ENROLLED
Senate Bill No. 1003
(By Senator Tomblin (Mr. President),
By Request of the Executive)
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[Passed May 16, 2010; in effect from passage.]
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AN ACT to amend and reenact §15-2-12 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended; to amend and reenact §15-10-3 of said code;
to amend and reenact §15-10A-2 of said code; to amend and
reenact §17-24A-1 and §17-24A-2 of said code; to amend and
reenact §17A-3-23 of said code; to amend and reenact §17C-4-16
of said code, as contained in Chapter 173, Acts of the
Legislature, Regular Session, 2010; to amend and reenact
§17C-5-4 of said code; to amend and reenact §18B-10-7 of said
code; to amend and reenact §19-20A-7 of said code; to amend
and reenact §20-1-13 of said code; to amend and reenact
§20-2-5, §20-2-15, §20-2-16, §20-2-22, §20-2-22a, §20-2-56a
and §20-2-57a of said code; to amend and reenact §20-2-7 of
said code, as contained in Chapter 141, Acts of the
Legislature, Regular Session, 2010; to amend and reenact
§20-7-1, §20-7-1a, §20-7-1b, §20-7-1c, §20-7-1d, §20-7-1e,
§20-7-1f, §20-7-2, §20-7-3, §20-7-4 and §20-7-12b of said code; to amend and reenact §22-15A-19 of said code; to amend
and reenact §29-2A-11a of said code; to amend and reenact
§29-3-12 of said code; to amend and reenact §30-29-1 of said
code; and to amend and reenact §36-8A-1 of said code, all
relating generally to conservation officers; renaming
conservation officers and fish and game wardens as natural
resources police officers; renaming the chief conservation
officer as the chief natural resources police officer;
clarifying that certain provisions of the West Virginia Code
are inapplicable to the pensions of natural resources police
officers paid through the Public Employees Retirement System;
and making technical amendments throughout.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §15-2-12 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted; that §15-10-3 of said code be amended and
reenacted; that §15-10A-2 of said code be amended and reenacted;
that §17-24A-1 and §17-24A-2 of said code be amended and reenacted;
that §17A-3-23 of said code be amended and reenacted; that
§17C-4-16 of said code, as contained in Chapter 173, Acts of the
Legislature, Regular Session, 2010, be amended and reenacted; that
§17C-5-4 of said code be amended and reenacted; that §18B-10-7 of
said code be amended and reenacted; that §19-20A-7 of said code be
amended and reenacted; that §20-1-13 of said code be amended and
reenacted; that §20-2-5, §20-2-15, §20-2-16, §20-2-22, §20-2-22a,
§20-2-56a and §20-2-57a of said code be amended and reenacted; that §20-2-7 of said code, as contained in Chapter 141, Acts of the
Legislature, Regular Session, 2010, be amended and reenacted; that
§20-7-1, §20-7-1a, §20-7-1b, §20-7-1c, §20-7-1d, §20-7-1e,
§20-7-1f, §20-7-2, §20-7-3, §20-7-4 and §20-7-12b of said code be
amended and reenacted; that §22-15A-19 of said code be amended and
reenacted; that §29-2A-11a of said code be amended and reenacted;
that §29-3-12 of said code be amended and reenacted; that §30-29-1
of said code be amended and reenacted; and that §36-8A-1 of said
code be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 15. PUBLIC SAFETY.
ARTICLE 2. WEST VIRGINIA STATE POLICE.
§15-2-12. Mission of the State Police; powers of superintendent,
officers and members; patrol of turnpike.
(a) The West Virginia State Police shall have the mission of
statewide enforcement of criminal and traffic laws with emphasis on
providing basic enforcement and citizen protection from criminal
depredation throughout the state and maintaining the safety of the
state's public streets, roads and highways.
(b) The superintendent and each of the officers and members of
the division are hereby empowered:
(1) To make arrests anywhere within the state of any persons
charged with the violation of any law of this state, or of the
United States, and when a witness to the perpetration of any
offense or crime, or to the violation of any law of this state, or
of the United States, to make arrests without warrant; to arrest and detain any persons suspected of the commission of any felony or
misdemeanor whenever a complaint is made and a warrant is issued
thereon for the arrest, and the person arrested shall be
immediately brought before the proper tribunal for examination and
trial in the county where the offense for which the arrest has been
made was committed;
(2) To serve criminal process issued by any court or
magistrate anywhere within this state:
Provided, That they may not
serve civil process; and
(3) To cooperate with local authorities in detecting crime and
in apprehending any person or persons engaged in or suspected of
the commission of any crime, misdemeanor or offense against the law
of this state, or of the United States, or of any ordinance of any
municipality in this state; and to take affidavits in connection
with any application to the Division of Highways, Division of Motor
Vehicles and of West Virginia State Police for any license, permit
or certificate that may be lawfully issued by these divisions of
state government.
(c) Members of the West Virginia State Police are hereby
designated as forest patrolmen and natural resources police
officers throughout the state to do and perform any duties and
exercise any powers of forest patrolmen and natural resources
police officers, and may apprehend and bring before any court or
magistrate having jurisdiction of these matters, anyone violating
any of the provisions of chapters twenty, sixty and sixty-one of this code. The West Virginia State Police is at any time subject
to the call of the West Virginia Alcohol Beverage Control
Commissioner to aid in apprehending any person violating any of the
provisions of chapter sixty of this code. They shall serve and
execute warrants for the arrest of any person and warrants for the
search of any premises issued by any properly constituted
authority, and shall exercise all of the powers conferred by law
upon a sheriff. They may not serve any civil process or exercise
any of the powers of an officer in civil matters.
(d) Any member of the West Virginia State Police knowing or
having reason to believe that any person has violated the law may
make complaint in writing before any court or officer having
jurisdiction and procure a warrant for the offender, execute the
warrant and bring the person before the proper tribunal having
jurisdiction. The member shall make return on all warrants to the
tribunals and his or her official title shall be "Member of the
West Virginia State Police". Members of the West Virginia State
Police may execute any summons or process issued by any tribunal
having jurisdiction requiring the attendance of any person as a
witness before the tribunal and make return thereon as provided by
law. Any return by a member of the West Virginia State Police
showing the manner of executing the warrant or process has the same
force and effect as if made by a sheriff.
(e) Each member of the West Virginia State Police, when called
by the sheriff of any county, or when directed by the Governor by proclamation, has full power and authority within the county, or
within the territory defined by the Governor, to direct and command
absolutely the assistance of any sheriff, deputy sheriff, chief of
police, policeman, natural resources police officer and peace
officer of the state, or of any county or municipality therein, or
of any able-bodied citizen of the United States, to assist and aid
in accomplishing the purposes expressed in this article. When
called, any officer or person is, during the time his or her
assistance is required, for all purposes a member of the West
Virginia State Police and subject to all the provisions of this
article.
(f) The superintendent may also assign members of the division
to perform police duties on any turnpike or toll road, or any
section of any turnpike or toll road, operated by the West Virginia
Parkways, Economic Development and Tourism Authority:
Provided,
That the authority shall reimburse the West Virginia State Police
for salaries paid to the members and shall either pay directly or
reimburse the division for all other expenses of the group of
members in accordance with actual or estimated costs determined by
the superintendent.
(g) The West Virginia State Police may develop proposals for
a comprehensive county or multicounty plan on the implementation of
an enhanced emergency service telephone system and may cause a
public meeting on the proposals, all as set forth in section six-a,
article six, chapter twenty-four of this code.
(h) By July 1, 1993, the superintendent shall establish a
network to implement reports of the disappearance of children by
local law-enforcement agencies to local school division
superintendents and the State Registrar of Vital Statistics. The
network shall be designed to establish cooperative arrangements
between local law-enforcement agencies and local school divisions
concerning reports of missing children and notices to
law-enforcement agencies of requests for copies of the cumulative
records and birth certificates of missing children. The network
shall also establish a mechanism for reporting the identities of
all missing children to the State Registrar of Vital Statistics.
(i) The superintendent may at his or her discretion and upon
the written request of the West Virginia Alcohol Beverage Control
Commissioner assist the commissioner in the coordination and
enforcement of article sixteen, chapter eleven of this code and
chapter sixty of this code.
(j) Notwithstanding the provisions of article one-a, chapter
twenty of this code, the Superintendent of the West Virginia State
Police may sell any surplus real property to which the West
Virginia State Police or its predecessors retain title, and deposit
the net proceeds into a special revenue account to be utilized for
the purchase of additional real property and for repairs to or
construction of detachment offices or other facilities required by
the West Virginia State Police. There is hereby created a special
revolving fund in the State Treasury which shall be designated as the "Surplus Real Property Proceeds Fund". The fund shall consist
of all money received from the sale of surplus real property owned
by the West Virginia State Police. Moneys deposited in the fund
shall only be available for expenditure upon appropriation by the
Legislature:
Provided, That amounts collected which are found from
time to time to exceed the funds needed for the purposes set forth
in this subsection may be transferred to other accounts or funds
and redesignated for other purposes by appropriation of the
Legislature.
(k) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, the
agency for surplus property is hereby empowered to transfer funds
generated from the sale of vehicles, other equipment and
commodities belonging to the West Virginia State Police to a
special revenue account within the West Virginia State Police
entitled the West Virginia State Police surplus transfer account.
Moneys deposited in the fund shall only be available for
expenditure upon appropriation by the Legislature:
Provided, That
amounts collected which are found from time to time to exceed the
funds needed for the purposes set forth in this subsection may be
transferred to other accounts or funds and redesignated for other
purposes by appropriation of the Legislature. Any funds
transferred to this account may be utilized by the superintendent
to defray the cost of normal operating needs of the division.
(l) If the State Police or any other law-enforcement agency in
this state receives a report that a person who has Alzheimer's disease and related dementia is missing, the State Police or any
other law-enforcement agency shall immediately open an
investigation for the purpose of determining the whereabouts of
that missing person. Any policy of the State Police or any other
law-enforcement agency relating to a waiting period prior to
initiation of an investigation of a missing person does not apply
in the case of a person who has Alzheimer's disease or other
related dementia of the type referred to in this subsection.
(m) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the
contrary, effective on and after July 1, 2007, the expenses and
salaries paid to the members of the West Virginia State Police for
the monitoring and enforcement duties defined in chapter
seventeen-c of this code may not be paid from the State Road Fund
or subject to reimbursement from the Division of Motor Vehicles but
is subject to appropriation by the Legislature.
ARTICLE 10. COOPERATION BETWEEN LAW-ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES.
§15-10-3. Definitions.
For purposes of this article only, and 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 State Police, members of the Division of
Protective Services, natural resources police 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 State Police, the Director of the Division of
Protective Services, the chief natural resources police 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 is not 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.
ARTICLE 10A. LAW-ENFORCEMENT REEMPLOYMENT ACT.
§15-10A-2. Reemployment of law-enforcement officers.
(a) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the
contrary, any honorably retired law-enforcement officer may, at the
discretion of the head of a law-enforcement agency, be reemployed
subject to the provisions of this article:
Provided, That a retired
law-enforcement officer employed pursuant to this article must be
certified pursuant to article twenty-nine, chapter thirty.
(b) Any person reemployed pursuant to the provisions of this
article shall:
(1) Receive the same compensation as a regularly enlisted
officer of the same rank;
(2) Receive credit for all years of service accrued prior to
their retirement, as well as service rendered after the date of
their reemployment;
(3) Exercise the same authority as a regularly enlisted
officer of the law-enforcement agency;
(4) Wear the same uniform and insignia;
(5) Be subject to the same oath;
(6) Execute the same bond; and
(7) Exercise the same powers and be subject to the same
limitations as a regularly enlisted officer of the law-enforcement
agency.
(c) A person reemployed pursuant to the provisions of this
article is ineligible for promotion or reclassification of any type
nor eligible for appointment to a temporary rank.
(d) A person reemployed pursuant to the provisions of this
article may be employed for a period not to exceed two years from
the date on which he or she is hired.
(e) As used in this article:
(1) "Law-enforcement officer" or "officer" means: (A) Any
sheriff and any deputy sheriff of any county; (B) any member of a
police department in any municipality as defined in section two,
article one, chapter eight of this code; and (C) any natural
resources police officer of the Division of Natural Resources; and
(2) "Head of a law-enforcement agency" means the chief of
police of an incorporated municipality; a county sheriff, or the
chief natural resources police officer of the Division of Natural
Resources.
CHAPTER 17. ROADS AND HIGHWAYS.
ARTICLE 24A. DISPOSAL OF ABANDONED MOTOR VEHICLES, JUNKED MOTOR
VEHICLES, AND ABANDONED OR INOPERATIVE HOUSEHOLD
APPLIANCES.
§17-24A-1. Definitions.
Unless the context clearly indicates a different meaning, as
used in this article:
(1) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of the Division of
Highways or his or her designee.
(2) "Abandoned household appliance" means a refrigerator,
freezer, range, stove, automatic dishwasher, clothes washer,
clothes dryer, trash compactor, television set, radio, air
conditioning unit, commode, bed springs, mattress or other
furniture, fixtures or appliances to which no person claims
ownership and which is not in an enclosed building, a licensed
salvage yard or the actual possession of a demolisher.
