Senate Bill No. 762
(By Senators Bowman, Boley, Browning, Caruth, Foster, Kessler,
McCabe, Minard, Palumbo, Snyder, Sypolt, White, Williams and
Yost)
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[Originating in the Committee on Government Organization;
reported March 26, 2009.]
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A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §8-15-8d, relating to
volunteer fire companies and departments; clarifying benefits
to their members may be provided under a length of service
awards program using funds privately raised; and providing
that the state and its political subdivisions shall have no
ownership or liability over the same length of service awards
program.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated 8-15-8d, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 15.FIREFIGHTING; FIRE COMPANIES AND DEPARTMENTS; CIVIL
SERVICE FOR PAID FIRE DEPARTMENTS.
§8-15-8d. Authorized expenditures of revenues privately raised for
funding of a length of service awards program.
(a) Revenues privately raised by volunteer fire companies or
departments, including revenues from raffles and charitable bingo,
may be used to provide benefits to its members under a length of
service awards program:
Provided, That each volunteer fire company
or department shall contribute no more than $30,000 per fiscal year
to its length of service awards program.
(b) The State of West Virginia and any of its political
subdivisions have no ownership of or liability for and shall not
contribute any money to a length of service awards program
administered by local volunteer fire departments pursuant to this
section.
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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to clarify that volunteer
fire departments may use up to $30,000 of private funds per fiscal
year raised at the local level through fund-raising efforts such as
raffles and charitable bingo games for the purpose of providing a
length of service awards program (LOSAP) to its members. The bill
also makes clear that neither the state nor any of its political
subdivisions shall have ownership or liability over any LOSAP.
§8-15-8d is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring
have been omitted.)