H. B. 2293
(By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Chambers, and Delegates Martin
and Mezzatesta)
[Introduced February 26, 1993; referred to the
Committee on Government Organization.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section twelve, article two, chapter
fifteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to the powers of
the superintendent of the division of public safety; and
authorizing the sale of surplus real property.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section twelve, article two, chapter fifteen of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY.
§15-2-12. Mission of the division; powers of superintendent,
officers and members; patrol of turnpike.
(a) The West Virginia division of public safety shall have
the mission of statewide enforcement of criminal and traffic
laws with emphasis on providing basic enforcement and citizen
protection from criminal depredation throughout the state and
maintaining the safety of the state's public streets, roads and
highways.
(b) The superintendent and each of the officers and members
of the division are hereby empowered:
(1) To make arrests anywhere within the state of any persons
charged with the violation of any law of this state, or of the
United States, and when a witness to the perpetration of any
offense or crime, or to the violation of any law of this state,
or of the United States, may arrest without warrant; to arrest
and detain any persons suspected of the commission of any felony
or misdemeanor whenever complaint is made and warrant is issued
thereon for such arrest, and any person so arrested shall be
forthwith brought before the proper tribunal for examination and
trial in the county where the offense for which any such arrest
has been made was committed;
(2) To serve criminal process issued by any court or
magistrate anywhere within this state (they shall not serve civil
process); and
(3) To cooperate with local authorities in detecting crime
and in apprehending any person or persons engaged in or suspected
of the commission of any crime, misdemeanor or offense against
the law of this state, or of the United States, or of any
ordinance of any municipality in this state; and to take
affidavits in connection with any application to the division of
highways, division of motor vehicles and division of public
safety of West Virginia for any license, permit or certificate
that may be lawfully issued by these divisions of state
government.
(c) Members of the division of public safety are hereby
created forest patrolmen and game and fish wardens throughout thestate to do and perform any duties and exercise any powers of
such officers, and may apprehend and bring before any court or
magistrate having jurisdiction of such matters, anyone violating
any of the provisions of chapters twenty, sixty and sixty-one of
this code, and the division of public safety shall at any time be
subject to the call of the West Virginia alcohol beverage control
commissioner to aid in apprehending any person violating any of
the provisions of said chapter sixty of this code. They shall
serve and execute warrants for the arrest of any person and
warrants for the search of any premises issued by any properly
constituted authority, and shall exercise all of the powers
conferred by law upon a sheriff. They shall not serve any civil
process or exercise any of the powers of such officer in civil
matters.
(d) Any member of the division of public safety knowing or
having reason to believe that anyone has violated the law may
make complaint in writing before any court or officer having
jurisdiction and procure a warrant for such offender, execute
the same and bring such person before the proper tribunal having
jurisdiction. He shall make return on all such warrants to such
tribunals and his official title shall be "member of the division
of public safety." Members of the division of public safety may
execute any summons or process issued by any tribunal having
jurisdiction requiring the attendance of any person as a witness
before such tribunal and make return thereon as provided by law,
and any return by a member of the division of public safety
showing the manner of executing such warrant or process shall
have the same force and effect as if made by a sheriff.
(e) Each member of the division of public safety, when
called by the sheriff of any county, or when the governor by
proclamation so directs, shall have full power and authority
within such county, or within the territory defined by the
governor, to direct and command absolutely the assistance of any
sheriff, deputy sheriff, chief of police, policeman, game and
fish warden, and peace officer of the state, or of any county or
municipality therein, or of any able-bodied citizen of the United
States, to assist and aid in accomplishing the purposes expressed
in this article. When so called, any officer or person shall,
during the time his assistance is required, be for all purposes
a member of the division of public safety and subject to all the
provisions of this article.
(f) The superintendent may also assign members of the
division to perform police duties on any turnpike or toll road,
or any section thereof, operated by the West Virginia parkways,
economic development and tourism authority:
Provided,
That such
authority shall reimburse the division of public safety for
salaries paid to such members, and shall either pay directly or
reimburse the division for all other expenses of such group of
members in accordance with actual or estimated costs determined
by the superintendent.
(g) The division of public safety may develop proposals for
a comprehensive county or multicounty plan on the implementation
of an enhanced emergency service telephone system and for causing
a public meeting on such proposals, all as set forth in section
six-a, article six, chapter twenty-four of this code.
(h) The superintendent may also assign members of thedivision to administer tests for the issuance of commercial
drivers' licenses, operator and junior operator licenses as
provided for in section seven, article two, chapter seventeen-b
of this code:
Provided,
That the division of motor vehicles
shall reimburse the division of public safety for salaries and
employee benefits paid to such members, and shall either pay
directly or reimburse the division for all other expenses of such
group of members in accordance with actual costs determined by
the superintendent.
(i) The superintendent shall be reimbursed by the division
of motor vehicles for salaries and employee benefits paid to
members of the division of public safety, and shall either be
paid directly or reimbursed by the division of motor vehicles for
all other expenses of such group of members in accordance with
actual costs determined by the superintendent, for services
performed by such members relating to the duties and obligations
of the division of motor vehicles set forth in chapters
seventeen, seventeen-a, seventeen-b, seventeen-c and seventeen-d
of this code.
(j) By the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-three, the superintendent shall establish a network to
implement reports of the disappearance of children by local law-
enforcement agencies to local school division superintendents and
the state registrar of vital statistics. The network shall be
designed to establish cooperative arrangements between local law-
enforcement agencies and local school divisions concerning
reports of missing children and notices to law-enforcement
agencies of requests for copies of the cumulative records andbirth certificates of missing children. The network shall also
establish a mechanism for reporting the identities of all missing
children to the state registrar of vital statistics.
(k) The superintendent may at his discretion and upon the
written request of the West Virginia alcohol beverage control
commissioner assist the commissioner in the coordination and
enforcement of the alcohol beverage control act and the general
law concerning nonintoxicating beer and wine.
(l) The superintendent may sell any surplus real property
through the public land corporation and deposit the net proceeds
into a special revenue account to be utilized for the purchase of
additional real property and for repairs to or construction of
detachment offices or other facilities required by the division
of public safety. There is hereby created a special revolving
fund in the state treasury which shall be designated as the
"surplus real property proceeds fund." The fund shall consist of
all money received from the sale of surplus real property owned
by the division of public safety. The fund shall not be treated
by the auditor or treasurer as a part of the general revenue of
the state. The fund shall be a special revolving fund to be used
and paid out upon order of the superintendent of public safety
solely for the purposes specified in this subsection.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize the
Superintendent of the Division of Public Safety (state police) to
sell surplus real property to be used for the purchase of
additional real property and for repairs or construction of
detachment offices or other facilities.