(3) "Abandoned motor vehicle" means any motor vehicle, or
major part thereof, which is inoperative and which has been
abandoned on public property for any period over five days, other
than in an enclosed building or in a licensed salvage yard or at
the business establishment of a demolisher; or any motor vehicle,
or major part thereof, which has remained on private property
without consent of the owner or person in control of the property
for any period over five days; or any motor vehicle, or major part
thereof, which is unattended, discarded, deserted and unlicensed
and is not in an enclosed building, a licensed salvage yard or the
actual possession of a demolisher
: Provided, That a motor vehicle,
or major part thereof, is not an abandoned motor vehicle if: (a)
The owner of the motor vehicle is storing the motor vehicle on the
owner's property; (b) the motor vehicle is being stored for the purpose of using its parts on other motor vehicles owned by the
owner; (c) the owner owns other motor vehicles similar to the motor
vehicle being stored; and (d) the owner is a business licensed to
do business in the State of West Virginia and not in the primary
business of offering motor vehicles or parts thereof for sale.
(4) "Demolisher" means any person licensed by the Commissioner
of the Division of Highways whose business, to any extent or
degree, is to convert a motor vehicle or any part thereof or an
inoperative household appliance into processed scrap or scrap metal
or into saleable parts or otherwise to wreck or dismantle vehicles
or appliances.
(5) "Enclosed building" means a structure surrounded by walls
or one continuous wall and having a roof enclosing the entire
structure and includes a permanent appendage thereto.
(6) "Enforcement agency" means any of the following or any
combination of the following:
(a) Public law-enforcement officers of this state, including
natural resources police officers;
(b) Public law-enforcement officers of any county, city or
town within this state; and
(c) The Commissioner of the Division of Highways, his or her
duly authorized agents and employees.
(7) "Inoperative household appliance" means a refrigerator,
freezer, range, stove, automatic dishwasher, clothes washer,
clothes dryer, trash compactor, television set, radio, air conditioning unit, commode, bed springs, mattress or other
furniture, fixture or appliance which by reason of mechanical or
physical defects can no longer be used for its intended purpose and
which is either not serving a functional purpose or use or is not
in an enclosed building, a licensed salvage yard or the actual
possession of a demolisher.
(8) "Junked motor vehicle" means a motor vehicle, or any part
thereof which: (a) Is discarded, wrecked, ruined, scrapped or
dismantled; (b) cannot pass the state inspection required by
article sixteen, chapter seventeen-c of this code; and (c) is
either not serving a functional purpose or use or is not in an
enclosed building, a licensed salvage yard or the actual possession
of a demolisher:
Provided, That a motor vehicle, or major part
thereof, is not a junked motor vehicle if: (a) The owner of the
motor vehicle is storing the motor vehicle on the owner's property;
(b) the motor vehicle is being stored for the purpose of using its
parts on other motor vehicles owned by the owner; (c) the owner
owns other motor vehicles similar to the motor vehicle being
stored; and (d) the owner is a business licensed to do business in
the State of West Virginia and not in the primary business of
offering motor vehicles or parts thereof for sale.
(9) "Licensed salvage yard" means a salvage yard licensed
under article twenty-three of this chapter.
(10) "Motor vehicle" means a vehicle which is or was
self-propelled, including, but not limited to, automobiles, trucks, buses and motorcycles.
(11) "Person" means a natural person, corporation, firm,
partnership, association or society and the plural as well as the
singular.
§17-24A-2. Abandonment of motor vehicle prohibited; inoperative
household appliances prohibited in certain places;
penalty.
(a) No person may, within this state, abandon a motor vehicle
or major part thereof upon the right-of-way of any public highway,
upon any other public property or upon any private property without
the consent of the owner or person in control of the property, or
upon property owned or controlled by that person, unless it be at
a licensed salvage yard or at the business establishment of a
demolisher, or a business licensed to do business in the State of
West Virginia and not in the primary business of offering motor
vehicles or parts thereof for sale. Any person who violates any
provision of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be sentenced and fined as set forth
below.
(b) No person may, within this state, place or abandon any
inoperative household appliance upon the right-of-way of any public
highway or upon any other public property; nor may any person,
within this state, place or abandon any inoperative household
appliance upon any private property unless it be at a licensed
salvage yard, solid waste facility, other business authorized to accept solid waste or at the business establishment of a
demolisher. Any person who violates any provision of this section
is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
sentenced and fined as set forth below.
(c) Any person who is guilty of a misdemeanor as described in
this section and the abandoned motor vehicle, junked motor vehicle,
or inoperative household appliance does not exceed one hundred
pounds in weight or twenty-seven cubic feet in size is subject to
a fine of not less than $50 nor more than $1,000 or, in the
discretion of the court, sentenced to perform community service by
cleaning up litter from any public highway, road, street, alley or
any other public park or public property or waters of the state, as
designated by the court, for not less than eight nor more than
sixteen hours, or both.
(d) Any person who is guilty of a misdemeanor as described in
this section and the abandoned motor vehicle, junked motor vehicle
or inoperative household appliance is greater than one hundred
pounds in weight or twenty-seven cubic feet in size, but less than
five hundred pounds in weight or two hundred sixteen cubic feet, is
subject to a fine of not less than $500 nor more than $2,000 or, in
the discretion of the court, may be sentenced to perform community
service by cleaning up litter from any public highway, road,
street, alley or any other public park or public property or waters
of the state, as designated by the court, for not less than sixteen
nor more than thirty-two hours, or both.
(e) Any person who is guilty of a misdemeanor as described in
this section and the abandoned motor vehicle, junked motor vehicle
or inoperative household appliance is greater than five hundred
pounds in weight or two hundred sixteen cubic feet in size is
subject to a fine not less than $2,500 or not more than $25,000 or
confinement in jail for not more than one year, or both. In
addition, the violator may be guilty of creating or contributing to
an open dump as defined in section two, article fifteen, chapter
twenty-two of this code and subject to the enforcement provisions
of section fifteen of said article.
(f) Any person convicted of a second or subsequent violation
of this section is subject to double the authorized range of fines
and community service for the subsection violated.
(g) The sentence of litter cleanup shall be verified by
natural resources police officers from the Division of Natural
Resources or environmental inspectors from the Department of
Environmental Protection. Any defendant receiving the sentence of
litter cleanup shall provide within a time to be set by the court
written acknowledgment from a natural resources police officer or
environmental inspector that the sentence has been completed and
the litter has been disposed of lawfully.
(h) Any person who has been found by the court to have
willfully failed to comply with the terms of a litter cleanup
sentence imposed by the court pursuant to this section is subject
to, at the discretion of the court, double the amount of the original fines and community service penalties.
CHAPTER 17A. MOTOR VEHICLE ADMINISTRATION, REGISTRATION,
CERTIFICATE OF TITLE, AND ANTITHEFT PROVISIONS.
ARTICLE 3. ORIGINAL AND RENEWAL OF REGISTRATION; ISSUANCE OF
CERTIFICATES OF TITLE.
§17A-3-23. Registration plates to state, county, municipal and
other governmental vehicles; use for undercover
activities.
(a) Any motor vehicle designed to carry passengers, owned or
leased by the State of West Virginia, or any of its departments,
bureaus, commissions or institutions, except vehicles used by the
Governor, Treasurer, three vehicles per elected office of the Board
of Public Works, vehicles operated by the State Police, not to
exceed five vehicles operated by the office of the Secretary of
Military Affairs and Public Safety, not to exceed five vehicles
operated by the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency
Management, vehicles operated by natural resources police officers
of the Division of Natural Resources, not to exceed ten vehicles
operated by the arson investigators of the office of State Fire
Marshal, not to exceed two vehicles operated by the Division of
Protective Services, not to exceed sixteen vehicles operated by
inspectors of the office of the Alcohol Beverage Control
Commissioner and vehicles operated by probation officers employed
under the Supreme Court of Appeals may not be operated or driven by
any person unless it has displayed and attached to the front thereof, in the same manner as regular motor vehicle registration
plates are attached, a plate of the same size as the regular
registration plate, with white lettering on a green background
bearing the words "West Virginia" in one line and the words "State
Car" in another line and the lettering for the words "State Car"
shall be of sufficient size to be plainly readable from a distance
of one hundred feet during daylight.
The vehicle shall also have attached to the rear a plate
bearing a number and any other words and figures as the
Commissioner of Motor Vehicles shall prescribe. The rear plate
shall also be green with the number in white.
(b) On registration plates issued to vehicles owned by
counties, the color shall be white on red with the word "County" on
top of the plate and the words "West Virginia" on the bottom. On
any registration plates issued to a city or municipality, the color
shall be white on blue with the word "City" on top and the words
"West Virginia" on the bottom
: Provided, That after December 31,
2006, registration plates issued to a city or municipality
law-enforcement department shall include blue lettering on a white
background with the word "West Virginia" on top of the plate and
shall be further designed by the commissioner to include a
law-enforcement shield together with other insignia or lettering
sufficient to identify the motor vehicle as a municipal
law-enforcement department motor vehicle. The colors may not be
reversed and shall be of reflectorized material. The registration plates issued to counties, municipalities and other governmental
agencies authorized to receive colored plates hereunder shall be
affixed to both the front and rear of the vehicles. Every
municipality shall provide the commissioner with a list of
law-enforcement vehicles operated by the law-enforcement department
of the municipality, unless otherwise provided in this section, and
a fee of $10 for each vehicle submitted by July 1, 2006.
(c) Registration plates issued to vehicles operated by county
sheriffs shall be designed by the commissioner in cooperation with
the sheriffs' association with the word "Sheriff" on top of the
plate and the words "West Virginia" on the bottom. The plate shall
contain a gold shield representing the sheriff's star and a number
assigned to that plate by the commissioner. Every county sheriff
shall provide the commissioner with a list of vehicles operated by
the sheriff, unless otherwise provided in this section, and a fee
of $10 for each vehicle submitted by July 1, 2002.
(d) The commissioner is authorized to designate the colors and
design of any other registration plates that are issued without
charge to any other agency in accordance with the motor vehicle
laws.
(e) Upon application, the commissioner is authorized to issue
a maximum of five Class A license plates per applicant to be used
by county sheriffs and municipalities on law-enforcement vehicles
while engaged in undercover investigations.
(f) The commissioner is authorized to issue an unlimited number of license plates per applicant to authorized drug and
violent crime task forces in the State of West Virginia when the
chairperson of the control group of a drug and violent crime task
force signs a written affidavit stating that the vehicle or
vehicles for which the plates are being requested will be used only
for official undercover work conducted by a drug and violent crime
task force.
(g) The commissioner is authorized to issue twenty Class A
license plates to the Criminal Investigation Division of the
Department of Revenue for use by its investigators.
(h) The commissioner may issue a maximum of ten Class A
license plates to the Division of Natural Resources for use by
natural resources police officers. The commissioner shall
designate the color and design of the registration plates to be
displayed on the front and the rear of all other state-owned
vehicles owned by the Division of Natural Resources and operated by
natural resources police officers.
(i) The commissioner is authorized to issue an unlimited
number of Class A license plates to the Commission on Special
Investigations for state-owned vehicles used for official
undercover work conducted by the Commission on Special
Investigations. The commissioner is authorized to issue a maximum
of two Class A plates to the Division of Protective Services for
state-owned vehicles used by the Division of Protective Services in
fulfilling its mission.
(j) No other registration plate may be issued for, or attached
to, any state-owned vehicle.
(k) The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles shall have a sufficient
number of both front and rear plates produced to attach to all
state-owned cars. The numbered registration plates for the
vehicles shall start with the number "five hundred" and the
commissioner shall issue consecutive numbers for all state-owned
cars.
(l) It is the duty of each office, department, bureau,
commission or institution furnished any vehicle to have plates as
described herein affixed thereto prior to the operation of the
vehicle by any official or employee.
(m) The commissioner may issue special registration plates for
motor vehicles titled in the name of the Division of Public Transit
or in the name of a public transit authority as defined in this
subsection and operated by a public transit authority or a public
transit provider to transport persons in the public interest. For
purposes of this subsection, "public transit authority" means an
urban mass transportation authority created pursuant to the
provisions of article twenty-seven, chapter eight of this code or
a nonprofit entity exempt from federal and state income taxes under
the Internal Revenue Code and whose purpose is to provide mass
transportation to the public at large. The special registration
plate shall be designed by the commissioner and shall display the
words "public transit" or words or letters of similar effect to indicate the public purpose of the use of the vehicle. The special
registration plate shall be issued without charge.
(n) Any person who violates the provisions of this section is
guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
fined not less than $50 nor more than $100. Magistrates have
concurrent jurisdiction with circuit courts for the enforcement of
this section.
CHAPTER 17C. TRAFFIC REGULATIONS AND LAWS OF THE ROAD.
ARTICLE 4. CRASHES.
§17C-4-16. Crashes involving state and municipal property;
reports to be provided.
Whenever a report of a motor vehicle crash prepared by a
member of the West Virginia State Police, natural resources police
officer of the Division of Natural Resources, a member of a county
sheriff's department or a municipal police officer, in the regular
course of their duties, indicates that as a result of the crash
damage has occurred to any bridge, sign, guardrail or other
property, exclusive of licensed motor vehicles, a copy of the
report shall, in the case of property belonging to the Division of
Highways, be provided to the Commissioner of the Division of
Highways, and, in the case of property belonging to a municipality,
be provided to the mayor of that municipality. The copies of the
reports shall be provided to the commissioner or mayor, as
applicable, without cost to them.
ARTICLE 5. SERIOUS TRAFFIC OFFENSES.
