ENROLLED
Senate Bill No. 434
(By Senator Dittmar)
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[Passed March 11, 1995; in effect ninety days from passage.]
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AN ACT to amend and reenact section fifty, article two, chapter
twenty of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to amend and reenact
sections one-a and one-c, article seven of said chapter,
all relating to wildlife resources; issuance of permits
for collection of wildlife for scientific or education
purposes; promulgation of rules; conservation officers
being excluded from coverage of wage and hour laws;
promulgation of rules; salary increase based on length of
service; rank; salary schedule; base pay; and exceptions.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section fifty, article two, chapter twenty of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted; and that sections one-a and
one-c, article seven of said chapter be amended and reenacted,
all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. WILDLIFE RESOURCES.
§20-2-50. Permit to hunt, kill, etc., wildlife for
scientific
or propagation purposes.
The director may issue a permit to a person to hunt, kill,
take, capture or maintain in captivity wildlife exclusively for
scientific purposes, but not for any commercial purposes. Any
person desiring to collect or procure any wildlife, including
any body tissue, organ or other portion thereof, eggs, nesting
materials or other materials from the habitat of such wildlife
shall be required to make application to the director for a
scientific collecting permit. The director shall promulgate
rules in accordance with the provisions of chapter twenty-nine-
a of this code regarding the issuance of the permits. A permit
may be issued only upon written application to the director setting forth at least:
(1) The number and kind of wildlife to be taken;
(2) The purpose and manner of taking;
(3) The name, residence, profession and educational or
scientific affiliation of the person applying for the permit;
and
(4) The geographic location where the collection or
procurement is planned to take place.
No charge shall be made for this permit: Provided, That
no permit shall be issued for the purpose of killing deer and
bear.
ARTICLE 7. LAW ENFORCEMENT, MOTORBOATING, LITTER.
§20-7-1a. Conservation officers excluded from coverage under
wage and hour laws; regulation; salary increase
based on length of service.
(a) Effective the first day of January, one thousand nine
hundred ninety, each conservation officer shall receive and be
entitled to an increase in salary based on length of service,
including that heretofore and hereafter served as a
conservation officer as follows: For five years of service with the department, a conservation officer shall receive a
salary increase of three hundred dollars per year payable
during his or her next three years of service and a like
increase at three-year intervals thereafter, with these
increases to be cumulative: Provided, That for purposes of
calculating a salary increase, a maximum of twenty-five years
of service shall be applicable. A salary increase shall be
based upon years of service as of the first day of July of each
year and may not be recalculated until the first day of July of
the following year.
Conservation officers in service at the time the amendment
to this section becomes effective shall be given credit for
prior service and shall be paid such salaries as the same
length of service will entitle them to receive under the
provisions hereof.
(b) The director shall promulgate rules regarding overtime
pay for conservation officers in accordance with chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code: Provided, That such rules shall
provide for the awarding of one and one-half hours compensatory time for each hour of overtime in lieu of cash overtime
compensation.
(c) This section does not apply to special or emergency
conservation officers appointed under the authority of section
one of this article.
§20-7-1c. Conservation officers, ranks, salary schedule, base
pay, exceptions.
(a) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the
contrary, the ranks within the law-enforcement section of the
division of natural resources shall be colonel, lieutenant
colonel, major, captain, lieutenant, sergeant, conservation
officer and conservation officer-in-training. Each such
officer while in uniform shall wear the insignia of rank as
provided by the chief conservation officer.
(b) Conservation officers shall be paid the minimum annual
salaries based on the following schedule:
ANNUAL SALARY SCHEDULE (BASE PAY)
SUPERVISORY AND NONSUPERVISORY RANKS
Conservation Officer-In-Training $ 21,725
(first year)
Conservation Officer (second year) $ 23,914
Conservation Officer (third year) $ 24,186
Conservation Officer (fourth year) $ 24,398
Conservation Officer (after fifth year) $ 25,976
Conservation Officer (after tenth year) $ 27,554
Conservation Officer (after fifteenth year) $ 28,954
Sergeant$ 32,577
Lieutenant$ 35,397
Captain$ 37,683
Major$ 39,966
Lieutenant Colonel$ 42,008
Colonel
Conservation officers in service at the time the amendment
to this section becomes effective shall be given credit for
prior service and shall be paid such salaries as the same
length of service will entitle them to receive under the
provisions hereof.
(c) This section does not apply to special or emergency
conservation officers appointed under the authority of section one of this article.
(d) Nothing in this section shall prohibit other pay
increases as provided for under section two, article five,
chapter five of this code.