WEST virginia legislature

2016 regular session

Introduced

Senate Bill 102

By Senators Trump, Boso and Gaunch

[Introduced January 13, 2016;
Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.]

A BILL to amend and reenact §7-4-1 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to amend said code by adding thereto a new section, designated §30-29-12, all relating to West Virginia officials carrying a concealed firearm nationwide as provided in the federal Law-Enforcement Officers Safety Act, 18 U. S. C. §926B; providing statutory authority necessary to give prosecuting attorneys and assistant prosecuting attorneys the option to carry firearms pursuant to that federal act upon completion of required training and annual background check; providing that law-enforcement agencies are neither prohibited from nor required to permit an officer to carry his or her service weapon off duty; and requiring West Virginia law-enforcement agencies to offer access to training and certification for honorably retired officers to be permitted to carry a concealed firearm nationwide as a qualified retired law-enforcement officer as provided in the federal Law-Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2004.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That §7-4-1 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted; and that said code be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated §30-29-12, all to read as follows:

CHAPTER 7.  COUNTY COMMISSIONS AND OFFICERS.

ARTICLE 4.  PROSECUTING ATTORNEY, REWARDS AND LEGAL ADVICE.

§7-4-1. Duties of prosecuting attorney; further duties upon request of Attorney General.

(a) It shall be the duty of The prosecuting attorney to shall attend to the criminal business of the state in the county in which he or she is elected and qualified, and when he the prosecuting attorney has information of the violation of any penal law committed within such the county, he the prosecuting attorney shall institute and prosecute all necessary and proper proceedings against the offender, and may in such case issue or cause to be issued a summons for any witness he may deem the prosecuting attorney considers material. Every public officer shall give him the prosecuting attorney information of the violation of any penal law committed within his or her county. It shall also be the duty of The prosecuting attorney to shall also attend to civil suits in such the county in which the state, or any department, commission or board thereof, is interested, and to advise, attend to, bring, prosecute or defend, as the case may be, all matters, actions, suits and proceedings in which such county or any county board of education is interested.

(b) Any prosecuting attorney or assistant prosecuting attorney who elects to carry a concealed firearm for self-defense pursuant to 18 U.S.C,  §926B must first complete training jn the safe handling and firing of a handgun and pass a background investigation by the sheriff of their jurisdiction.  Either of the following satisfies the training requirement of this subsection: (1) A handgun safety or training course conducted by a National Rifle Association certified firearms instructor; or (2) a firearms training, qualification or requalification offered by any federal, state or local law enforcement agency to its active or retired members. A certificate of completion or an affidavit from the instructor is proof of training required under this subsection. A prosecuting attorney or assistant shall provide proof of training to the sheriff of their county, who shall then conduct a background investigation including a nationwide criminal background check consisting of inquiries of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, the West Virginia Criminal History Record Responses and the National Interstate Identification Index. The sheriff shall determine if possession of a firearm by the applicant would violate West Virginia or federal law, including_18 U.S.C. § 922(g) or (n). If the sheriff determines that an applicant has satisfied the training requirement of this section and may lawfully possess a firearm, the sheriff shall certify the same in writing to the applicant and to the prosecuting attorney of their jurisdiction. Upon the certification by the sheriff, the prosecuting attorney or an assistant prosecuting attorney may, within their jurisdiction, carry a firearm for self-defense under the federal Law-Enforcement Officers Safety Act 18 U.S.C. § 926B and shall be issued by their agency, a photographic identification and certification card. The card shall be suitable to be carried, in a wallet and shall contain the name, title, official address, full-face color of the prosecuting attorney or assistant prosecuting attorney, the signatures of both the prosecuting attorney and sheriff of the county and the and the date of issuance together with the words "A Qualified Law-Enforcement Officer within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. §926B authorized to carry firearms" in bold conspicuous type. The sheriff shall annually conduct a background investigation on any person certified under this section and immediately revoke the certification of any person who may not lawfully possess a firearm. The statutory rights and authorities conferred under this subsection provide an addition lawful means of carrying a firearm for self-defense supplemental to existing rights to bear arms and nothing in this subsection impairs or diminishes those rights. Except upon a specific official request by law enforcement to confirm that a given prosecuting attorney or assistant prosecuting attorney is qualified to carry a firearm under this subsection, the names of individuals who may, or may not, have qualified under this section shall remain private and confidential and are not subject to disclosure under chapter twenty-nine-b of this code,