§17C-5-4. Implied consent to test; administration at direction of
law-enforcement officer; designation of type of test;
definition of law-enforcement officer.
(a) Any person who drives a motor vehicle in this state is
considered to have given his or her consent by the operation of the
motor vehicle to a preliminary breath analysis and a secondary
chemical test of either his or her blood, breath or urine for the
purposes of determining the alcoholic content of his or her blood.
(b) A preliminary breath analysis may be administered in
accordance with the provisions of section five of this article
whenever a law-enforcement officer has reasonable cause to believe
a person has committed an offense prohibited by section two of this
article or by an ordinance of a municipality of this state which
has the same elements as an offense described in section two of
this article.
(c) A secondary test of blood, breath or urine is incidental
to a lawful arrest and is to be administered at the direction of
the arresting law-enforcement officer having reasonable grounds to
believe the person has committed an offense prohibited by section
two of this article or by an ordinance of a municipality of this
state which has the same elements as an offense described in
section two of this article.
(d) The law-enforcement agency that employs the
law-enforcement officer shall designate which type of secondary
test is to be administered:
Provided, That if the test designated is a blood test and the person arrested refuses to submit to the
blood test, then the law-enforcement officer making the arrest
shall designate either a breath or urine test to be administered.
Notwithstanding the provisions of section seven of this article,
the refusal to submit to a blood test only may not result in the
revocation of the arrested person's license to operate a motor
vehicle in this state.
(e) Any person to whom a preliminary breath test is
administered who is then arrested shall be given a written
statement advising him or her that his or her refusal to submit to
the secondary chemical test pursuant to subsection (d) of this
section, will result in the revocation of his or her license to
operate a motor vehicle in this state for a period of at least one
year and up to life.
(f) Any law-enforcement officer who has been properly trained
in the administration of any secondary chemical test authorized by
this article, including, but not limited to, certification by the
Bureau for Public Health in the operation of any equipment required
for the collection and analysis of a breath sample, may conduct the
test at any location in the county wherein the arrest is made
:
Provided, That the law-enforcement officer may conduct the test at
the nearest available properly functioning secondary chemical
testing device located outside the county in which the arrest was
made, if: (i) There is no properly functioning secondary chemical
testing device located within the county the arrest was made; or (ii) there is no magistrate available within the county the arrest
was made for the arraignment of the person arrested. A
law-enforcement officer who is directing that a secondary chemical
test be conducted has the authority to transport the person
arrested to where the secondary chemical testing device is located.
(g) If the arresting officer lacks proper training in the
administration of a secondary chemical test, then any other
law-enforcement officer who has received training in the
administration of the secondary chemical test to be administered
may, upon the request of the arresting law-enforcement officer and
in his or her presence, conduct the secondary test. The results of
a test conducted pursuant to this subsection may be used in
evidence to the same extent and in the same manner as if the test
had been conducted by the arresting law-enforcement officer.
(h) Only the person actually administering or conducting a
test conducted pursuant to this article is competent to testify as
to the results and the veracity of the test.
(i) For the purpose of this article, the term "law-enforcement
officer" or "police officer" means: (1) Any member of the West
Virginia State Police; (2) any sheriff and any deputy sheriff of
any county; (3) any member of a police department in any
municipality as defined in section two, article one, chapter eight
of this code; (4) any natural resources police officer of the
Division of Natural Resources; and (5) any special police officer
appointed by the Governor pursuant to the provisions of section forty-one, article three, chapter sixty-one of this code who has
completed the course of instruction at a law-enforcement training
academy as provided for under the provisions of section nine,
article twenty-nine, chapter thirty of this code.
(j) A law-enforcement officer who has reasonable cause to
believe that person has committed an offense prohibited by section
eighteen, article seven, chapter twenty of this code, relating to
the operation of a motorboat, jet ski or other motorized vessel,
shall follow the provisions of this section in administering, or
causing to be administered, a preliminary breath analysis and the
secondary chemical test of the accused person's blood, breath or
urine for the purpose of determining alcohol content of his or her
blood.
CHAPTER 18B. HIGHER EDUCATION.
ARTICLE 10. FEES AND OTHER MONEY COLLECTED AT STATE INSTITUTIONS
OF HIGHER EDUCATION.
§18B-10-7. Tuition and fee waivers for children and spouses of
officers, firefighters, National Guard personnel,
reserve personnel and active military duty personnel
killed in the line of duty.
(a) Each state institution of higher education shall waive
tuition and fees for any person who is the child or spouse of an
individual who:
(1) Was employed or serving as:
(A) A law-enforcement officer as defined in section one, article twenty-nine, chapter thirty of this code;
(B) A correctional officer at a state penal institution;
(C) A parole officer;
(D) A probation officer;
(E) A natural resources police officer; or
(F) A registered firefighter; and
(2) Was killed in the line of duty while:
(A) Employed by the state or any political subdivision of the
state; or
(B) A member of a volunteer fire department serving a
political subdivision of this state.
(b) Each state institution of higher education shall waive
tuition and fees for any person who is the child or spouse of:
(1) A National Guard member or a member of a reserve component
of the Armed Forces of the United States who is a resident of this
state and is killed in the line of duty. The member is considered
to have been killed in the line of duty if death resulted from
performing a duty required by his or her orders or commander while
in an official duty status, other than on federal active duty,
authorized under federal or state law; or
(2) A person on federal or state active military duty who is
a resident of this state and is killed in the line of duty. The
person is considered to have been killed in the line of duty if
death resulted from performance of a duty required by his or her
orders or commander while in an official duty status.
(c) Any waiver granted pursuant to this section is subject to
the following:
(1) The recipient may attend any undergraduate course if
classroom space is available;
(2) The recipient has applied and been admitted to the
institution;
(3) The recipient has applied for and submitted the Free
Application for Federal Student Aid;
(4) The recipient has exhausted all other sources of student
financial assistance dedicated solely to tuition and fees that
exceed other grant assistance that are available to him or her,
excluding student loans;
(5) Waiver renewal is contingent upon the recipient continuing
to meet the academic progress standards established by the
institution.
(d) The state institution of higher education may require the
person to pay:
(1) Special fees, including any laboratory fees, if the fees
are required of all other students taking a single course or that
particular course; and
(2) Parking fees.
(e) The governing boards may promulgate rules:
(1) For determining the availability of classroom space;
(2) As each considers necessary to implement this section; and
(3) Regarding requirements for attendance, which may not exceed the requirements for other students.
(f) The governing boards may extend to persons attending
courses and classes under this section any rights, privileges or
benefits extended to other students which it considers appropriate.
CHAPTER 19. AGRICULTURE.
ARTICLE 20A. VACCINATION OF DOGS AND CATS FOR RABIES.
§19-20A-7. Enforcement of article.
The enforcement of the provisions of this article is in the
hands of the sheriff of each county, any of his or her deputies,
constables, natural resources police officers, and, if considered
necessary, there shall be a special officer to be appointed by the
county commission, who is authorized, empowered, and directed to
inspect rabies, pick up dogs and cats and dispose of dogs which are
not taxable or not vaccinated according to this article. The
sheriff of each county can have one or more sittings, if considered
necessary, in each district of the county, at which he or she shall
be present or have present one of his or her deputies or the
special officer above provided for, to take charge of all
delinquent dogs and cats and homeless dogs and cats that are not
vaccinated. The assessor of each county, or one of his or her
deputies, shall accompany the veterinarian, doctor, or the one who
administers the vaccine in these sittings for the purpose of
collecting taxes on dogs. All dogs which are not vaccinated and
for which taxes are unpaid become the responsibility of the sheriff
to catch and dispose of as is provided by law.
CHAPTER 20. NATURAL RESOURCES.
ARTICLE 1. ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION.
§20-1-13. Law enforcement and legal services.
The director shall select and designate a competent and
qualified person to be the chief natural resources police officer,
who has the title of colonel and who is responsible for the prompt,
orderly and effective enforcement of all of the provisions of this
chapter. Under the supervision of the director and subject to
personnel qualifications and requirements otherwise prescribed in
this chapter, the chief natural resources police officer is
responsible for the selection, training, assignment, distribution
and discipline of natural resources police officers and the
effective discharge of their duties in carrying out the
law-enforcement policies, practices and programs of the division in
compliance with the provisions of article seven of this chapter and
other controlling laws. Except as otherwise provided in this
chapter, natural resources police officers are authorized to enter
into and upon private lands and waters to investigate complaints
and reports of conditions, conduct, practices and activities
considered to be adverse to and violative of the provisions of this
chapter and to execute writs and warrants and make arrests
thereupon.
The Attorney General and his or her assistants and the
prosecuting attorneys of the several counties shall render to the
director, without additional compensation, legal services as the director may require of them in the discharge of his or her duties
and the execution of his or her powers under and his or her
enforcement of the provisions of this chapter. The director, in an
emergency and with prior approval of the Attorney General, may
employ an attorney to act in proceedings wherein criminal charges
are brought against personnel of the department because of action
in line of duty. For the attorney services, a reasonable sum, not
exceeding $2,500, may be expended by the director in any one case.
The director, if he or she considers the action necessary, may
request the Attorney General to appoint an assistant attorney
general, who shall perform, under the supervision and direction of
the Attorney General, the duties as may be required of him or her
by the director. The Attorney General, in pursuance of the
request, may select and appoint an assistant attorney general to
serve at the will and pleasure of the Attorney General, and the
assistant shall receive a salary to be paid out of any funds made
available for that purpose by the Legislature to the department.
ARTICLE 2. WILDLIFE RESOURCES.
§20-2-5. Unlawful methods of hunting and fishing and other
unlawful acts.
Except as authorized by the director, it is unlawful at any
time for any person to:
(1) Shoot at or to shoot any wild bird or animal unless it is
plainly visible to him or her;
(2) Dig out, cut out or smoke out, or in any manner take or attempt to take, any live wild animal or wild bird out of its den
or place of refuge except as may be authorized by rules promulgated
by the director or by law;
(3) Make use of, or take advantage of, any artificial light in
hunting, locating, attracting, taking, trapping or killing any wild
bird or wild animal, or to attempt to do so, while having in his or
her possession or subject to his or her control, or for any person
accompanying him or her to have in his or her possession or subject
to his or her control, any firearm, whether cased or uncased, bow,
arrow, or both, or other implement or device suitable for taking,
killing or trapping a wild bird or animal:
Provided, That it is
lawful to hunt or take raccoon, opossum or skunk by the use of
artificial light subject to the restrictions set forth in this
subdivision:
Provided, however, That it is lawful to hunt or take
coyotes by the use of amber- or red-colored artificial light
subject to the restrictions set forth in this subdivision. No
person is guilty of a violation of this subdivision merely because
he or she looks for, looks at, attracts or makes motionless a wild
bird or wild animal with or by the use of an artificial light,
unless at the time he or she has in his or her possession a
firearm, whether cased or uncased, bow, arrow, or both, or other
implement or device suitable for taking, killing or trapping a wild
bird or wild animal, or unless the artificial light (other than the
head lamps of an automobile or other land conveyance) is attached
to, a part of or used from within or upon an automobile or other land conveyance.
