COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 202
(By Senators Bowman, Unger, Jenkins, Weeks, Kessler, McCabe,
Caldwell, White, Fanning, Rowe, Minard, Prezioso, Plymale,
Sharpe, Ross, Dempsey, Love, Facemyer, McKenzie, Smith, Harrison,
Boley, Minear, Sprouse, Guills, Helmick, Oliverio, Hunter,
Chafin, Edgell and Tomblin)
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[Originating in the Committee on Military;
reported January 30, 2004.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §9A-1-2 and §9A-1-3 of the code of West
Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to including Gulf War
and Afghanistan or Iraq conflict veterans on the veterans
council.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §9A-1-2 and §9A-1-3 of the code of West Virginia, 1931,
as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. DIVISION OF VETERANS' AFFAIRS.
§9A-1-2. Veterans' council; administration of division.
There
shall be is established a "veterans' council"
which
shall consist consisting of
seven nine members who
shall must be citizens and residents of this state
and who have served in and
been honorably discharged or separated under honorable conditions
from the armed forces of the United States and whose service was
within a time of war as defined by the laws of the United States,
either Public Law No. 2 -- 73rd Congress, or Public Law No. 346 --
78th Congress, and
any and all amendments thereto. At least one
member of the council
shall must be a veteran of World War II, at
least one member of the council
shall must be a veteran of the
Korean Conflict
and, at least two members of the council
shall must
be veterans of the Vietnam era,
at least one member must be a
veteran of the first Gulf War and at least one member must be a
veteran of the Afghanistan or Iraqi Conflict. The members of the
veterans' council
shall must be selected with special reference to
their ability and fitness to effectuate the purposes of this
article.
The West Virginia division of veterans' affairs shall be
administered by A director and such veterans' affairs officers,
assistants and employees as may be deemed advisable,
shall
administer the West Virginia division of veterans' affairs.
§9A-1-3. Appointment of veterans' council members; term of office;
removal.
The term of office of the members of the veterans' council
shall be is six years, and
they shall members must be appointed by
the governor by and with the advice and consent of the Senate:
Provided, That
upon the adoption of this article, the governor as
aforesaid shall appoint two members for a term of two years, two members for a term of four years and one member for a term of six
years, and thereafter the successors of each member shall be
appointed for the term of six years: Provided, however, That upon
the expansion of the council from
five to seven
to nine members,
the governor shall initially appoint one new member for a term of
four years and shall initially appoint the other new member for a
term of six years. Thereafter the successors of these members
shall be appointed for the term of six years. In case of a vacancy
in the veterans' council, the appointment
shall be is for the
remainder of the unexpired term. A member of the veterans' council
shall be is subject to removal by the governor for cause, but
shall
may have upon his own request an open hearing before the governor
on the complaints or charges lodged against him. The action of the
governor
shall be is final.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to expand the Veterans
Council from seven to nine members to include representatives of
the first Gulf War and the Afghanistan or Iraqi Conflict.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
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