WEST virginia
legislature
2017 regular session
By
[
to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and Homeland Security then Finance
A BILL to amend and
reenact §15-2-3 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to
requiring the Superintendent of the State Police to develop a plan to increase
the number of troopers to a minimum of eight hundred by July 1, 2018.
Be it enacted by the
Legislature of West Virginia:
That §15-2-3 of the
Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 2. WEST VIRGINIA
STATE POLICE.
§15-2-3. State Police
structure; how established; training; special revenue account.
(a) The superintendent
shall create, appoint and equip the State Police which shall consist of the
number of troops, districts and detachments required for the proper
administration of the State Police. Each troop, district or detachment shall be
composed of the number of officers and members the superintendent determines
are necessary to meet operational needs and are required for the efficient
operation of the State Police. The superintendent shall develop a program to
enable the state to attain a minimum number of eight hundred troopers by July
1, 2018. The superintendent shall establish the general organizational
structure of the State Police by interpretive rule in accordance with the
provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code. The
superintendent shall provide adequate facilities for the training of all
members of the State Police and shall prescribe basic training requirements for
newly enlisted members. He or she shall also provide advanced or in-service
training, from time to time, for all members of the State Police. The
superintendent shall hold entry-level training classes for other
law-enforcement officers in the state without cost to those officers, except
actual expenses for food, lodging and school supplies. The superintendent may
hold advanced levels of training classes for other law-enforcement officers in
the state for a reasonable daily fee per student not to exceed $100.
(b) There is hereby created
in the State Treasury a special revenue account, which shall be an interest
bearing account, to be known as the Academy Training and Professional
Development Fund. The special revenue account shall consist of training fees,
any appropriations that may be made by the Legislature, income from the
investment of moneys held in the special revenue account and all other sums
available for deposit to the special revenue account from any source, public or
private. No expenditures, for purposes of this section, are authorized from
collections except in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter
twelve of this code and upon fulfillment of the provisions set forth in article
two, chapter eleven-b of this code. Any balance remaining in the special
revenue account at the end of any state fiscal year does not revert to the
General Revenue Fund but remains in the special revenue account and shall be
used solely in a manner consistent with this article. The superintendent is
authorized to expend funds from the account to offset operational and training
costs; for building maintenance and repair; for purchases and for equipment
repair or replacement for the West Virginia State Police Academy; and to defray
necessary expenses incidental to those and other activities associated with
law-enforcement training.
(c) There is hereby created
in the State Treasury a special revenue account, which is an interest bearing
account, to be known as the State Police 100th Anniversary Fund. The special
revenue account shall consist of merchandise sales, any appropriations that may
be made by the Legislature, income from the investment of moneys held in the
special revenue account and all other sums available for deposit to the special
revenue account from any source, public or private. No expenditures for
purposes of this section are authorized from collections except in accordance
with the provisions of article three, chapter twelve of this code and upon
fulfillment of the provisions set forth in article two, chapter eleven-b of
this code. Any balance remaining in the special revenue account at the end of
any state fiscal year does not revert to the General Revenue Fund but remains
in the special revenue account and shall be used solely in a manner consistent
with this article. The superintendent is authorized to expend funds from the
account to offset costs for the 100th anniversary celebration; for purchasing
100th anniversary commemorative merchandise, equipment and vehicles; and to
defray necessary expenses incidental to those and other activities associated
with the 100th anniversary of the West Virginia State Police. This fund expires
on December 31, 2019 and remaining funds shall be transferred to the Academy
Training and Professional Development Fund.
(d)
The superintendent may hold training classes for certification to access and
use the West Virginia Automated Police Network (WEAPON) for a
reasonable daily fee per student not to exceed $100.
(e)
There is hereby created in the State Treasury a special revenue account, which
is an interest bearing account, to be known as the West Virginia State Police
Criminal Justice Information Services Fund. The special revenue account shall
consist of: Fees collected for training and certification for access to the
West Virginia Automated Police Network (WEAPON) system; any appropriations that
may be made by the Legislature; income from the investment of moneys held in
the special revenue account; and all other sums available for deposit to the
special revenue account from any source, public or private. Any balance
remaining in the special revenue account at the end of any state fiscal year
does not revert to the General Revenue Fund but remains in the special revenue
account and may be used solely in a manner consistent with this article. The
superintendent is authorized to expend funds from the account for the following
purposes: To offset operational and training costs; for building maintenance
and repair; for purchases and for equipment repair; personal services;
software; other associated maintenance costs; and to defray necessary expenses
incidental to those and other activities associated with the communications
section of the West Virginia State Police.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is
to require the Superintendent of the State Police to develop a plan to increase
the number of troopers to a minimum of eight hundred by July 1, 2018.
Strike-throughs indicate language
that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring
indicates new language that would be added.