Any person violating the provisions of this subdivision is
guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall for
each offense be fined not less than $100 nor more than $500 and
shall be confined in jail for not less than ten days nor more than
one hundred days;
(4) Hunt for, take, kill, wound or shoot at wild animals or
wild birds from an airplane, or other airborne conveyance, an
automobile, or other land conveyance, or from a motor-driven water
conveyance, except as authorized by rules promulgated by the
director;
(5) Take any beaver or muskrat by any means other than by
trap;
(6) Catch, capture, take or kill by seine, net, bait, trap or
snare or like device of any kind any wild turkey, ruffed grouse,
pheasant or quail;
(7) Destroy or attempt to destroy needlessly or willfully the
nest or eggs of any wild bird or have in his or her possession the
nest or eggs unless authorized to do so under rules promulgated by
or under a permit issued by the director;
(8) Except as provided in section six of this article, carry
an uncased or loaded gun in any of the woods of this state except
during the open firearms hunting season for wild animals and
nonmigratory wild birds within any county of the state unless he or
she has in his or her possession a permit in writing issued to him or her by the director:
Provided, That this section does not
prohibit hunting or taking of unprotected species of wild animals
and wild birds and migratory wild birds, during the open season, in
the open fields, open water and open marshes of the state;
(9) Have in his or her possession a crossbow with a nocked
bolt, a loaded firearm or a firearm from the magazine of which all
shells and cartridges have not been removed, in or on any vehicle
or conveyance, or its attachments, within the state, except as may
otherwise be provided by law or regulation. Except as hereinafter
provided, between five o'clock postmeridian of one day and seven
o'clock antemeridian, eastern standard time of the day following,
any unloaded firearm or crossbow, being lawfully carried in
accordance with the foregoing provisions, may be so carried only
when in a case or taken apart and securely wrapped. During the
period from July 1 to September 30, inclusive, of each year, the
foregoing requirements relative to carrying certain unloaded
firearms are permissible only from eight-thirty o'clock
postmeridian to five o'clock antemeridian, eastern standard time:
Provided, That the time periods for carrying unloaded and uncased
firearms are extended for one hour after the postmeridian times and
one hour before the antemeridian times established above if a
hunter is preparing to or in the process of transporting or
transferring the firearms to or from a hunting site, campsite, home
or other place of abode;
(10) Hunt, catch, take, kill, trap, injure or pursue with firearms or other implement by which wildlife may be taken after
the hour of five o'clock antemeridian on Sunday on private land
without the written consent of the landowner any wild animals or
wild birds except when a big game season opens on a Monday, the
Sunday prior to that opening day will be closed for any taking of
wild animals or birds after five o'clock antemeridian on that
Sunday:
Provided, That traps previously and legally set may be
tended after the hour of five o'clock antemeridian on Sunday and
the person so doing may carry only a twenty-two caliber firearm for
the purpose of humanely dispatching trapped animals. Any person
violating the provisions of this subdivision is guilty of a
misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, in addition to any fines
that may be imposed by this or other sections of this code, is
subject to a $100 fine;
(11) Hunt with firearms or long bow while under the influence
of intoxicating liquor;
(12) Hunt, catch, take, kill, injure or pursue a wild animal
or bird with the use of a ferret;
(13) Buy raw furs, pelts or skins of fur-bearing animals
unless licensed to do so;
(14) Catch, take, kill or attempt to catch, take or kill any
fish at any time by any means other than by rod, line and hooks
with natural or artificial lures unless otherwise authorized by law
or rules issued by the Director:
Provided, That snaring of any
species of suckers, carp, fallfish and creek chubs shall at all times be lawful;
(15) Employ or hire, or induce or persuade, by the use of
money or other things of value, or by any means, any person to
hunt, take, catch or kill any wild animal or wild bird except those
species on which there is no closed season, or to fish for, catch,
take or kill any fish, amphibian or aquatic life which is protected
by the provisions of this chapter or rules of the director or the
sale of which is prohibited;
(16) Hunt, catch, take, kill, capture, pursue, transport,
possess or use any migratory game or nongame birds included in the
terms of conventions between the United States and Great Britain
and between the United States and United Mexican States for the
protection of migratory birds and wild mammals concluded,
respectively, August 16, 1916, and February 7, 1936, except during
the time and in the manner and numbers prescribed by the federal
Migratory Bird Treaty Act, 16 U.S.C. §703,
et seq., and
regulations made thereunder;
(17) Kill, take, catch or have in his or her possession,
living or dead, any wild bird other than a game bird; or expose for
sale or transport within or without the state any bird except as
aforesaid. No part of the plumage, skin or body of any protected
bird may be sold or had in possession for sale except mounted or
stuffed plumage, skin, bodies or heads of the birds legally taken
and stuffed or mounted, irrespective of whether the bird was
captured within or without this state, except the English or European sparrow (passer domesticus), starling (sturnus vulgaris)
and cowbird (molothrus ater), which may not be protected and the
killing thereof at any time is lawful;
(18) Use dynamite or any like explosive or poisonous mixture
placed in any waters of the state for the purpose of killing or
taking fish. Any person violating the provisions of this
subdivision is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof,
shall be fined not more than $500 or imprisoned for not less than
six months nor more than three years, or both fined and imprisoned;
(19) Have a bow and gun, or have a gun and any arrow or
arrows, in the fields or woods at the same time;
(20) Have a crossbow in the woods or fields or use a crossbow
to hunt for, take or attempt to take any wildlife, unless the
person possesses a Class Y permit;
(21) Take or attempt to take turkey, bear, elk or deer with
any arrow unless the arrow is equipped with a point having at least
two sharp cutting edges measuring in excess of three fourths of an
inch wide;
(22) Take or attempt to take any wildlife with an arrow having
an explosive head or shaft, a poisoned arrow or an arrow which
would affect wildlife by any chemical action;
(23) Shoot an arrow across any public highway or from
aircraft, motor-driven watercraft, motor vehicle or other land
conveyance;
(24) Permit any dog owned by him or her or under his or her control to chase, pursue or follow upon the track of any wild
animal or wild bird, either day or night, between May 1 and the
August 15 next following:
Provided, That dogs may be trained on
wild animals and wild birds, except deer and wild turkeys, and
field trials may be held or conducted on the grounds or lands of
the owner or by his or her bona fide tenant or tenants or upon the
grounds or lands of another person with his or her written
permission or on public lands at any time:
Provided, however, That
nonresidents may not train dogs in this state at any time except
during the legal small game hunting season:
Provided further, That
the person training said dogs does not have firearms or other
implements in his or her possession during the closed season on
wild animals and wild birds, whereby wild animals or wild birds
could be taken or killed;
(25) Conduct or participate in a field trial,
shoot-to-retrieve field trial, water race or wild hunt hereafter
referred to as trial:
Provided, That any person, group of persons,
club or organization may hold the trial at any time of the year
upon obtaining a permit as is provided in section fifty-six of this
article. The person responsible for obtaining the permit shall
prepare and keep an accurate record of the names and addresses of
all persons participating in said trial and make same readily
available for inspection by any natural resources police officer
upon request;
(26) Except as provided in section four of this article, hunt, catch, take, kill or attempt to hunt, catch, take or kill any wild
animal, wild bird or wild fowl except during the open season
established by rule of the director as authorized by subdivision
(6), section seven, article one of this chapter;
(27) Hunting on public lands on Sunday after five o'clock
antemeridian is prohibited; and
(28) Hunt, catch, take, kill, trap, injure or pursue with
firearms or other implement which wildlife can be taken, on private
lands on Sunday after the hour of five o'clock antemeridian:
Provided, That the provisions of this subdivision do not apply in
any county until the county commission of the county holds an
election on the question of whether the provisions of this
subdivision prohibiting hunting on Sunday shall apply within the
county and the voters approve the allowance of hunting on Sunday in
the county. The election is determined by a vote of the resident
voters of the county in which the hunting on Sunday is proposed to
be authorized. The county commission of the county in which Sunday
hunting is proposed shall give notice to the public of the election
by publication of the notice as a Class II-0 legal advertisement in
compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine
of this code and the publication area for the publication is the
county in which the election is to be held. The date of the last
publication of the notice shall fall on a date within the period of
the fourteen consecutive days next preceding the election.
On the local option election ballot shall be printed the following:
Shall hunting on Sunday be authorized in ________ County?
[ ] Yes [ ] No
(Place a cross mark in the square opposite your choice.)
Any local option election to approve or disapprove of the
proposed authorization of Sunday hunting within a county shall be
in accordance with procedures adopted by the commission. The local
option election may be held in conjunction with a primary or
general election or at a special election. Approval shall be by a
majority of the voters casting votes on the question of approval or
disapproval of Sunday hunting at the election.
If a majority votes against allowing Sunday hunting, no
election on the issue may be held for a period of one hundred four
weeks. If a majority votes "yes", no election reconsidering the
action may be held for a period of five years. A local option
election may thereafter be held if a written petition of qualified
voters residing within the county equal to at least five percent of
the number of persons who were registered to vote in the next
preceding general election is received by the county commission of
the county in which Sunday hunting is authorized. The petition may
be in any number of counterparts. The election shall take place at
the next primary or general election scheduled more than ninety
days following receipt by the county commission of the petition
required by this subsection:
Provided, That the issue may not be
placed on the ballot until all statutory notice requirements have been met. No local law or regulation providing any penalty,
disability, restriction, regulation or prohibition of Sunday
hunting may be enacted and the provisions of this article preempt
all regulations, rules, ordinances and laws of any county or
municipality in conflict with this subdivision.
(29) Hunt or conduct hunts for a fee where the hunter is not
physically present in the same location as the wildlife being
hunted within West Virginia.
§20-2-7. Hunting, trapping or fishing on lands of another; damages
and restitution.
(a) It is unlawful for any person to shoot, hunt, fish or trap
upon the fenced, enclosed or posted lands of another person; or to
peel trees or timber, build fires or do any other act in connection
with shooting, hunting, fishing or trapping on the lands without
written permission in his or her possession from the owner, tenant
or agent of the owner.
(b) Any person who hunts, traps or fishes on land without the
permission of the owner, tenant or agent of the owner is guilty of
a misdemeanor and, liable to the owner or person suffering damage
for all costs and damages for: (1) Killing or injuring any domestic
animal, fowl, or private game farm animal; (2) cutting, destroying
or damaging any bars, gates or fence or any part of the property;
or (3) leaving open any bars or gates resulting in damage to the
property.
(c) Restitution of the value of the property or animals injured, damaged or destroyed shall be required upon conviction
pursuant to sections four and five, article eleven-a, chapter
sixty-one of this code. The restitution ordered for private game
farm animals shall be equivalent to or greater than the replacement
values for deer listed in section five-a in this article.
(d) The owner, tenant or agent of the owner may arrest a
person violating this section and immediately take him or her
before a magistrate. The owner, tenant or agent of the owner is
vested with the powers and rights of a natural resources police
officer for these purposes. The officers charged with the
enforcement of the provisions of this chapter shall enforce the
provisions of this section if requested to do so by the owner,
tenant or agent of the owner, but not otherwise.
(e) The provisions of subsections (b) and (d) of this section
related to criminal penalties and being subject to arrest are
inapplicable to a person whose dog, without the person's direction
or encouragement, travels onto the fenced, enclosed or posted land
of another in pursuit of an animal or wild bird:
Provided, That the
pursuit does not result in the taking of game from the fenced,
enclosed or posted land and does not result in the killing of
domestic animals or fowl or other damage to or on the fenced,
enclosed or posted land.
§20-2-15. Permit to kill deer or other wildlife causing damage to
cultivated crops, trees, commercial nurseries,
homeowners' shrubbery and vegetable gardens; weapon restrictions.
(a) Whenever it is found that deer or other wildlife are
causing damage to cultivated crops, fruit trees, commercial
nurseries, homeowners' trees, shrubbery or vegetable gardens, the
owner or lessee of the lands on which damage is done may report the
finding to the natural resources police officer or biologist of the
county in which the lands are located or to the director. The
director shall then investigate the reported damage and if found
substantial, shall issue a permit to the owner or lessee to kill
one or more deer or other wildlife in the manner prescribed by the
director.
(b) In addition to the foregoing, the director shall establish
procedures for the issuance of permits or other authorization
necessary to control deer or other wildlife causing property
damage.
(c) All persons attempting to kill deer or other wildlife
pursuant to this section are subject to the same minimum caliber
restrictions and other firearm restrictions and the same minimum
bow poundage and other bow and arrow restrictions that apply when
hunting the same animal species during the regular hunting seasons.
§20-2-16. Dogs chasing deer.
No person may permit his or her dog to hunt or chase deer. A
natural resources police officer shall take into possession any dog
known to have hunted or chased deer and the director shall
advertise that the dog is in his or her possession, giving a description of the dog and stating the circumstances under which it
was taken. The notice shall be published as a Class I legal
advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three,
chapter fifty- nine of this code, and the publication area for the
publication is the county. He or she shall hold the dog for a
period of ten days after the date of the publication. If, within
ten days, the owner does not claim the dog, the director shall
destroy it. In this event the cost of keeping and advertising
shall be paid by the director. If, within ten days, the owner
claims the dog, he or she may repossess it on the payment of costs
of advertising and the cost of keep, not exceeding 50¢ per day. A
natural resources police officer, or any officer or employee of the
director authorized to enforce the provisions of this section,
after a bona fide but unsuccessful effort to capture dogs detected
chasing or pursuing deer, may kill the dogs.
§20-2-22. Tagging, removing, transporting and reporting bear,
bobcat, deer, wild boar and wild turkey.
(a) Each person killing a bear, bobcat, deer, wild boar or
wild turkey found in a wild state shall either attach a completed
game tag to the animal or remain with the animal and have upon his
or her person a completed game tag before removing the carcass in
any manner from where it was killed.
(b) While transporting the carcass of a bear, bobcat, deer,
wild boar or wild turkey from where it was killed, each person
shall either attach a completed game tag to the animal or have upon his or her person a completed game tag.
(c) Upon arriving at a residence, camp, hunting lodge, vehicle
or vessel each person shall attach a game tag to the killed bear,
bobcat, deer, wild boar or wild turkey. The game tag shall remain
on the carcass until it is retagged by a natural resources police
officer or an official checking station.
(d) If a person who does not possess a game tag kills a bear,
bobcat, deer, wild boar or wild turkey, he or she shall make a tag.
The tag shall bear the name, address and, if applicable, the
license number of the hunter and the time, date and county of
killing.
(e) The carcass of a wild turkey shall be delivered to a
natural resources police officer or an official checking station
for checking and retagging before it is either skinned or
transported beyond the boundaries of the county adjacent to that in
which the kill was made.
(f) The fresh skin and head or carcass of the deer shall be
delivered to a natural resources police officer or an official
checking station for checking and retagging before it is
transported beyond the boundaries of the county adjacent to that in
which the kill was made.
(g) A person who kills a bear shall treat the carcass and
remains in accordance with the provisions of section twenty-two-a
of this article.
(h) For each violation of this section a person is subject to the penalties provided in this article.
§20-2-22a. Hunting, tagging and reporting bear; procedures
applicable to property destruction by bear;
penalties.
(a) A person in any county of this state may not hunt,
capture, or kill any bear, or have in his or her possession any
bear or bear parts, except during the hunting season for bear and
in the manner designated by rules promulgated by the Division of
Natural Resources and as provided in this section. For the
purposes of this section, bear parts include, but are not limited
to, the pelt, gallbladder, skull and claws of bear.
