Senate Bill No. 5
(By Senator Burdette, Mr. President)
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[Introduced February 10, 1993; referred
to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section eight-b, article fifteen,
chapter eight of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to amend and
reenact section three, article two-a, chapter sixteen of
said code, all relating to firefighters and emergency
personnel; providing for payment of the cost of providing
immunizations against hepatitis-b and other blood-borne
pathogens to firefighters and emergency service personnel;
and requiring local health departments to maintain records
of immunizations.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section eight-b, article fifteen, chapter eight of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted; and that section three,
article two-a, chapter sixteen of said code be amended and
reenacted, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 8. MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS.
ARTICLE 15. FIRE FIGHTING; FIRE COMPANIES AND DEPARTMENTS; CIVIL
SERVICE FOR PAID FIRE DEPARTMENTS.
§8-15-8b. Authorized expenditures of revenues from the municipal
pensions and protection fund and the fire protection fund.
Revenues allocated to volunteer and part volunteer fire
companies and departments may be expended only for the items
listed in subdivisions (a) through (g) (h) of this section. Such
expenditures may be made for the following:
(a) Personal protective equipment, including protective head
gear, bunker coats, pants, boots, combination of bunker pants and
boots, coats and gloves;
(b) Equipment for compliance with the national fire
protection standard or automotive fire apparatus, NFPA-1901;
(c) Compliance with insurance service office recommendations
relating to fire departments;
(d) Rescue equipment, communications equipment and ambulance
equipment: Provided, That no moneys received from the municipal
pensions and protection fund or the fire protection fund may be
used for equipment for personal vehicles owned or operated by
volunteer fire company or department members;
(e) Capital improvements reasonably required for effective
and efficient fire protection service and maintenance thereof;
(f) Retirement of debts; and
(g) Payment of utility bills; and
(h) Payment of the cost of immunizations for firefighters
and emergency medical personnel against hepatitis-b and otherblood-borne pathogens. The vaccine shall be purchased if
available through the state immunization program or from the
lowest cost vendor available.
CHAPTER 16. PUBLIC HEALTH.
ARTICLE 2A. ALTERNATIVE METHOD OF ORGANIZING LOCAL HEALTH
AGENCIES.
§16-2A-3. Powers and duties of county and municipal boards of
health; filing of rules and regulations.
County or municipal boards of health created and established
pursuant to the provisions of this article shall direct,
supervise, and control all matters relating to the general health
and sanitation of their respective counties or municipalities.
and shall possess and exercise such power in relation thereto as
may be exercised and is possessed In their respective counties
and municipalities, they have and may exercise the powers
possessed and exercised by the state board of health or the
director. as the case may be, so far as such powers are
applicable to such county or municipality. Such The local
boards of health shall also have the power and authority to adopt
and promulgate and from time to time amend such rules and
regulations, consistent with the laws of this state and the rules
and regulations of the state board of health, as may be necessary
and proper for the protection of the general health of the county
or municipality and the prevention of the introduction,
propagation and spread of disease. therein All such rules and
regulations shall be filed, in the case of a county board, withthe clerk of the county commission, and in the case of a
municipal board, with the clerk, recorder, or similar officer of
the municipality. Such The rules and regulations shall be kept
by such the clerk or recording officer in a separate book and
shall be public records.
It shall be is the duty of such local boards of health to
protect the general health and supervise and control the
sanitation of their respective counties and municipalities; to
enforce the laws of this state pertaining to public health, and
the rules and regulations of the state board of health, insofar
as they are applicable to such counties or municipalities, and to
perform such duties in relation to public health as may be
prescribed by order of the county commission of such counties or
by ordinances of such municipalities, ordinance of the
municipality consistent with the public health laws of this state
and the regulations duly adopted by the state board of health.
All such local boards of health receiving state or federal funds
for health purposes shall submit a general plan of operation for
health purposes to the director of health for approval. receive
approval by the director of the state department of health of
their general plans of operation for health purposes. Such The
director may if deemed necessary or expedient by him, act through
any county or municipal board of health created, established and
operated pursuant to the provisions of this article.
Local departments of health shall be notified of each
immunization for hepatitis-b and other blood-borne pathogensreceived by firefighters and emergency medical personnel within
the service area of the local department of health. Local
departments of health shall maintain, for a period of not less
than thirty years, a record of the date of the immunization and
the name of each firefighter and emergency medical personnel
within the service area of the local health department immunized
against hepatitis-b and other blood-borne pathogens.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide for payment of
the cost of providing immunizations against hepatitis-b and other
blood-borne pathogens to firefighters and emergency medical
personnel from revenues of the municipal pensions and protection
fund and the fire protection fund. The bill also provides that
local departments of health are required to keep records of
immunizations.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.