Senate Bill No. 96
(By Senators Claypole, Humphreys, Wagner and Wiedebusch)
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[Introduced February 19, 1993;
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section twenty-four, article fifteen,
chapter eight of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to authorizing
members of fire departments to participate in political
activities; and setting forth exceptions thereto.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section twenty-four, article fifteen, chapter eight of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one,
as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 15. FIRE FIGHTING; FIRE COMPANIES AND DEPARTMENTS; CIVIL
SERVICE FOR PAID FIRE DEPARTMENTS.
§8-15-24. Political activities of members prohibited;
exceptions.
(a) No member of any paid fire department may:
(1) Solicit or receive any assessment, subscription or
contribution, or perform any service for any political party,
committee or candidate for compensation, other than for expensesactually incurred;
(2) Use any official authority or influence for the purpose
of interfering with or affecting the nomination, election or
defeat of any candidate or the passage or defeat of any ballot
issue;
(3) Coerce or command anyone to pay, lend or contribute
anything of value to a party, committee, organization, agency or
person for the nomination, election or defeat of a ballot issue;
(4) Be a candidate for or hold any other public office; or
(5) Be a candidate or delegate to any state or national
political party convention or a member of any national, state or
local committee of a political party, or serve as a financial
agent or treasurer within the meaning of sections three, four or
five-e, article eight, chapter three of this code.
(b) Other types of partisan or nonpartisan political
activities not inconsistent with the provisions of subsection (a)
of this section are permissible political activities for members
of paid fire departments.
(c) Any member of a paid fire department who violates the
provisions of this section shall have his or her appointment
vacated and shall be removed, in accordance with the provisions
of section twenty-five of this article.
(d) No person shall be appointed or promoted to or demoted
or dismissed from any position in a paid fire department or in
any way favored or discriminated against because of his or her
engagement in any political activities authorized by theprovisions of this section.
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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize members of
fire departments to participate in certain political activities
while exempting certain other political activity.)