(b) A person who kills a bear shall, within twenty-four hours
after the killing, deliver the bear or fresh skin to a natural
resources police officer or checking station for tagging. A
Division of Natural Resources tag shall be affixed to it before any
part of the bear may be transported more than seventy-five miles
from the point of kill. The Division of Natural Resources tag
shall remain on the skin until it is tanned or mounted. Any bear
or bear parts not properly tagged shall be forfeited to the state
for disposal to a charitable institution, school or as otherwise
designated by the Division of Natural Resources.
(c) It is unlawful:
(1) To hunt bear without a bear damage stamp as prescribed in
section forty-four-b of this article, in addition to a hunting
license as prescribed in this article;
(2) To hunt a bear with:
(A) A shotgun using ammunition loaded with more than one solid
ball;
(B) A rifle of less than twenty-five caliber using rimfire
ammunition; or,
(C) A crossbow;
(3) To kill or attempt to kill any bear through the use of
poison, explosives, snares, steel traps or deadfalls other than as
authorized in this section;
(4) To shoot at or kill:
(A) A bear weighing less than seventy-five pounds live weight
or fifty pounds field dressed weight, after removal of all internal
organs;
(B) Any bear accompanied by a cub; or,
(C) Any bear cub so accompanied, regardless of its weight;
(5) To possess any part of a bear not tagged in accordance
with the provisions of this section;
(6) To enter a state game refuge with firearms for the purpose
of pursuing or killing a bear except under the direct supervision
of division personnel;
(7) To hunt bear with dogs or to cause dogs to chase bear
during seasons other than those designated by the Division of
Natural Resources for the hunting of bear;
(8) To pursue a bear with a pack of dogs other than the pack
used at the beginning of the hunt once the bear is spotted and the chase has begun;
(9) To possess, harvest, sell or purchase bear parts obtained
from bear killed in violation of this section;
(10) To organize for commercial purposes or to professionally
outfit a bear hunt or to give or receive any consideration
whatsoever or any donation in money, goods or services in
connection with a bear hunt notwithstanding the provisions of
sections twenty-three and twenty-four of this article; or
(11) For any person who is not a resident of this state to
hunt bear with dogs or to use dogs in any fashion for the purpose
of hunting bear in this state except in legally authorized hunts.
(d) The following provisions apply to bear destroying
property:
(1) (A) Any property owner or lessee who has suffered damage
to real or personal property, including loss occasioned by the
death or injury of livestock or the unborn issue of livestock,
caused by an act of a bear may complain to any natural resources
police officer of the Division of Natural Resources for protection
against the bear.
(B) Upon receipt of the complaint, the officer shall
immediately investigate the circumstances of the complaint. If the
officer is unable to personally investigate the complaint, he or
she shall designate a wildlife biologist to investigate on his or
her behalf.
(C) If the complaint is found to be justified, the officer or designated person may, together with the owner and other residents,
proceed to hunt, destroy or capture the bear that caused the
property damage:
Provided, That only the natural resources police
officer or the wildlife biologist may determine whether to destroy
or capture the bear and whether to use dogs to capture or destroy
the bear:
Provided, however, That, if out-of-state dogs are used in
the hunt, the owners of the dogs are the only nonresidents
permitted to participate in hunting the bear.
(2) (A) When a property owner has suffered damage to real or
personal property as the result of an act by a bear, the owner
shall file a report with the Director of the Division of Natural
Resources. The report shall state whether or not the bear was
hunted and destroyed and, if so, the sex, weight and estimated age
of the bear. The report shall also include an appraisal of the
property damage occasioned by the bear duly signed by three
competent appraisers fixing the value of the property lost.
(B) The report shall be ruled upon and the alleged damages
examined by a commission comprised of the complaining property
owner, an officer of the division and a person to be jointly
selected by the officer and the complaining property owner.
(C) The division shall establish the procedures to be followed
in presenting and deciding claims under this section in accordance
with article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code.
(D) All claims shall be paid in the first instance from the
Bear Damage Fund provided in section forty-four-b of this article. In the event the fund is insufficient to pay all claims determined
by the commission to be just and proper, the remainder due to
owners of lost or destroyed property shall be paid from the special
revenue account of the Division of Natural Resources.
(3) In all cases where the act of the bear complained of by
the property owner is the killing of livestock, the value to be
established is the fair market value of the livestock at the date
of death. In cases where the livestock killed is pregnant, the
total value is the sum of the values of the mother and the unborn
issue, with the value of the unborn issue to be determined on the
basis of the fair market value of the issue had it been born.
(e)
Criminal penalties. -- (1) Any person who commits a
violation of the provisions of this section is guilty of a
misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less
than $1,000 nor more than $5,000, which fine is not subject to
suspension by the court, confined in jail not less than thirty nor
more than one hundred days, or both fined and confined. Further,
the person's hunting and fishing licenses shall be suspended for
two years.
(2) Any person who commits a second violation of the
provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $2,000 nor more
than $7,500, which fine is not subject to suspension by the court,
confined in jail not less than thirty days nor more than one year,
or both fined and confined. The person's hunting and fishing licenses shall be suspended for life.
(3) Any person who commits a third or subsequent violation of
the provisions of this section is guilty of a felony and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $5,000 nor more
than $10,000, which fine is not subject to suspension by the court,
imprisoned in a correctional facility not less than one year nor
more than five years, or both fined and imprisoned.
§20-2-56a. Bird dog training permit.
The director may issue a permit to train bird dogs on wild
birds or game birds, provided:
(1) The fee for the permit is $10.
(2) The training shall be on private land containing a minimum
of five acres in a single tract. The permittee must own the land,
lease the land or have written permission of landowner for the
training.
(3) The birds permitted to be used for the training of dogs
are quail and pigeons. The quail must be purchased from a licensed
commercial game farm. Pigeons may be purchased from a licensed
commercial game farm or trapped within the state at any time as
long as the person conducting the trapping is legally licensed to
do so and also holds the appropriate permit. Each trap must be
identified by a waterproof tag attached to the trap that bears the
name, address and telephone number of the trapper.
(4) The permittee must retain the receipt for two years of all
birds purchased from a commercial game farm licensee.
(5) The location where the birds are held and all records
pertaining to the purchase and dates of training may be inspected
by a natural resources police officer.
(6) No more than thirty birds may be held by the permittee at
any given time. All birds must have a uniquely numbered leg band
attached. The leg band must remain with the birds until
consumption or until the birds are legally disposed.
(7) Birds held under this permit shall be housed and cared for
in accordance with the requirements of applicable rules.
(8) The use of the birds held under this permit shall include
the release, recapture and/or the shooting of the birds in
conjunction with the training of bird dogs.
(9) The person holding birds in captivity under the authority
of this permit and the person training his or her bird dog must
possess a bird dog training permit.
(10) All other laws and rules governing hunting, trapping,
shooting and training apply.
(11) The director may propose rules for legislative approval
in accordance with article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this
code, to further restrict bird dog training.
(12) Any person violating any provision of this law is subject
to the penalties prescribed in section nine, article seven, chapter
twenty of this code.
§20-2-57a. Negligent shooting, wounding or killing of another
person while hunting; duty to render aid; criminal violations; suspension of hunting and fishing
license; criminal penalties; administrative
penalties.
(a) It is unlawful for any person, while engaged in the act of
hunting, pursuing, taking or killing wild animals or wild birds, to
carelessly or negligently shoot, wound or kill another person.
(b) Anyone who negligently shoots, wounds or injures another
person while hunting, not resulting in serious bodily injury or
death, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof,
shall be fined not more than $1,000 or confined in jail not more
than six months, or both fined and confined.
(c) Anyone who negligently shoots and injures another person
while hunting, resulting in serious bodily injury or death, is
guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
fined not more than $2,500 or confined in jail for not more than
one year, or both fined and confined.
(d) For purposes of this section, serious bodily injury means
bodily injury which creates a substantial risk of death, which
causes serious or prolonged disfigurement, prolonged impairment of
health or prolonged loss or impairment of the function of any
bodily organ.
(e) (1) Any person who, while hunting, discharges a firearm or
arrow and knows or has reason to know that the discharge has caused
bodily harm to another person shall:
(A) Immediately investigate the extent of the person's injuries; and
(B) Render immediate reasonable assistance to the injured
person.
(2) As used in this subsection, "reasonable assistance" means
aid appropriate to the circumstances, including by not limited to
obtaining or attempting to obtain assistance from a natural
resources police officer, law-enforcement officer, 911 dispatchers,
emergency medical providers and medical personnel.
(f) Any person who fails to render aid and assistance to an
injured person as required by subsection (e), to an injured party
who has not sustained a serious bodily injury is guilty of a
misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more
than $2,500 and confined in jail for not more than one year, or
both fined and confined.
(g) Any person who fails to render aid as required by
subsection (e) to an injured party who has sustained a serious
bodily injury or dies as a result of their injuries is guilty of a
felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than
$5,000 or imprisoned in a correctional facility for not less than
one year nor more than five years, or both fined and imprisoned.
(h) Any person found guilty of committing a misdemeanor under
this section shall have their hunting and fishing licenses
suspended for a period of five years from the date of conviction or
the date of release from confinement, whichever is later.
(i) Any person found guilty of committing a felony offense under this section shall have their hunting and fishing licenses
suspended for a period of ten years from the date of conviction or
the date of release from incarceration, whichever is later.
ARTICLE 7. LAW ENFORCEMENT, MOTORBOATING, LITTER.
PART I. LAW ENFORCEMENT, PROCEDURES AND PENALTIES.
§20-7-1. Chief natural resources police officer; natural resources
police officers; special and emergency natural
resources police officers; subsistence allowance;
expenses.
(a) The division's law-enforcement policies, practices and
programs are under the immediate supervision and direction of the
division law-enforcement officer selected by the director and
designated as chief natural resources police officer as provided in
section thirteen, article one of this chapter.
(b) Under the supervision of the director, the chief natural
resources police officer shall organize, develop and maintain
law-enforcement practices, means and methods geared, timed and
adjustable to seasonal, emergency and other needs and requirements
of the division's comprehensive natural resources program. All
division personnel detailed and assigned to law-enforcement duties
and services under this section shall be known and designated as
natural resources police officers and are under the immediate
supervision and direction of the chief natural resources police
officer. All natural resources police officers shall be trained,
equipped and conditioned for duty and services wherever and whenever required by division law-enforcement needs.
(c) The chief natural resources police officer, acting under
supervision of the director, is authorized to select and appoint
emergency natural resources police officers for a limited period
for effective enforcement of the provisions of this chapter when
considered necessary because of emergency or other unusual
circumstances. The emergency natural resources police officers
shall be selected from qualified civil service personnel of the
division, except in emergency situations and circumstances when the
director may designate officers, without regard to civil service
requirements and qualifications, to meet law-enforcement needs.
Emergency natural resources police officers shall exercise all
powers and duties prescribed in section four of this article for
full-time salaried natural resources police officers except the
provisions of subdivision (8) of said section.
(d) The chief natural resources police officer, acting under
supervision of the director, is also authorized to select and
appoint as special natural resources police officers any full-time
civil service employee who is assigned to, and has direct
responsibility for management of, an area owned, leased or under
the control of the division and who has satisfactorily completed a
course of training established and administered by the chief
natural resources police officer, when the action is considered
necessary because of law-enforcement needs. The powers and duties
of a special natural resources police officer, appointed under this provision, is the same within his or her assigned area as
prescribed for full-time salaried natural resources police
officers. The jurisdiction of the person appointed as a special
natural resources police officer, under this provision, shall be
limited to the division area or areas to which he or she is
assigned and directly manages.
(e) The chief natural resources police officer, acting under
supervision of the director, is also authorized to appoint as
special natural resources police officers any full-time civil
service forest fire control personnel who have satisfactorily
completed a course of training established and administered by the
chief natural resources police officer. The jurisdiction of forest
fire control personnel appointed as special natural resources
police officers is limited to the enforcement of the provisions of
article three of this chapter.
(f) The chief natural resources police officer, with the
approval of the director, has the power and authority to revoke any
appointment of an emergency natural resources police officer or of
a special natural resources police officer at any time.
(g) Natural resources police officers are subject to seasonal
or other assignment and detail to duty whenever and wherever
required by the functions, services and needs of the division.
(h) The chief natural resources police officer shall designate
the area of primary residence of each natural resources police
officer, including himself or herself. Since the area of business activity of the division is actually anywhere within the
territorial confines of the State of West Virginia, actual expenses
incurred shall be paid whenever the duties are performed outside
the area of primary assignment and still within the state.
(i) Natural resources police officers shall receive, in
addition to their base pay salary, a minimum monthly subsistence
allowance for their required telephone service, dry cleaning or
required uniforms, and meal expenses while performing their regular
duties in their area of primary assignment in the amount of $130
each month. This subsistence allowance does not apply to special
or emergency natural resources police officers appointed under this
section.
(j) After June 30, 2010, all those full time law-enforcement
officers employed by the Division of Natural Resources as
conservation officers shall be titled and known as natural
resources police officers. Wherever used in this code the term
"conservation officer," or its plural, means "natural resources
police officer," or its plural, respectively.
(k) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the
contrary, the provisions of subdivision six, subsection c, section
twelve, article twenty-one, chapter eleven of this code are
inapplicable to pensions of natural resources police officers paid
through the Public Employees Retirement System.
§20-7-1a
.
Natural resources police officer salary increase based
on length of service.
