees must carry with them a state-issued photo
identification card with the concealed weapons license whenever
the licensee is carrying a concealed weapon. Any licensee who
fails to have in his or her possession a state-issued photo
identification card and a current concealed weapons license while
carrying a concealed weapon shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and,
upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than fifty or
more than two hundred dollars for each offense.
(o) The sheriff shall deny any application or revoke any
existing license upon determination that any of the licensing
application requirements established in this section have been
violated by the licensee.
(p) No person who is engaged in the receipt, review or in
the issuance or revocation of a concealed weapon license shall
incur any civil liability as the result of the lawful performance
of his or her duties under this article.
(q) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this
section, with respect to application by a former law-enforcement
officer honorably retired from agencies governed by article
fourteen, chapter seven of this code; article fourteen, chapter
eight of this code
; article two, chapter fifteen of this code
; and article seven, chapter twenty of this code, an honorably
retired officer is exempt from payment of fees and costs as
otherwise required by this section, and the application of the
honorably retired officer shall be granted without proof or
inquiry by the sheriff as to those requirements set forth in
subdivision (9), subsection (a) of this section, if the officer
meets the remainder of the requirements of this section and has
the approval of the appropriate chief law-enforcement officer.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to establish the West
Virginia University rifle team fund and provide revenue to WVU to
reinstate and operate the WVU rifle team.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.