Senate Bill No. 337
(By Senators Brackenrich and Dittmar)
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[Introduced March 9, 1993; referred
to the Committee on Natural Resources.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section thirteen, article one,
chapter twenty of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to law
enforcement; and the amount that may be spent on outside
legal services.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section thirteen, article one, chapter twenty of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
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 department law-enforcement officer, who
shall have the title of chief conservation officer and who shall
be 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 andrequirements otherwise prescribed in this chapter, the chief
conservation officer shall be responsible for the selection,
training, assignment, distribution and discipline of conservation
officers and the effective discharge of their duties in carrying
out the law-enforcement policies, practices and programs of the
department in compliance with the provisions of article seven of
this chapter and other controlling laws and regulations. Except
as otherwise provided in this chapter, he or she and his or her
conservation officers are hereby 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, such 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 such attorney services, a
reasonable sum, not exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars,
may be expended by the director in any one case.
The director, if he or she deems such 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, such duties as may be required of him or
her by the director. The attorney general, in pursuance of such
request, may select and appoint an assistant attorney general to
serve during the will and pleasure of the attorney general, and
such assistant shall receive a salary to be paid out of any funds
made available for that purpose by the Legislature to the
department.
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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to increase from $500 to
$2500 the amount the director of natural resources may spend for
an attorney to defend criminal charges brought against personnel
because of actions in the line of duty.)