(a) Effective July 1, 2002, each natural resources police
officer shall receive and be entitled to an increase in salary
based on length of service, including that heretofore and hereafter
served as a natural resources police officer as follows: For five
years of service with the division, a natural resources police
officer shall receive a salary increase of $600 per year payable
during his or her next three years of service and a like increase
at three-year intervals thereafter, with these increases to be
cumulative. A salary increase shall be based upon years of service
as of July 1 of each year and may not be recalculated until July 1
of the following year.
Conservation officers in service at the time the amendment to
this section becomes effective shall be given credit for prior
service and shall be paid salaries as the same length of service
will entitle them to receive under the provisions hereof.
(b) This section does not apply to special or emergency
natural resources police officers appointed under the authority of
section one of this article.
§20-7-1b. Designation of certain federal law-enforcement officers
as special natural resources police officers.
The Legislature finds that it is in the mutual interest of the
department and certain land management agencies of the United
States to cooperate in the enforcement of state statutes and
regulations within and adjacent to units of the National Park
System, National Forests and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects located within the State of West Virginia.
Accordingly, the director of the department of natural
resources may enter into a written agreement with a federal agency
providing for the appointment of employees of the federal agency as
special natural resources police officers and setting forth the
terms and conditions within which the federal employees may
exercise the powers and duties of special natural resources police
officers. The terms and conditions in the agreement shall grant a
special natural resources police officer appointed pursuant to the
agreement the same powers and duties as prescribed for a full-time
salaried natural resources police officer of the department, but
shall limit a special natural resources police officer in the
exercise of his or her powers and duties to areas within the
boundaries of the federal units to which the officer is assigned in
his or her federal employment and to situations outside the
boundaries of the federal units where the exercise is for the
mutual aid of natural resources police officers as set forth in the
agreement.
Any federal employee whose duties involve the enforcement of
the criminal laws of the United States and who possesses a valid
law-enforcement certification issued by a federal land management
agency which certifies the meeting of requirements at least
equivalent to the law-enforcement officer training requirements
promulgated pursuant to article twenty-nine, chapter thirty of this
code, may be certified under the provisions of said article twenty-nine and appointed as a special natural resources police
officer under the provisions of this section. Any special natural
resources police officer so appointed may not receive compensation
or benefits from the state or any political subdivisions thereof
for the performance of his or her duties as a special natural
resources police officer.
§20-7-1c. Natural resources police officer, ranks, salary
schedule, base pay, exceptions.
(a) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the
contrary, the ranks within the law-enforcement section of the
Division of Natural Resources are colonel, lieutenant colonel,
major, captain, lieutenant, sergeant, corporal, natural resources
police officer first class, senior natural resources police
officer, natural resources police officer and natural resources
police officer-in-training. Each officer while in uniform shall
wear the insignia of rank as provided by the chief natural
resources police officer.
(b) Beginning on July 1, 2002, and continuing thereafter,
natural resources police officers shall be paid the minimum annual
salaries based on the following schedule:
ANNUAL SALARY SCHEDULE (BASE PAY)
SUPERVISORY AND NONSUPERVISORY RANKS
Natural Resources
Police Officer In Training
(first year until end
of probation) $26,337
Natural Resources Police Officer
(second year) $29,768
Natural Resources Police
Officer (third year) $30,140
Senior Natural Resources
Police Officer (fourth and fifth year) $30,440
Senior Natural Resources
Police Officer First Class (after fifth year) $32,528
Senior Natural Resources
Police Officer (after tenth year) $33,104
Senior Natural Resources
Police Officer (after fifteenth year) $33,528
Corporal (after sixteenth year) $36,704
Sergeant $40,880
First Sergeant $42,968
Lieutenant $47,144
Captain $49,232
Major $51,320
Lieutenant Colonel $53,408
Colonel
Natural resources police officers in service at the time the
amendment to this section becomes effective shall be given credit
for prior service and shall be paid salaries as the same length of
service will entitle them to receive under the provisions of this
section.
(c) This section does not apply to special or emergency
natural resources police officers appointed under the authority of
section one of this article.
(d) Nothing in this section prohibits other pay increases as
provided under section two, article five, chapter five of this
code:
Provided, That any across-the-board pay increase granted by
the Legislature or the Governor will be added to, and reflected in,
the minimum salaries set forth in this section; and that any merit
increases granted to an officer over and above the annual salary
schedule listed in subsection (b) of this section are retained by
an officer when he or she advances from one rank to another.
§20-7-1d. Awarding service revolver upon retirement; disposal of
service weapon when replaced due to routine wear; and
furnishing uniform for burial.
(a) Upon the retirement of any full-time salaried natural
resources police officer, the chief natural resources police
officer shall award to the retiring natural resources police
officer his or her service revolver, without charge, upon
determining:
(1) That the natural resources police officer is retiring
honorably with at least twenty-five years of recognized
law-enforcement service as determined by the chief natural
resources police officer; or
(2) That the natural resources police officer is retiring with
less than twenty-five years of service based upon a determination that he or she is totally physically disabled as a result of
service with the division.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this
section, the chief natural resources police officer may not award
a service revolver to any natural resources police officer who has
been declared mentally incompetent by a licensed physician or any
court of law, or who, in the opinion of the chief natural resources
police officer, constitutes a danger to any person or the
community.
(c) The disposal of law-enforcement service weapons, when
replaced due to routine wear, does not fall under the jurisdiction
of the agency for surplus property, within the Purchasing Division
of the Department of Administration. The chief natural resources
police officer may offer these surplus weapons for sale to any
active or retired Division of Natural Resources law-enforcement
officer, at fair market value, with the proceeds from any sales
used to offset the cost of the new weapons.
(d) Upon the death of any current or honorably retired natural
resources police officer, the chief natural resources police
officer shall, upon request of the deceased officer's family,
furnish a full uniform for burial of the deceased officer.
§20-7-1e. Natural resources police officer performing duties for
private persons; penalty; providing extraordinary law
enforcement or security services by contract.
(a) Any natural resources police officer who hires himself or herself to any person, firm or corporation to guard private
property, or who demands or receives from any person, firm or
corporation any money or other thing of value as a consideration
for the performance of, or the failure to perform, his or her
duties under the regulations of the chief natural resources police
officer and the provisions of this section, is guilty of a
misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less
than $25 nor more than $200, or confined in jail for not more than
four months, or both fined and confined.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section to the
contrary, the chief natural resources police officer may contract
with the public, military or private entities to provide
extraordinary law enforcement or security services by the Division
of Natural Resources when it is determined by the chief natural
resources police officer to be in the public interest. The chief
natural resources police officer may assign personnel, equipment or
facilities, and the division shall be reimbursed for the wages,
overtime wages, benefits and costs of providing the contract
services as negotiated between the parties. The compensation paid
to natural resources police officers by virtue of contracts
provided in this section shall be paid from a special account and
are excluded from any formulation used to calculate an employee's
benefits. All requests for obtaining extraordinary law enforcement
or security services shall be made to the chief natural resources
police officer in writing and shall explain the funding source and the authority for making the request. No officer of the division
is required to accept any assignment made pursuant to this
subsection. Every officer assigned to duty hereunder shall be paid
according to the hours and overtime hours actually worked
notwithstanding that officer's status as exempt personnel under the
"Federal Labor Standards Act" or applicable state statutes. Every
contract entered into under this subsection shall contain the
provision that in the event of public disaster or emergency where
the reassignment to official duty of the officer is required,
neither the division nor any of its officers or other personnel are
liable for any damages incurred as the result of the reassignment.
Further, any entity contracting with the Division of Natural
Resources under this section shall also agree as part of that
contract to hold harmless and indemnify the state, Division of
Natural Resources and its personnel from any liability arising out
of employment under that contract.
The director is authorized to propose legislative rules,
subject to approval by the Legislature, in accordance with chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code relating to the implementation of
contracts entered into pursuant to this subsection:
Provided, That
the rules expressly prohibit private employment of officers in
circumstances involving labor disputes.
§20-7-1f. Awarding service revolver to special natural resources
police officers upon retirement; furnishing uniform
for burial.
(a) Upon the retirement of any special natural resources
police officer selected and appointed pursuant to section one of
this article, the chief of the officer's section shall award to the
retiring special natural resources police officer his or her
service revolver, without charge, upon determining:
(1) That the special natural resources police officer is
retiring honorably with at least twenty-five years of recognized
special law-enforcement service as determined by the chief natural
resources police officer; or
(2) That the special natural resources police officer is
retiring with less than twenty-five years of service based upon a
determination that he or she is totally physically disabled as a
result of service with the division.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this
section, the section chief may not award a service revolver to any
special natural resources police officer who has been declared
mentally incompetent by a licensed physician or any court of law,
or who, in the opinion of the chief natural resources police
officer constitutes a danger to any person or the community.
(c) Upon the death of any current or honorably retired special
natural resources police officer, the respective chief shall, upon
request of the deceased officer's family, furnish a full uniform
for burial of the deceased officer.
§20-7-2. Qualifications of natural resources police officers;
right of retired officer to receive complete standard uniform;
right of retired officer to acquire uniform;
and right of retired officer to acquire badge.
In addition to civil service qualifications and requirements,
persons selected as natural resources police officers shall have
reached their eighteenth birthday at the time of appointment, be in
good physical condition and of good moral character, temperate in
habits and may not have been convicted of a felony. Whenever
possible and practicable, preference in selection of natural
resources police officers shall be given honorably discharged
United States Military personnel. Each natural resources police
officer, before entering upon the discharge of his or her duties,
shall take and subscribe to the oath of office prescribed in
article IV, section 5 of the Constitution of West Virginia, which
executed oath shall be filed with the director.
The director shall prescribe the kind, style and material of
uniforms to be worn by natural resources police officers. Uniforms
and other equipment furnished to the natural resources police
officers are and remain the property of the state, except as
hereinafter provided in this section.
A natural resources police officer, upon honorable retirement,
is authorized to maintain at his or her own cost a complete
standard uniform from the law-enforcement agency of which he or she
was a member, and shall be issued an identification card indicating
his or her honorable retirement from the law-enforcement agency.
The uniform may be worn by the officer in retirement only on the following occasions: Police Officer's Memorial Day, Law Enforcement
Appreciation Day, at the funeral of a law-enforcement officer or
during any other police ceremony. The honorably retired officer is
authorized to acquire a badge of the law-enforcement agency from
which he or she is retired with the word "retired" placed on it.
§20-7-3. Powers and duties of other law officers.
The sheriffs and constables of the several counties of the
state, police officers of any city and members of the State Police
are vested, within their respective jurisdictions, with all of the
powers and authority of natural resources police officers without
requirement of any additional oath or bond. Immediately upon
making any arrest or executing any process under provisions of this
chapter, each officer shall report thereon to the director.
§20-7-4. Powers and duties of natural resources police officers.
(a) Natural resources police officers and other persons
authorized to enforce the provisions of this chapter are under the
supervision and direction of the director in the performance of
their duties.
(b) Natural resources police officers have statewide
jurisdiction and have authority to:
(1) Arrest on sight, without warrant or other court process,
any person or persons committing a criminal offense in violation of
the laws of this state, in the presence of the officer, but no
arrest may be made where any form of administrative procedure is
prescribed by this chapter for the enforcement of the provisions of this chapter;
(2) Carry arms and weapons as may be prescribed by the
director in the course and performance of their duties, but no
license or other authorization is required for this privilege;
(3) Search and examine, in the manner provided by law, any
boat, vehicle, automobile, conveyance, express or railroad car,
fish box, fish bucket or creel, game bag or game coat or other
place in which hunting and fishing paraphernalia, wild animals,
wild birds, fish, amphibians or other forms of aquatic life could
be concealed, packed or conveyed whenever they have reason to
believe that they would thereby secure or discover evidence of the
violation of the provisions of this chapter;
(4) Execute and serve a search warrant, notice or other
process of law issued under the authority of this chapter or other
law relating to wildlife, forests, and all other natural resources,
by a magistrate or court having jurisdiction in the same manner,
with the same authority and with the same legal effect as a
sheriff;
(5) Require the operator of any motor vehicle or other
conveyance on or about the public highways or roadways, or in or
near the fields and streams of this state, to stop for the purpose
of allowing the natural resources police officers to conduct
game-kill surveys;
(6) Summon aid in making arrests or seizures or in executing
warrants, notices or processes, in the same manner as sheriffs;
(7) Enter private lands or waters within the state while
engaged in the performance of their official duties;
(8) Arrest on sight, without warrant or other court process,
subject to the limitations set forth in subdivision (1) of this
section, any person or persons committing a criminal offense in
violation of any law of this state in the presence of the officer
on any state-owned lands and waters and lands and waters under
lease by the Division of Natural Resources and all national forest
lands, waters and parks and U.S. Corps of Army Engineers'
properties within the boundaries of the State of West Virginia and,
in addition to the authority conferred in other subdivisions of
this section, execute all arrest warrants on these state and
national lands, waters and parks and U.S. Corps of Army Engineers'
properties, consistent with the provisions of article one, chapter
sixty-two of this code;
(9) Arrest any person who enters upon the land or premises of
another without written permission from the owner of the land or
premises in order to cut, damage or carry away, or cause to be cut,
damaged or carried away, any timber, trees, logs, posts, fruit,
nuts, growing plants or products of any growing plant. Any person
convicted of cutting, damaging or carrying away or causing to be
cut, damaged or carried away any timber, trees, logs, posts,
fruits, nuts, growing plants or products of growing plants is
liable to the owner in the amount of three times the value of the
timber, trees, logs, posts, fruit, nuts, growing plants or products of any growing plant, in addition to and notwithstanding any other
penalties by law provided by section thirteen, article three,
chapter sixty-one of this code;
(10) Make a complaint in writing before any court or officer
having jurisdiction, and procure and execute the warrant, when the
officer knows or has reason to believe that a person has violated
a law of this state. The actions of the natural resources police
officer have the same force and effect as if made by a sheriff;
(11) Serve and execute warrants for the arrest of any person
and warrants for the search of any premises, buildings, properties
or conveyances issued by a properly constituted authority in the
same manner, with the same authority, and with the same legal
effect, as a sheriff; and
(12) Do all things necessary to carry into effect the
provisions of this chapter.
