H. B. 4155
(By Delegates Varner, Kominar, Cann, Campbell,
White, M. Poling, Mahan, Ferro,
Perdue, Boggs and Pethtel)
[Introduced January 21, 2010; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §8-15-8b of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended; to amend said code by adding thereto a new
section, designated §8-15-8d; and to amend and reenact
§33-3-14d of said code, all relating to permitting revenues
allocated to volunteer and part time fire departments to be
used for Workers' Compensation premiums and length of service
awards; establishing a Volunteer Firefighter Length of Service
Awards Program Fund; providing the Insurance Commissioner with
the rulemaking authority for establishing criteria for awards
from the fund; eliminating the ten percent portion of the
premium tax on taxable insurance premiums allocated to the
Teachers Retirement System Reserve Fund and increasing moneys
allocated to volunteer and part time fire departments by that
same amount.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §8-15-8b of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted; that said code be amended by adding
thereto a new section, designated §8-15-8d; and to amend and reenact §33-3-14d of said code, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 15. FIRE FIGHTING; FIRE COMPANIES AND DEPARTMENTS; CIVIL
SERVICE FOR PAID FIRE DEPARTMENTS.
§8-15-8b. Authorized expenditures of revenues from the municipal
pensions and protection fund and the fire protection
fund.
Revenues allocated to volunteer and part volunteer fire
companies and departments may be expended only for the items listed
in subdivisions (1) through
(12) (14) of this section.
Funds received from the state for volunteer and part volunteer
fire companies and departments, pursuant to sections fourteen-d and
thirty-three, article three, and section
sixteen-a seven, article
twelve twelve-c, all of chapter thirty-three of this code, may not
be commingled with funds received from any other source.
Expenditures may be made for the following:
(1) Personal protective equipment, including protective head
gear, bunker coats, pants, boots, combination of bunker pants and
boots, coats and gloves;
(2) Equipment for compliance with the national fire protection
standard or automotive fire apparatus, NFPA-1901;
(3) Compliance with insurance service office recommendations
relating to fire departments;
(4) Rescue equipment, communications equipment and ambulance
equipment:
Provided, That no moneys received from the municipal
pensions and protection fund or the fire protection fund may be
used for equipment for personal vehicles owned or operated by volunteer fire company or department members;
(5) Capital improvements reasonably required for effective and
efficient fire protection service and maintenance of the capital
improvements;
(6) Retirement of debts;
(7) Payment of utility bills;
(8) Payment of the cost of immunizations, including any
laboratory work incident to the immunizations, for firefighters
against hepatitis-b and other blood borne pathogens:
Provided,
That the vaccine shall be purchased through the state immunization
program or from the lowest cost vendor available:
Provided,
however, That volunteer and part volunteer fire companies and
departments shall seek to obtain no cost administration of the
vaccinations through local boards of health:
Provided further,
That in the event any volunteer or part volunteer fire company or
department is unable to obtain no cost administration of the
vaccinations through a local board of health, the company or
department shall seek to obtain the lowest cost available for the
administration of the vaccinations from a licensed health care
provider;
(9) Any filing fee required to be paid to the Legislative
Auditor's Office under section fourteen, article four, chapter
twelve of this code relating to sworn statements of annual
expenditures submitted by volunteer or part volunteer fire
companies or departments that receive state funds or grants;
(10) Property/casualty insurance premiums for protection and indemnification against loss or damage or liability;
(11) Operating expenses reasonably required in the normal
course of providing effective and efficient fire protection
service, which include, but are not limited to, gasoline, bank
fees, postage and accounting costs;
and
(12) Dues paid to national, state and county associations;
(13) Length of service awards; and
(14) Workers' Compensation premiums.
§8-15-8d. Volunteer Firefighters Length of Service Awards Program
Fund; eligibility.
(
a) The Volunteer Firefighters Length of Service Awards
Program is hereby established.
(b) To be eligible to receive funds from the Volunteer
Firefighters Length of Service Awards Program a volunteer or part
volunteer fire department must comply with section eight-a of this
article and meet the following requirements:
(1) Be enrolled in a qualified length of Service Awards
Program approved by the State Insurance Commissioner; and
(2) Comply with all applicable federal and state laws.
(c) The State Insurance Commissioner shall, pursuant to the
provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code,
promulgate such legislative rules as necessary to carry out the
purposes of this article.
CHAPTER 33. INSURANCE.
ARTICLE 3. LICENSING, FEES AND TAXATION OF INSURERS.
§33-3-14d. Additional fire and casualty insurance premium tax; allocation of proceeds; effective date.
(a) (1) For the purpose of providing additional revenue for
municipal policemen's and firemen's pension and relief funds and
the Teachers Retirement System Reserve Fund and for volunteer and
part volunteer fire companies and departments, there is hereby
levied and imposed an additional premium tax equal to one percent
of taxable premiums for fire insurance and casualty insurance
policies. For purposes of this section, casualty insurance does
not include insurance on the life of a debtor pursuant to or in
connection with a specific loan or other credit transaction or
insurance on a debtor to provide indemnity for payments becoming
due on a specific loan or other credit transaction while the debtor
is disabled as defined in the policy.
