H. B. 3013
(By Delegate Cowles)
[Introduced January 13, 2010; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §7-14-13 and §7-14-15 of the Code of
West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to prohibiting
a chief deputy sheriff from engaging in certain political
activities; prohibiting the solicitation of funds within a
sheriff's office; prohibiting using his or her official
authority for political purposes; and prohibiting him or her
from coercing anyone to contribute anything of value for
political purposes.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §7-14-13 and §7-14-15 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931,
as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 14. CIVIL SERVICE FOR DEPUTY SHERIFFS.
§7-14-13. Vacancies filled by promotions; eligibility for
promotion; rights of chief deputy.
Vacancies in positions of deputy sheriff shall be filled, so
far as practicable, by promotion from among persons holding
positions in the next lower grade. Promotions shall be based upon merit and fitness, to be ascertained by competitive examinations to
be provided by the civil service commission, and upon the superior
qualifications of the persons promoted, as shown by their previous
service and experience:
Provided, That, except for the chief
deputy or jailer, no person shall be eligible for promotion from
the lower grade to the next higher grade until such person shall
have completed at least two years' service in the next lower grade:
Provided, however, That notwithstanding the provisions of section
one of this article, any person occupying the office of chief
deputy or any deputy sheriff occupying the office of jailer
pursuant to the provisions of section two, article eight of this
chapter in any such county on the effective date of this article,
or thereafter appointed to such office, shall, except as
hereinafter provided in this section, be and shall continue to be
entitled to all of the rights and benefits of the provisions of
this article, except that he or she may be removed from such office
of chief deputy or jailer without cause and the time spent by such
person in the office of such chief deputy or jailer shall be added
to the time, if any, served by such person during the entire time
he or she was a deputy sheriff of such county prior to his or her
appointment as chief deputy or jailer, and shall in all cases of
removal, except for removal for just cause, retain the regular rank
within said sheriff's office which he or she held, if any, at the
time of his or her appointment to the office of chief deputy or
jailer or which he or she has attained, if any, during his or her
term of service as chief deputy or jailer:
Provided, further, That the provisions of section fifteen of this article apply. The
provisions of this section shall be construed to apply and to inure
to the benefit of all persons who have ever been subject to the
provisions of this article. The commission shall have the power to
determine in each instance whether an increase in salary
constitutes a promotion.
§7-14-15. Political activities of members prohibited; exceptions.
(a) A deputy sheriff
and chief deputy sheriff covered by the
provisions of this article may not:
(1) Solicit any assessment, subscription or contribution for
any political party, committee or candidate from any person who is
a member or employee of the county sheriff's department by which
they are employed;
(2) Use any official authority or influence, including, but
not limited to, the wearing by a deputy sheriff of his or her
uniform, for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the
nomination, election or defeat of any candidate or the passage or
defeat of any ballot issue:
Provided, That this subdivision shall
not be construed to prohibit any deputy sheriff from casting his or
her vote at any election while wearing his or her uniform;
(3) Coerce or command anyone to pay, lend or contribute
anything of value to a party, committee, organization, agency or
person for the nomination, election or defeat of a ballot issue; or
(4) Be a candidate for or hold any other public office in the
county in which he or she is employed:
Provided, That any deputy
sheriff that is subject to the provisions of 15 U.S.C. §1501,
et seq., may not be a candidate for elective office.
(b) Other types of partisan or nonpartisan political
activities not inconsistent with the provisions of subsection (a)
of this section are permissible political activities for deputy
sheriffs.
(c) No person may be appointed or promoted to or demoted or
dismissed from any position held by a deputy sheriff or in any way
favored or discriminated against because of his or her engagement
in any political activities authorized by the provisions of this
section. Any elected or appointed official who violates the
provisions of this subsection is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be punished by the penalties contained in
section twenty-six, article fifteen, chapter eight of this code.
(d) Any deputy sheriff violating the provisions of this
section shall have his appointment vacated and he
or she shall be
removed, in accordance with the pertinent provisions of this
section.
(e) Any three residents of the county may file their written
petition with the civil service commission thereof setting out
therein the grounds upon which a deputy sheriff of such county
should be removed for a violation of subsection (a) of this
section. Notice of the filing of such petition shall be given by
the commission to the accused deputy, which notice shall require
him
or her to file a written answer to the charges set out in the
petition within thirty days of the date of such notice. The
petition and answer thereto, if any, shall be entered upon the records of the civil service commission. If the answer is not
filed within the time stated, or any extension thereof for cause
which in the discretion of the civil service commission may be
granted, an order shall be entered by the commission declaring the
appointment of the deputy vacated. If such answer is filed within
the time stated, or any extension thereof for cause which in the
discretion of the civil service commission may be granted, the
accused deputy may demand within such period a public hearing on
the charges, or the civil service commission may, in its discretion
and without demand therefor, set a date and time for a public
hearing on the charges, which hearing shall be within thirty days
of the filing of said answer, subject, however, to any continuances
which may in the discretion of the civil service commission be
granted. A written record of all testimony taken at such hearing
shall be kept and preserved by the civil service commission, which
record shall be sealed and not be open to public inspection if no
appeal be taken from the action of the commission. The commission
at the conclusion of the hearing, or as soon thereafter as
possible, shall enter an order sustaining, in whole or in part, the
charges made or shall dismiss the charges as unfounded. In the
event the charges are sustained in whole or in part, the order
shall also declare the appointment of such deputy to be vacated and
thereupon the sheriff shall immediately remove the deputy from his
or her office and from the payroll of the county. Notice of the
action of the commission shall be given by registered letter to the
county court and the sheriff. If the sheriff fails to immediately comply with the order of the commission, he
or she shall be
punished for contempt, upon application of the commission to the
circuit court of the county.
(f) An appeal from the ruling of the commission may be had in
the same manner and within the same time as specified in section
seventeen of this article for an appeal from a ruling of a
commission after hearing held in accordance with the provisions of
said section.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to prohibit a chief deputy
sheriff from engaging in certain political activities. The bill
prohibits a chief deputy sheriff from soliciting contributions from
anyone employed in a sheriff's office. The bill also prohibits the
chief deputy sheriff from using official authority to influence or
interfere with the nomination or election of any candidate or the
passage or defeat of a ballot measure. Additionally, the bill
prohibits the chief deputy sheriff from coercing anyone to pay,
lend or contribute to any organization supporting a nomination,
election or defeat of a ballot issue.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.