§20-7-12b. Boating safety education certificate.
(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (c) of this
section, beginning on January 1, 2001, no person born on or after
December 31, 1986, may operate a motorboat or personal watercraft
on any waters of this state without first having obtained a
certificate of boating safety education from this or any other
state, which certificate was obtained by satisfactorily completing
a course of instruction in boating safety education administered by
the United States coast guard auxiliary; the United States power
squadron; the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources; any person certified to teach the course administered by West Virginia
natural resources boating safety education section personnel; or
any person authorized to teach the course prescribed by the
national association of state boating law administrators in this or
any other state.
(b) Any person who is subject to subdivision (a) of this
section shall possess the certificate of boating safety education
when operating a motorboat or personal watercraft on the waters of
this state and shall show the certificate on demand of any West
Virginia natural resources police officers or other law-enforcement
officer authorized to enforce the provisions of this chapter.
(c) The following persons are exempt from the requirements of
subsection (a) of this section:
(1) A person who is a nonresident of this state and who is
visiting the state for sixty days or less in a motorboat or
personal watercraft from another state if that person:
(A) Is fifteen years of age or older; and
(B) Has been issued a boating safety education certificate by
his or her state of residence in accordance with the criteria
recommended by the national association of state boating law
administration.
(2) A person who is visiting the state for ninety days or less
in a motorboat or personal watercraft from a country other than the
United States;
(3) A person who is operating a motorboat or personal watercraft in connection with commercial purposes; and
(4) A person who is operating a motorboat or personal
watercraft which was purchased by the person within the previous
forty-five-day period and who has not been previously charged with
a violation of any provision of this chapter involving the use or
registration of a motorboat or personal watercraft.
(d) The division shall issue a certificate of boating safety
education to a person who:
(1) Passes any course prescribed in subsection (a) of this
section; or
(2) Passes a boating safety equivalency examination
administered by persons authorized to administer a boating safety
education course as outlined in subsection (a) of this section.
Upon request, the division shall provide, without charge, boating
safety education materials to persons who plan to take the boating
safety equivalency examination.
(e) No person who owns a motorboat or personal watercraft or
who has charge over a motorboat or personal watercraft may
authorize or knowingly permit it to be operated in violation of
subsection (a) of this section.
(f) The provisions of subsection (a) of this section may only
be enforced as a secondary action when the officer detains an
operator of a motorboat or personal watercraft upon probable cause
of a violation of another provision of this code or rules adopted
in accordance with the code. A person may not be taken immediately to a court or detention facility solely for a violation of
subsection (a) of this section.
CHAPTER 22. ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES.
ARTICLE 15A. THE A. JAMES MANCHIN REHABILITATION ENVIRONMENTAL
ACTION PLAN.
§22-15A-19. Recycling assessment fee; regulated motor carriers;
dedication of proceeds; criminal penalties.
(a)
Imposition. -- A recycling assessment fee is hereby
levied and imposed upon the disposal of solid waste at all solid
waste disposal facilities in this state, to be collected at the
rate of $2 per ton or part of a ton of solid waste. The fee
imposed by this section is in addition to all other fees levied by
law.
(b)
Collection, return, payment and records. -- The person
disposing of solid waste at the solid waste disposal facility shall
pay the fee imposed by this section, whether or not that person
owns the solid waste, and the fee shall be collected by the
operator of the solid waste facility who shall remit it to the Tax
Commissioner:
(1) The fee imposed by this section accrues at the time the
solid waste is delivered to the solid waste disposal facility;
(2) The operator shall remit the fee imposed by this section
to the Tax Commissioner on or before the fifteenth day of the month
next succeeding the month in which the fee accrued. Upon
remittance of the fee, the operator shall file returns on forms and in the manner as prescribed by the Tax Commissioner;
(3) The operator shall account to the state for all fees
collected under this section and shall hold them in trust for the
state until they are remitted to the Tax Commissioner;
(4) If any operator fails to collect the fee imposed by this
section, he or she is personally liable for the amount that he or
she failed to collect, plus applicable additions to tax, penalties
and interest imposed by article ten, chapter eleven of this code;
(5) Whenever any operator fails to collect, truthfully account
for, remit the fee or file returns with the fee as required in this
section, the Tax Commissioner may serve written notice requiring
the operator to collect the fees which become collectible after
service of the notice, to deposit the fees in a bank approved by
the Tax Commissioner, in a separate account, in trust for and
payable to the Tax Commissioner, and to keep the amount of the fees
in the account until remitted to the Tax Commissioner. The notice
remains in effect until a notice of cancellation is served on the
operator or owner by the Tax Commissioner;
(6) Whenever the owner of a solid waste disposal facility
leases the solid waste facility to an operator, the operator is
primarily liable for collection and remittance of the fee imposed
by this section and the owner is secondarily liable for remittance
of the fee imposed by this section. However, if the operator
fails, in whole or in part, to discharge his or her obligations
under this section, the owner and the operator of the solid waste facility are jointly and severally responsible and liable for
compliance with the provisions of this section;
(7) If the operator or owner responsible for collecting the
fee imposed by this section is an association or corporation, the
officers of the association or corporation are liable, jointly and
severally, for any default on the part of the association or
corporation, and payment of the fee and any additions to tax,
penalties and interest imposed by article ten, chapter eleven of
this code may be enforced against them and against the association
or corporation which they represent; and
(8) Each person disposing of solid waste at a solid waste
disposal facility and each person required to collect the fee
imposed by this section shall keep complete and accurate records in
the form required by the Tax Commissioner in accordance with the
rules of the Tax Commissioner.
(c)
Regulated motor carriers. -- The fee imposed by this
section is a necessary and reasonable cost for motor carriers of
solid waste subject to the jurisdiction of the Public Service
Commission under chapter twenty-four-a of this code.
Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, upon the
filing of a petition by an affected motor carrier, the Public
Service Commission shall, within fourteen days, reflect the cost of
the fee in the motor carrier's rates for solid waste removal
service. In calculating the amount of the fee to the motor
carrier, the Commission shall use the national average of pounds of waste generated per person per day as determined by the United
States Environmental Protection Agency.
(d)
Definition. -- For purposes of this section, "solid waste
disposal facility" means any approved solid waste facility or open
dump in this state and includes a transfer station when the solid
waste collected at the transfer station is not finally disposed of
at a solid waste facility within this state that collects the fee
imposed by this section.
Nothing in this section authorizes in any way the creation or
operation of or contribution to an open dump.
(e)
Exemptions. -- The following transactions are exempt from
the fee imposed by this section:
(1) Disposal of solid waste at a solid waste facility by the
person who owns, operates or leases the solid waste disposal
facility if it is used exclusively to dispose of waste originally
produced by that person in his or her regular business or personal
activities or by persons utilizing the facility on a cost-sharing
or nonprofit basis;
(2) Reuse or recycling of any solid waste; and
(3) Disposal of residential solid waste by an individual not
in the business of hauling or disposing of solid waste on the days
and times designated by the Secretary by rule as exempt from the
fee imposed pursuant to section eleven, article fifteen, chapter
twenty-two of this code.
(f)
Procedure and administration. -- Notwithstanding section three, article ten, chapter eleven of this code, each and every
provision of the West Virginia Tax Procedure and Administration Act
set forth in article ten, chapter eleven of this code applies to
the fee imposed by this section with like effect as if the act were
applicable only to the fee imposed by this section and were set
forth in extenso in this section.
(g)
Criminal penalties. -- Notwithstanding section two,
article nine, chapter eleven of this code, sections three through
seventeen, article nine, chapter eleven of this code apply to the
fee imposed by this section with like effect as if the sections
were the only fee imposed by this section and were set forth in
extenso in this section.
(h)
Dedication of proceeds. -- The proceeds of the fee
collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited by the Tax
Commissioner, at least monthly, in a special revenue account
designated as the Recycling Assistance Fund which is hereby
continued and transferred to the Department of Environmental
Protection. The secretary shall allocate the proceeds of the fund
as follows:
(1) Fifty percent of the total proceeds shall be provided in
grants to assist municipalities, counties and other interested
parties in the planning and implementation of recycling programs,
public education programs and recycling market procurement efforts,
established pursuant to this article. The Secretary shall
promulgate rules, in accordance with chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, containing application procedures, guidelines for
eligibility, reporting requirements and other matters considered
appropriate:
Provided, That persons responsible for collecting,
hauling or disposing of solid waste who do not participate in the
collection and payment of the solid waste assessment fee imposed by
this section in addition to all other fees and taxes levied by law
for solid waste generated in this state which is destined for
disposal, are not eligible to receive grants under the provisions
of this article;
(2) Twelve and one-half percent of the total proceeds shall be
expended for personal services and benefit expenses of full-time
salaried natural resources police officers;
(3) Twelve and one-half percent of the total proceeds shall be
directly allocated to the solid waste planning fund;
(4) Twelve and one-half percent of the total proceeds shall be
transferred to the Solid Waste Reclamation and Environmental
Response Fund, established pursuant to section eleven, article
fifteen, chapter twenty-two of this code, to be expended by the
Department of Environmental Protection to assist in the funding of
the pollution prevention and open dumps program (PPOD) which
encourages recycling, reuse, waste reduction and clean-up
activities; and
(5) Twelve and one-half percent of the total proceeds shall be
deposited in the Hazardous Waste Emergency Response Fund
established in article nineteen of this chapter.
CHAPTER 29. MISCELLANEOUS BOARDS AND OFFICERS.
ARTICLE 2A. STATE AERONAUTICS COMMISSION.
§29-2A-11a. Implied consent to test; administration at direction
of law-enforcement officer; designation of type of
test; definition of law-enforcement officer.
Any person who operates an aircraft in this state is
considered to have given his or her consent by the operation
thereof to a preliminary breath analysis and a secondary chemical
test of either his or her blood, breath or urine for the purposes
of determining the alcoholic content of his or her blood. A
preliminary breath analysis may be administered in accordance with
the provisions of section eleven-b of this article whenever a
law-enforcement officer has reasonable cause to believe a person to
have committed an offense prohibited by section eleven of this
article. A secondary test of blood, breath or urine shall be
incidental to a lawful arrest and shall be administered at the
direction of the arresting law-enforcement officer having
reasonable grounds to believe the person to have committed an
offense prohibited by said section. The law-enforcement agency by
which the law-enforcement officer is employed shall designate which
one of the aforesaid secondary tests shall be administered:
Provided, That if the test so designated is a blood test and the
person so arrested refuses to submit to the blood test, then the
law-enforcement officer making the arrest shall designate in lieu
thereof either a breath or urine test to be administered.
For the purpose of this article, the term "law-enforcement
officer" means and is limited to: (1) Any member of the State
Police; (2) any sheriff and any deputy sheriff of any county; (3)
any member of a police department in any municipality as defined in
section two, article one, chapter eight of this code; and (4) any
natural resources police officer of the Division of Natural
Resources. If any municipality or the Division of Natural
Resources does not have available to its law-enforcement officers
the testing equipment or facilities necessary to conduct any
secondary test which a law-enforcement officer may administer under
this article, any member of the West Virginia State Police, the
sheriff of the county wherein the arrest is made or any deputy of
the sheriff or any municipal law-enforcement officer of another
municipality within the county wherein the arrest is made may, upon
the request of the arresting law-enforcement officer and in his or
her presence, conduct a secondary test and the results of the test
may be used in evidence to the same extent and in the same manner
as if the test had been conducted by the arresting law-enforcement
officer. Only the person actually administering or conducting the
test is competent to testify as to the results and the veracity of
the test.
ARTICLE 3. FIRE PREVENTION AND CONTROL ACT.
§29-3-12. Powers and duties of State Fire Marshal.
(a)
Enforcement of laws. -- The State Fire Marshal and any
other person authorized to enforce the provisions of this article under the supervision and direction of the State Fire Marshal has
the authority to enforce all laws of the state having to do with:
(1) Prevention of fire;
(2) The storage, sale and use of any explosive, combustible or
other dangerous article or articles in solid, flammable liquid or
gas form;
(3) The installation and maintenance of equipment of all sorts
intended to extinguish, detect and control fires;
(4) The means and adequacy of exit, in case of fire, from
buildings and all other places in which persons work, live or
congregate, from time to time, for any purpose, except buildings
used wholly as dwelling houses for no more than two families;
(5) The suppression of arson; and
(6) Any other thing necessary to carry into effect the
provisions of this article including, but not limited to,
confiscating any materials, chemicals, items, or personal property
owned, possessed or used in direct violation of the State Fire
Code.