(c) It shall be the duty of The prosecuting attorney to shall keep his or her office open in the charge of a responsible person during the hours polls are open on general, primary and special county-wide election days, and the prosecuting attorney, or his the prosecuting attorney=s assistant, if any, shall be available for the purpose of advising election officials. It shall be the further duty of The prosecuting attorney, when requested by the Attorney General, to shall perform or to assist the Attorney General in performing, in the county in which he the prosecuting attorney is elected, any legal duties required to be performed by the Attorney General, and which are not inconsistent with the duties of the prosecuting attorney as the legal representative of such the county. It shall also be the duty of The prosecuting attorney, when requested by the Attorney General, to shall perform or to assist the Attorney General in performing, any legal duties required to be performed by the Attorney General, in any county other than that in which such the prosecuting attorney is elected, and for the performance of any such these duties in any county other than that in which such the prosecuting attorney is elected he the prosecuting attorney shall be paid his or her actual expenses.

Upon the request of the Attorney General the prosecuting attorney shall make a written report of the state and condition of the several causes in which the state is a party, pending in his or her county, and upon any matters referred to him the prosecuting attorney by the Attorney General as provided by law.

CHAPTER 30.  PROFESSIONS AND OCCUPATIONS.

ARTICLE 29.  LAW-ENFORCEMENT TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION.

§30-29-12. Law-enforcement officers to receive identification and certification to carry weapons off-duty.

(a) Every person employed by a West Virginia state, county or municipal agency who is a qualified law-enforcement officer" within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. §926B shall receive an appropriate photo-identification and certification of training required to carry a concealed firearm under the federal Law-Enforcement Officers Safety Act. 18 U.S.C. §926B. No currently employed officer may be charged a fee for the photo-identification and certification. This subsection does not prohibit a law-enforcement agency from controlling the use of any department-owned weapon.

(b) When a qualified law-enforcement officer, within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. §926B retires from, or otherwise honorably ceases employment with, a West Virginia state, county or municipal agency, the agency shall provide, at no charge, an appropriate photo-identification to show the former employee's status as an honorably separated or retired qualified retired law-enforcement officer within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. §926C. Every West Virginia state, county or municipal agency which conducts firearms qualification for current employees shall offer its honorably retired or separated former employees an opportunity to participate in such firearms qualification on an annual basis. The former employees shall provide at their own expense an appropriate firearm and ammunition and may be charged a fee not to exceed $25. Upon completion of the training and payment of any fee, the law-enforcement agency shall issue a new photo identification and certification which identifies the former employee as a "qualified retired law-enforcement officer" who has satisfied the annual training requirements of 18 U.S.C. §926C.

(c) A law-enforcement agency may, in its sole discretion, allow a person who honorably retired or separated from another agency as a qualified law-enforcement officer within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. §926B, the opportunity to participate in firearms qualification the agency provides its own former employees under subsection (b) of this section. A participant shall provide at their own expense an appropriate firearm and ammunition and may be charged a fee not to exceed $50. Upon completion of the training and payment of any fee, the law-enforcement agency shall issue a certification which states that the retiree satisfied the training requirements of 18 U.S.C. 926C.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require all law-enforcement agencies in this state to certify qualified law-enforcement officers to carry concealed firearms nationwide as provided by the federal Law-Enforcement Officers Safety Act, to provide statutory authority necessary to give prosecuting attorneys and assistant prosecuting attorneys the option to carry firearms for self-defense pursuant to that federal act upon completion of required training and annual background check and to require law-enforcement agencies to provide qualified retired law-enforcement officers the opportunity to be certified to carry concealed firearms nationwide, under that act

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.