AN ACT to amend and reenact sections two and five, article one, chapter nine-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to continuation of the veterans' council; changing compensation and expense reimbursement for members of the veterans' council.

There shall be a "veterans' council" which shall consist of seven members who shall be citizens and residents of this state, who have served in and been honorably discharged or separated under honorable conditions from the armed forces of the United States and whose service was within a time of war as defined by the laws of the United States, either Public Law No. 2 -- 73rd Congress or Public Law No. 346 -- 78th Congress, and any and all amendments thereto. At least one member of the council shall be a veteran of World War II, at least one member of the council shall be a veteran of the Korean Conflict and at least two members of the council shall be veterans of the Vietnam era. The members of the veterans' council shall be selected with special reference to their ability and fitness to effectuate the purposes of this article.

The director shall receive a salary of thirty-two thousand dollars per annum and necessary traveling expenses incident to the performance of his or her duties. The salaries of the veterans' affairs officers, assistants and employees shall be fixed by the veterans' council. The members of the veterans' council shall receive no salary, but each member shall receive the same compensation and expense reimbursement as is paid to members of the Legislature for their interim duties as recommended by the citizens legislative compensation commission and authorized by law for each day or portion thereof engaged in the discharge of official duties. The requisition for such expenses and traveling expenses shall be accompanied by a sworn and itemized statement, which shall be filed with the auditor and permanently preserved as a public record. The veterans' council shall hold its initial meeting on the call of the governor, and thereafter shall meet on the call of its chairman, except as otherwise provided. With the exception of the first three meetings of the veterans' council, none of which shall be of a duration longer than two weeks each, for organizational purposes, the veterans' council shall meet not more than once every two months at such times as may be determined by and upon the call of the chairman for a period of not more than two days, unless there should be an emergency requiring a special meeting or for a longer period and so declared and called by the governor or by the chairman with the approval of the governor. A majority of the members of the veterans' council shall constitute a quorum for the conduct of official business.