COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 3096
(By Delegates Craig, Howard, Leach,
Morgan, Smirl, Webb and Kominar)
(Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary)
[January 22, 2004]
A BILL to amend and reenact §15-10-3, §15-10-4 and §15-10-5 of the
code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to
authorizing cooperation of campus police and rangers employed
by the Hatfield-McCoy regional recreation authority with other
law-enforcement agencies.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §15-10-3, §15-10-4 and §15-10-5 of the code of West
Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read
as follows:
ARTICLE 10. COOPERATION BETWEEN LAW-ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES.
§15-10-3. Definitions.
In this article, unless a different meaning plainly is
required:
(1) "Criminal justice enforcement personnel" means those
persons within the state criminal justice system who are actually
employed as members of the division of public safety, members of
the division of protective services, state conservation officers, chiefs of police and police of incorporated municipalities, and
county sheriffs and their deputies, and whose primary duties are
the investigation of crime and the apprehension of criminals.
(2) "Head of a law-enforcement agency" means the
superintendent of the division of public safety, the director of
the division of protective services, the chief conservation officer
of the division of natural resources, a chief of police of an
incorporated municipality or a county sheriff.
(3) "State or local law-enforcement officer" means any duly
authorized member of a law-enforcement agency who is authorized to
maintain public peace and order, prevent and detect crime, make
arrests and enforce the laws of the state or any county or
municipality thereof, other than parking ordinances, and includes
those persons employed as campus police officers at state
institutions of higher education in accordance with the provisions
of section five, article four, chapter eighteen-b of this code,
although those institutions may not be considered law-enforcement
agencies. The term also includes those persons employed as rangers
by the Hatfield-McCoy regional recreation authority in accordance
with the provisions of section six, article fourteen, chapter
twenty of this code, although the authority may not be considered
a law-enforcement agency.
(4) "Head of campus police" means the superintendent or
administrative head of
state or local law-enforcement officers
employed as campus police officers at state institutions of higher
education in accordance with the provisions of section five, article four, chapter eighteen-b of this code
.
(5) "Head of the rangers of the Hatfield-McCoy regional
recreation authority" means the superintendent or administrative
head of state or local law-enforcement officers
employed as rangers
by the Hatfield-McCoy regional recreation authority in accordance
with the provisions of section six, article fourteen, chapter
twenty of this code
.
§15-10-4. Cooperation between law-enforcement agencies and other
groups of state or local law-enforcement officers.
(a) The head of any law-enforcement agency, the head of any
campus police or the head of the rangers of the Hatfield-McCoy
regional recreational authority,
as those terms are defined in
section three of this article, may temporarily provide assistance
and cooperation to another agency of the state criminal justice
system or to a federal law-enforcement agency in investigating
crimes or possible criminal activity if requested to do so in
writing by the head of another law-enforcement agency or federal
law-enforcement agency. Such assistance may also be provided upon
the request of the head of the law-enforcement agency or federal
law-enforcement agency without first being reduced to writing in
emergency situations involving the imminent risk of loss of life or
serious bodily injury. The assistance may include, but is not
limited to, entering into a multijurisdictional task force
agreement to integrate federal, state, county and municipal
law-enforcement agencies or other groups of state or local law-enforcement officers, or any combination thereof, for the purpose
of enhancing interagency coordination, intelligence gathering,
facilitating multijurisdictional investigations, providing
criminal justice enforcement personnel of the law-enforcement
agency to work temporarily with personnel of another agency,
including in an undercover capacity, and making available
equipment, training, technical assistance and information systems
for the more efficient investigation, apprehension and adjudication
of persons who violate the criminal laws of this state or the
United States, and to assist the victims of such crimes. When
providing the assistance under the provisions of this article, a
head of a law-enforcement agency shall comply with all applicable
statutes, ordinances, rules, policies or guidelines officially
adopted by the state or the governing body of the city or county by
which he or she is employed, and any conditions or restrictions
included therein.
(b) While temporarily assigned to work with another
law-enforcement agency or agencies, criminal justice enforcement
personnel and other state and local law-enforcement officers shall
have the same jurisdiction, powers, privileges and immunities,
including those relating to the defense of civil actions, as such
criminal justice enforcement personnel would enjoy if actually
employed by the agency to which they are assigned, in addition to
any corresponding or varying jurisdiction, powers, privileges and
immunities conferred by virtue of their continued employment with
the assisting agency.
(c) While assigned to another agency or to a
multijurisdictional task force, criminal justice enforcement
personnel and other state and local law-enforcement officers
shall
be subject to the lawful operational commands of the superior
officers of the agency or task force to which they are assigned,
but for personnel and administrative purposes, including
compensation, they shall remain under the control of the assisting
agency. These assigned personnel shall continue to be covered by
all employee rights and benefits provided by the assisting agency,
including workers' compensation, to the same extent as though such
personnel were functioning within the normal scope of their duties.