(2) All moneys collected from this additional tax shall be
received by the commissioner and paid by him or her into a special
account in the State Treasury, designated the Municipal Pensions
and Protection Fund
: Provided, That on or after
January 1, 2010,
the commissioner shall pay ten percent of the amount collected to
the Teachers Retirement System Reserve Fund created in section
eighteen, article seven-a, chapter eighteen of this code, twenty-
five July 1, 2010 the commissioner shall pay thirty-five percent of
the amount collected to the Fire Protection Fund created in section
thirty-three of this article for allocation by the Treasurer to
volunteer and part volunteer fire companies and departments and
sixty-five percent of the amount collected to the Municipal
Pensions and Protection Fund:
Provided, however, That upon notification by the Municipal Pensions Oversight Board pursuant to
the provisions of section eighteen-b, article twenty-two, chapter
eight of this code, on or after
January 1, 2010 July 1, 2010, or as
soon thereafter as the Municipal Pensions Oversight Board is
prepared to receive the funds, sixty-five percent of the amount
collected by the commissioner shall be deposited in the Municipal
Pensions Security Fund created in section eighteen-b, article
twenty-two, chapter eight of this code. The net proceeds of this
tax after appropriation thereof by the Legislature is distributed
in accordance with the provisions of this section, except for
distribution from proceeds pursuant to subsection (d), section
eighteen-a, article twenty-two, chapter eight of this code.
(b) (1) Before the first day of August of each year, the
treasurer of each municipality in which a municipal policemen's or
firemen's pension and relief fund is established shall report to
the State Treasurer the average monthly number of members who
worked at least one hundred hours per month and the average monthly
number of retired members of municipal policemen's or firemen's
pension and relief fund or the Municipal Police Officer's and
Firefighters Retirement System during the preceding fiscal year:
Provided, That beginning in the year 2010 and continuing
thereafter, the report shall be made to the oversight board created
in section eighteen-a, article twenty-two, chapter eight of this
code. These reports received by the oversight board shall be
provided annually to the State Treasurer by September 1.
(2) Before the first day of September of each calendar year, the State Treasurer, or the Municipal Pensions Oversight Board,
once in operation, shall allocate and authorize for distribution
the revenues in the municipal pensions and protection fund which
were collected during the preceding calendar year for the purposes
set forth in this section. Before the first day of September of
each calendar year and after the Municipal Pensions Oversight Board
has notified the treasurer and commissioner pursuant to section
eighteen-b, article twenty-two, chapter eight of this code, the
Municipal Pensions Oversight Board shall allocate and authorize for
distribution the revenues in the Municipal Pensions Security Fund
which were collected during the preceding calendar year for the
purposes set forth in this section. In any year the actuarial
report required by section twenty, article twenty-two, chapter
eight of this code indicates no actuarial deficiency in the
municipal policemen's or firemen's pension and relief fund, no
revenues may be allocated from the Municipal Pensions and
Protection Fund or the Municipal Pensions Security Fund to that
fund. The revenues from the Municipal Pensions and Protection Fund
shall then be allocated to all other pension and relief funds which
have an actuarial deficiency.
(3) The moneys, and the interest earned thereon, in the
Municipal Pensions and Protection Fund allocated to volunteer and
part volunteer fire companies and departments shall be allocated
and distributed quarterly to the volunteer fire companies and
departments. Before each distribution date, the State Fire Marshal
shall report to the State Treasurer the names and addresses of all volunteer and part volunteer fire companies and departments within
the state which meet the eligibility requirements established in
section eight-a, article fifteen, chapter eight of this code.
(c) (1) Each municipal pension and relief fund shall have
allocated and authorized for distribution a pro rata share of the
revenues allocated to municipal policemen's and firemen's pension
and relief funds based on the corresponding municipality's average
monthly number of police officers and firefighters who worked at
least one hundred hours per month during the preceding fiscal year.
On and after July 1, 1997, from the growth in any moneys collected
pursuant to the tax imposed by this section and interest thereon
there shall be allocated and authorized for distribution to each
municipal pension and relief fund, a pro rata share of the revenues
allocated to municipal policemen's and firemen's pension and relief
funds based on the corresponding municipality's average number of
police officers and firefighters who worked at least one hundred
hours per month and average monthly number of retired police
officers and firefighters. For the purposes of this subsection,
the growth in moneys collected from the tax collected pursuant to
this section is determined by subtracting the amount of the tax
collected during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1996, from the tax
collected during the fiscal year for which the allocation is being
made and interest thereon. All moneys received by municipal
pension and relief funds under this section may be expended only
for those purposes described in sections sixteen through
twenty-eight, inclusive, article twenty-two, chapter eight of this code.
(2) Each volunteer fire company or department shall receive an
equal share of the revenues allocated for volunteer and part-
volunteer fire companies and departments.
(3) In addition to the share allocated and distributed in
accordance with subdivision (1) of this subsection, each municipal
fire department composed of full-time paid members and volunteers
and part-volunteer fire companies and departments shall receive a
share equal to the share distributed to volunteer fire companies
under subdivision (2) of this subsection reduced by an amount equal
to the share multiplied by the ratio of the number of full-time
paid fire department members who are also members of a municipal
firemen's pension and relief fund or the Municipal Police Officers
and Firefighters Retirement System to the total number of members
of the fire department.
(d) The allocation and distribution of revenues provided in
this section are subject to the provisions of section twenty,
article twenty-two, and sections eight-a and eight-b, article
fifteen, chapter eight of this code.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to permit revenues allocated
to volunteer and part time fire departments to be used for Workers'
Compensation premiums and length of service awards. The bill
establishes a Volunteer Firefights Length of Service Awards Program
Fund and provides the Insurance Commissioner with the rulemaking
authority for establishing criteria for awards from the fund. The
bill also eliminates the ten percent of the certain premium tax on
taxable insurance premiums paid to the Teachers Retirement System
Reserve Fund and increases moneys allocated to volunteer and part
time fire departments by that same amount.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.