Senate Bill No. 377
(By Senators Weidebusch, Manchin, Love, Ross, Helmick, Sharpe
and Schoonover)
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[Introduced February 13, 1996; referred to the Committee
on Government Organization.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section eight-b, article fifteen,
chapter eight of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to volunteer
fire companies; and permitting part-volunteer or volunteer
fire companies or departments receiving state funds or
grants to use specified funds for payment of filing fees
required by the legislative auditor's office in connection
with sworn statements of annual expenditures.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section eight-b, article fifteen, chapter eight of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 15. FIRE FIGHTING; FIRE COMPANIES AND DEPARTMENTS; CIVIL SERVICE FOR PAID FIRE DEPARTMENTS.
§8-15-8b. Authorized expenditures of revenues from the municipal
pensions and protection fund and the fire protection
fund.
Revenues allocated to volunteer and part volunteer fire
companies and departments may be expended only for the items
listed in subdivisions (a) through (h) (i) of this section. Such
expenditures may be made for the following:
(a) Personal protective equipment, including protective head
gear, bunker coats, pants, boots, combination of bunker pants and
boots, coats and gloves;
(b) Equipment for compliance with the national fire
protection standard or automotive fire apparatus, NFPA-1901;
(c) Compliance with insurance service office recommendations
relating to fire departments;
(d) Rescue equipment, communications equipment and ambulance
equipment: Provided, That no moneys received from the municipal
pensions and protection fund or the fire protection fund may be
used for equipment for personal vehicles owned or operated by
volunteer fire company or department members;
(e) Capital improvements reasonably required for effective
and efficient fire protection service and maintenance thereof;
(f) Retirement of debts;
(g) Payment of utility bills; and
(h) Payment of the cost of immunizations, including any
laboratory work incident thereto, for firefighters against
hepatitis-b and other blood borne pathogens: Provided, That the
vaccine shall be purchased through the state immunization program
or from the lowest cost vendor available: Provided, however,
That volunteer and part volunteer fire companies and departments
shall seek to obtain no cost administration of the vaccinations
through local boards of health: Provided further, That in the
event any volunteer or part volunteer fire company or department
is unable to obtain no cost administration of the vaccinations
through a local board of health, the company or department shall
seek to obtain the lowest cost available for the administration
of the vaccinations from a licensed health care provider; and
(i) Any filing fee required to be paid to the legislative
auditor's office under section fourteen, article four, chapter
twelve of this code relating to sworn statements of annual
expenditures submitted by volunteer or part volunteer fire
companies or departments that receive state funds or grants.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to permit volunteer or
part volunteer fire departments that receive state funds or
grants to use specified state funds to pay filing fees to the
Legislative Auditor's Office in connection with sworn statements
of annual expenditures.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.