(b)
Assistance upon request. -- Upon request, the State Fire
Marshal shall assist any chief of any recognized fire company or
department. Upon the request of any federal law-enforcement
officer, state police officer, natural resources police officer or
any county or municipal law-enforcement officer, the State Fire
Marshal, any deputy state fire marshal or assistant state fire
marshal employed pursuant to section eleven of this article and any person deputized pursuant to subsection (j) of this section may
assist in the lawful execution of the requesting officer's official
duties:
Provided, That the State Fire Marshal or other person
authorized to act under this subsection shall at all times work
under the direct supervision of the requesting officer.
(c)
Enforcement of rules. -- The State Fire Marshal shall
enforce the rules promulgated by the State Fire Commission as
authorized by this article.
(d)
Inspections generally. -- The State Fire Marshal shall
inspect all structures and facilities, other than one- and
two-family dwelling houses, subject to the State Fire Code and this
article, including, but not limited to, state, county and
municipally owned institutions, all public and private schools,
health care facilities, theaters, churches and other places of
public assembly to determine whether the structures or facilities
are in compliance with the State Fire Code.
(e)
Right of entry. -- The State Fire Marshal may, at all
reasonable hours, enter any building or premises, other than
dwelling houses, for the purpose of making an inspection which he
or she may consider necessary under the provisions of this article.
The State Fire Marshal and any deputy state fire marshal or
assistant state fire marshal approved by the State Fire Marshal may
enter upon any property, or enter any building, structure or
premises, including dwelling houses during construction and prior
to occupancy, for the purpose of ascertaining compliance with the conditions set forth in any permit or license issued by the office
of the State Fire Marshal pursuant to subdivision (1), subsection
(a), section twelve-b of this article or of article three-b of this
chapter.
(f)
Investigations. -- The State Fire Marshal may, at any
time, investigate as to the origin or circumstances of any fire or
explosion or attempt to cause fire or explosion occurring in the
state. The State Fire Marshal has the authority at all times of
the day or night, in performance of the duties imposed by the
provisions of this article, to investigate where any fires or
explosions or attempt to cause fires or explosions may have
occurred, or which at the time may be burning. Notwithstanding the
above provisions of this subsection, prior to entering any building
or premises for the purposes of the investigation, the state Fire
Marshal shall obtain a proper search warrant:
Provided, That a
search warrant is not necessary where there is permissive waiver or
the State Fire Marshal is an invitee of the individual having legal
custody and control of the property, building or premises to be
searched.
(g)
Testimony. -- The State Fire Marshal, in making an
inspection or investigation when in his or her judgment the
proceedings are necessary, may take the statements or testimony
under oath of all persons who may be cognizant of any facts or have
any knowledge about the matter to be examined and inquired into and
may have the statements or testimony reduced to writing; and shall transmit a copy of the statements or testimony so taken to the
prosecuting attorney for the county wherein the fire or explosion
or attempt to cause a fire or explosion occurred. Notwithstanding
the above, no person may be compelled to testify or give any
statement under this subsection.
(h)
Arrests; warrants. -- The State Fire Marshal, any
full-time deputy fire marshal or any full-time assistant fire
marshal employed by the State Fire Marshal pursuant to section
eleven of this article is hereby authorized and empowered and any
person deputized pursuant to subsection (j) of this section may be
authorized and empowered by the State Fire Marshal:
(1) To arrest any person anywhere within the confines of the
State of West Virginia, or have him or her arrested, for any
violation of the arson-related offenses of article three, chapter
sixty-one of this code or of the explosives-related offenses of
article three-e of said chapter:
Provided, That any and all persons
so arrested shall be forthwith brought before the magistrate or
circuit court.
(2) To make complaint in writing before any court or officer
having jurisdiction and obtain, serve and execute an arrest warrant
when knowing or having reason to believe that anyone has committed
an offense under any provision of this article, of the
arson-related offenses of article three, chapter sixty-one of this
code or of the explosives-related offenses of article three-e of
said chapter. Proper return shall be made on all arrest warrants before the tribunal having jurisdiction over the violation.
(3) To make complaint in writing before any court or officer
having jurisdiction and obtain, serve and execute a warrant for the
search of any premises that may possess evidence or unlawful
contraband relating to violations of this article, of the
arson-related offenses of article three, chapter sixty-one of this
code or of the explosives-related offenses of article three-e of
said chapter. Proper return shall be made on all search warrants
before the tribunal having jurisdiction over the violation.
(i)
Witnesses and oaths. -- The State Fire Marshal is
empowered and authorized to issue subpoenas and subpoenas duces
tecum to compel the attendance of persons before him or her to
testify in relation to any matter which is, by the provision of
this article, a subject of inquiry and investigation by the state
Fire Marshal and cause to be produced before him or her such papers
as he or she may require in making the examination. The State Fire
Marshal is hereby authorized to administer oaths and affirmations
to persons appearing as witnesses before him or her. False
swearing in any matter or proceeding aforesaid is considered
perjury and is punishable as perjury.
(j)
Deputizing members of fire departments in this state. --
The State Fire Marshal may deputize a member of any fire
department, duly organized and operating in this state, who is
approved by the chief of his or her department and who is properly
qualified to act as his or her assistant for the purpose of making inspections with the consent of the property owner or the person in
control of the property and the investigations as may be directed
by the State Fire Marshal, and the carrying out of orders as may be
prescribed by him or her, to enforce and make effective the
provisions of this article and any and all rules promulgated by the
State Fire Commission under authority of this article:
Provided,
That in the case of a volunteer fire department, only the chief
thereof or his or her single designated assistant may be so
deputized.
(k)
Written report of examinations. -- The State Fire Marshal
shall, at the request of the county commission of any county or the
municipal authorities of any incorporated municipality in this
state, make to them a written report of the examination made by him
or her regarding any fire happening within their respective
jurisdictions.
(l)
Report of losses by insurance companies. -- It is the
duty of each fire insurance company or association doing business
in this state, within ten days after the adjustment of any loss
sustained by it that exceeds $1,500, to report to the State Fire
Marshal information regarding the amount of insurance, the value of
the property insured and the amount of claim as adjusted. This
report is in addition to any information required by the State
Insurance Commissioner. Upon the request of the owner or insurer
of any property destroyed or injured by fire or explosion, or in
which an attempt to cause a fire or explosion may have occurred, the State Fire Marshal shall report in writing to the owner or
insurer the result of the examination regarding the property.
(m)
Issuance of permits and licenses. -- the State Fire
Marshal is authorized to issue permits, documents and licenses in
accordance with the provisions of this article or of article
three-b of this chapter. The State Fire Marshal may require any
person who applies for a permit to use explosives, other than an
applicant for a license to be a pyrotechnic operator under section
twenty-four of this article, to be fingerprinted and to authorize
the State Fire Marshal to conduct a criminal records check through
the criminal identification bureau of the West Virginia State
Police and a national criminal history check through the Federal
Bureau of Investigation. The results of any criminal records or
criminal history check shall be sent to the State Fire Marshal.
(n)
Issuance of citations for fire and life safety violations.
-- the State Fire Marshal, any deputy fire marshal and any
assistant fire marshal employed pursuant to section eleven of this
article are hereby authorized, and any person deputized pursuant to
subsection (j) of this section may be authorized by the State Fire
Marshal to issue citations, in his or her jurisdiction, for fire
and life safety violations of the State Fire Code and as provided
for by the rules promulgated by the State Fire Commission in
accordance with article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code:
Provided, That a summary report of all citations issued pursuant to
this section by persons deputized under subsection (j) of this section shall be forwarded monthly to the State Fire Marshal in the
form and containing information as he or she may by rule require,
including the violation for which the citation was issued, the date
of issuance, the name of the person issuing the citation and the
person to whom the citation was issued. The State Fire Marshal may
at any time revoke the authorization of a person deputized pursuant
to subsection (j) of this section to issue citations, if in the
opinion of the State Fire Marshal, the exercise of authority by the
person is inappropriate.
Violations for which citations may be issued include, but are
not limited to:
(1) Overcrowding places of public assembly;
(2) Locked or blocked exits in public areas;
(3) Failure to abate a fire hazard;
(4) Blocking of fire lanes or fire department connections; and
(5) Tampering with, or rendering inoperable except during
necessary maintenance or repairs, on-premise firefighting
equipment, fire detection equipment and fire alarm systems.
(o)
Required training; liability coverage. -- No person
deputized pursuant to subsection (j) of this section may be
authorized to issue a citation unless that person has
satisfactorily completed a law-enforcement officer training course
designed specifically for fire marshals. The course shall be
approved by the Law-enforcement Training Subcommittee of the
Governor's Committee on Criminal Justice and Highway Safety and the State Fire Commission. In addition, no person deputized pursuant
to subsection (j) of this section may be authorized to issue a
citation until evidence of liability coverage of the person has
been provided, in the case of a paid municipal fire department by
the municipality wherein the fire department is located, or in the
case of a volunteer fire department, by the county commission of
the county wherein the fire department is located or by the
municipality served by the volunteer fire department and that
evidence of liability coverage has been filed with the State Fire
Marshal.
(p)
Penalties for violations. -- Any person who violates any
fire and life safety rule of the State Fire Code is guilty of a
misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less
than $100 nor more than $1,000 or confined in jail not more than
ninety days, or both fined and confined.
Each and every day during which any violation of the
provisions of this article continues after knowledge or official
notice that same is illegal is a separate offense.
CHAPTER 30. PROFESSIONS AND OCCUPATIONS.
ARTICLE 29. LAW-ENFORCEMENT TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION.
§30-29-1. Definitions.
For the purposes of this article, unless a different meaning
clearly appears in the context:
"Approved law-enforcement training academy" means any training
facility which is approved and authorized to conduct law-enforcement training as provided in this article;
"Chief executive" means the Superintendent of the State
Police; the chief natural resources police officer of the Division
of Natural Resources; the sheriff of any West Virginia county; any
administrative deputy appointed by the chief natural resources
police officer of the Division of Natural Resources; or the chief
of any West Virginia municipal law-enforcement agency;
"County" means the fifty-five major political subdivisions of
the state;
"Exempt rank" means any noncommissioned or commissioned rank
of sergeant or above;
"Governor's Committee on Crime, Delinquency and Correction" or
"Governor's committee" means the Governor's Committee on Crime,
Delinquency and Correction established as a state planning agency
pursuant to section one, article nine, chapter fifteen of this
code;
"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, and persons employed by the Public
Service Commission as motor carrier inspectors and weight enforcement officers charged with enforcing commercial motor
vehicle safety and weight restriction laws although those
institutions and agencies 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:
Provided, That the subject rangers shall
pay the tuition and costs of training. As used in this article,
the term "law-enforcement officer" does not apply to the chief
executive of any West Virginia law-enforcement agency or any
watchman or special natural resources police officer;
"Law-enforcement official" means the duly appointed chief
administrator of a designated law-enforcement agency or a duly
authorized designee;
"Municipality" means any incorporated town or city whose
boundaries lie within the geographic boundaries of the state;
"Subcommittee" or "law-enforcement training subcommittee"
means the subcommittee of the Governor's Committee on Crime,
Delinquency and Correction created by section two of this article;
and
"West Virginia law-enforcement agency" means any duly
authorized state, county or municipal organization employing one or
more persons whose responsibility is the enforcement of laws of the
state or any county or municipality thereof:
Provided, That neither the Hatfield-McCoy Regional Recreation Authority, the Public
Service Commission nor any state institution of higher education is
a law-enforcement agency.
CHAPTER 36. ESTATES AND PROPERTY.
ARTICLE 8A. UNCLAIMED STOLEN PROPERTY HELD BY LAW-ENFORCEMENT
AGENCIES.
§36-8A-1. Definitions.
For purposes of this article, unless a different meaning
clearly appears in the context:
(a) "Chief executive" means the Superintendent of the State
Police; the chief natural resources police officer of the Division
of Natural Resources; the sheriff of any West Virginia county; or
the chief of any West Virginia municipal law-enforcement agency.
(b) "Item" means any item of unclaimed stolen property or any
group of similar items considered together for purposes of
reporting, donation, sale or destruction under this article.
(c) "Law-enforcement agency" means any duly authorized state,
county or municipal organization of the State of West Virginia
employing one or more persons whose responsibility is the
enforcement of laws of the state or any county or municipality
thereof:
Provided, That neither the Hatfield-McCoy Regional
Recreation Authority nor any state institution of higher education
is a law-enforcement agency.
(d) "Nonprofit organization" means: (i) Any nonprofit
charitable organization; or (ii) any agency of the State of West Virginia the purpose of which is to provide health, recreational or
educational services to citizens of the State of West Virginia.
(e) "Stolen property" means any tangible personal property,
including cash and coins, which is confiscated by or otherwise
comes into the custody of a law-enforcement agency during the
course of a criminal investigation or the performance of any other
authorized law-enforcement activity, whether or not the property
was or can be proven to have been stolen.
(f) "Treasurer" means the State Treasurer or his or her
authorized designee for purposes of the administration of this
article.
(g) "Unclaimed stolen property" is stolen property:
(1) Which has been held by a law-enforcement agency for at
least six months, during which time the rightful owner has not
claimed it;
(2) For which the chief executive determines that there is no
reasonable likelihood of its being returned to its rightful owner;
and
(3) Which the chief executive determines to have no
evidentiary value.