(d) No request or agreement between the heads of law-
enforcement agencies, the heads of campus police or the head of the
rangers of the Hatfield-McCoy regional recreation authority,
made
or entered into pursuant to the provisions of this article shall
remain in force and effect for a period of more than twelve months
unless renewed in writing by the parties thereto nor shall any
request or agreement made or entered into pursuant to the
provisions of this article have force or effect until a copy of
said request or agreement is filed with the office of the circuit
clerk of the county or counties in which the law-enforcement
agencies, the campus police, or the Hatfield-McCoy regional
recreation authority rangers involved operate. Upon filing, the
requests or agreements may be sealed, subject to disclosure
pursuant to an order of a circuit court directing disclosure for
good cause. Nothing in this article shall be construed to limit the authority of the head of a law-enforcement agency, the head of
campus police or the head of the rangers of the Hatfield-McCoy
regional recreation authority
to withdraw from any agreement at any
time.
(e) Nothing contained in this article shall be construed so as
to grant, increase, decrease or in any manner affect the civil
service protection or the applicability of civil service laws as to
any criminal justice enforcement personnel, or as to any state or
local law-enforcement officer or agency operating under the
authority of this article, nor shall this article in any way reduce
or increase the jurisdiction or authority of any criminal justice
enforcement personnel, or of any state or local law-enforcement
officer or agency, except as specifically provided herein.
(f) Nothing contained in this article shall be construed so as
to authorize the permanent consolidation or merger or the
elimination of operations of participating federal, state, county
municipal law-enforcement agencies, or other groups of state and
local law-enforcement officers,the head campus police or the head
of the rangers of the Hatfield-McCoy regional recreation authority.
§15-10-5. Federal officers' peace-keeping authority.
(a) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the
contrary, any person who is employed by the United States
government as a federal law-enforcement officer and is listed in
subsection (b) of this section, has the same authority to enforce
the laws of this state, except state or local traffic laws or
parking ordinances, as that authority granted to state or local law-enforcement officers, if one or more of the following
circumstances exist:
(1) The federal law-enforcement officer is requested to
provide temporary assistance by the head of a state or local
law-enforcement agency or the designee of the head of the agency
and that request is within the state or local law-enforcement
agency's scope of authority and jurisdiction and is in writing:
Provided, That the request does not need to be in writing if an
emergency situation exists involving the imminent risk of loss of
life or serious bodily injury;
(2) The federal law-enforcement officer is requested by a
state or local law-enforcement officer to provide the officer
temporary assistance when the state or local law-enforcement
officer is acting within the scope of the officer's authority and
jurisdiction and where exigent circumstances exist; or
(3) A felony is committed in the federal law-enforcement
officer's presence or under circumstances indicating a felony has
just occurred.
(b) This section applies to the following persons who are
employed as full-time federal law-enforcement officers by the
United States government and who are authorized to carry firearms
while performing their duties:
(1) Federal bureau of investigation special agents;
(2) Drug enforcement administration special agents;
(3) United States marshal's service marshals and deputy
marshals;
(4) United States postal service inspectors;
(5) Internal revenue service special agents;
(6) United States secret service special agents;
(7) Bureau of alcohol, tobacco, and firearms special agents;
(8) Police officers employed pursuant to 40 U.S.C. §§318 and
490 at the federal bureau of investigation's criminal justice
information services division facility located within this state;
and
(9) Law-enforcement commissioned rangers of the national park
service.
(c) Any person acting under the authority granted pursuant to
this section:
(1) Has the same authority and is subject to the same
exemptions and exceptions to this code as a state or local
law-enforcement officer;
(2) Is not an officer, employee, or agent of any state or
local law-enforcement agency;
(3) May not initiate or conduct an independent investigation
into an alleged violation of any provision of this code except to
the extent necessary to preserve evidence or testimony at risk of
loss immediately following an occurrence described in subdivision
(3), subsection (a) of this section;
(4) Is subject to 28 U.S.C. §1346, the Federal Tort Claims
Act; and
(5) Has the same immunities from liability as a state or local
law-enforcement officer.
(d) For purposes of this section, a state or local
law-enforcement officer means any duly authorized member of a
law-enforcement agency who is authorized to maintain public peace
and order, prevent and detect crime, make arrests and enforce the
laws of the state or any county or municipality thereof, other than
parking ordinances, and includes those persons employed as campus
police officers at state institutions of higher education in
accordance with the provisions of section five, article four,
chapter eighteen-b of this code, although those institutions may
not be considered law-enforcement agencies. The term also includes
those persons employed as rangers by the Hatfield-McCoy regional
recreation authority in accordance with the provisions of section
six, article fourteen, chapter twenty of this code, although the
authority may not be considered a law-enforcement agency.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize cooperation of
state and local law enforcement officers employed as campus police
by institutions of higher learning or as rangers employed by the
Hatfield-McCoy regional recreation authority with other law-
enforcement agencies. The amendments to these sections are
consistent with the definition of a state or local law-enforcement
officer that was previously used in section five of this article.
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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