SB373 SUB1
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 373
(By Senator Bailey)
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[Originating in the Committee on Government Organization;
reported February 23, 1994.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section two-a, article nine, chapter
eleven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to the criminal
investigation division of the state tax division; number of
investigators; nonclassified; special fund; and requiring a
report by the tax commissioner.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section two-a, article nine, chapter eleven of the code
of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 9. CRIMES AND PENALTIES.
§11-9-2a. Criminal investigation division established; funding
of same.
A criminal investigation division, consisting of no more
than twenty investigators plus necessary support staff, all of
whom are exempt from the classified service, is hereby
established within the state tax division for the purpose ofassuring compliance with laws and rules pertaining to the taxes
or credits established by articles eleven, eleven-a, eleven-b,
twelve, twelve-a, twelve-b, thirteen, thirteen-a, thirteen-b,
thirteen-c, thirteen-d, thirteen-e, thirteen-f, thirteen-g,
thirteen-Dh, fourteen, fourteen-a, fifteen, fifteen-a, sixteen,
seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty-three, twenty-four and
twenty-six of this chapter, and articles twenty, twenty-one and
twenty-three, chapter forty-seven of this code. Charitable bingo
fees imposed under sections six and six-a, article twenty of said
chapter; charitable raffle fees imposed under section seven,
article twenty-one of said chapter; and charitable raffle boards
and games fees imposed under section three, article twenty-three
of said chapter in an amount not to exceed four hundred thousand
dollars in any fiscal year shall be deposited in a special
revenue account established in the office of the treasurer and
shall be used to support compliance expenditures relating to the
establishment, maintenance and support of such criminal
investigation division. Prior to the close of the fiscal year,
any moneys in the special revenue account in excess of fifty
thousand dollars shall be transferred to the general revenue
fund.
Any employee of the criminal investigation division so
designated by the tax commissioner who shall have a background in
accounting and who shall be certified as a law-enforcement
officer pursuant to article twenty-nine, chapter thirty of this
code, or its equivalent, shall have all the lawful powers
delegated to members of the department of public safety except
the power to carry firearms to enforce the provisions of thisarticle in any county or municipality of this state. The
commissioner shall establish such additional standards as he or
she deems applicable or necessary. Any such employee shall,
before entering upon the discharge of his or her duties, execute
a bond with security in the sum of three thousand five hundred
dollars, payable to the state of West Virginia, conditioned for
the faithful performance of his or her duties, as such, and such
bond shall be approved as to form by the attorney general, and
the same shall be filed with the secretary of state and preserved
in his or her office. The division of public safety, any county
sheriff, or deputy sheriff, or any municipal police officer, upon
request by the tax commissioner, is hereby authorized to assist
the tax commissioner in enforcing the provisions of this article
and the criminal penalty provisions of this article or any
article of this chapter administered under this article.
On the first day of July of each year, beginning in the year
one thousand nine hundred ninety-four, the tax commissioner shall
present a written report to the joint committee on government
operations on compliance with the provisions of this section,
including, but not limited to, activities of the division and
dispensation of funding.