COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 373
(By Senator Bailey)
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[Originating in the Committee on Finance;
reported March 4, 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 and special audits unit of the state tax
division; number of investigators and auditors; exemption of
investigators and auditors from classified service;
increasing amount of moneys which may be placed in the
appropriated special revenue account; disposition of fees;
qualifications and powers of investigators; investigators to
execute performance bonds; assistance of division of public
safety or other law enforcement officers; issuance of
license plates to investigators; 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, asamended, 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 unit. -- A criminal investigation
unit, consisting of no more than fifteen investigators plus
necessary support staff, all of whom are exempt from the
classified service, is hereby established in the compliance
section of the state tax division for the purpose of assuring
compliance with laws and rules pertaining to the taxes, fees or
credits administered under article ten of this chapter, including
but not limited to the provisions of articles twenty, twenty-one
and twenty-three, chapter forty-seven of this code, but not
including income taxes, imposed on individuals by article twenty
of this chapter.
(b) Special audits unit. -- A special audits unit consisting
of no more than five tax examiners, plus necessary support staff,
all of whom are exempt from the classified service, is hereby
established in the auditing section of the state tax division for
purposes of assuring compliance with laws and rules pertaining to
taxes, fees or credits administered under article ten of this
chapter, including, but not limited to, the provisions of
articles twenty, twenty-one and twenty-three, chapter forty-seven
of this code, but not including income taxes imposed on
individuals by article twenty-one of this chapter.
(c) Deposits of certain fees. -- Charitable bingo fees
imposed by article twenty, chapter forty-seven of this code;
charitable raffle fees imposed by article twenty-one of saidchapter; and charitable raffle boards and games fees imposed by
article twenty-three of said chapter in an amount not to exceed
one million, one hundred thousand dollars in any fiscal year
shall be deposited in a special revenue account established in
the office of the treasurer to be appropriated by the
legislature. The special revenue account shall be used to support
compliance expenditures relating to the establishment, operation,
maintenance and support of the criminal investigation unit
established in subsection (a) of this section and the special
audits unit established in subsection (b) of this section. Such
expenditures may include, but shall not be limited to, employee
compensation, equipment, office supplies and travel expenses. On
the last day of each fiscal year, unencumbered funds in the
special revenue account in excess of one hundred seventy-five
thousands shall be transferred to the general revenue fund.
(d) Investigators. -- Investigators employed in the criminal
investigation shall have a background in accounting and shall be
certified as law-enforcement officers pursuant to article
twenty-nine, chapter thirty of this code, or its equivalent. Any
investigator so designated by the tax commissioner shall have all
the lawful powers delegated to members of the division of public
safety except the power to carry firearms and shall have the
authority to enforce the provisions of this article and the
criminal provisions of any other article of this code to which
this article applies, in any county or municipality of this
state. The tax commissioner shall establish such additional
standards as he or she considers applicable or necessary. Any
employee shall, before entering upon the discharge of his or herduties, 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 the employee's duties
and the bond shall be approved as to form by the attorney general
and shall be filed with the secretary of state for preservation
in that office. The division of public safety, any county
sheriff or deputy sheriff and 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 any criminal penalty provision of any article of this code to
which this article applies.
(e) Class A license plates. -- Notwithstanding the
provisions of article three, chapter seventeen-a of this code,
upon application by the tax commissioner and payment of fees, the
commissioner of motor vehicles shall issue a maximum of ten Class
A license plates to be used on state owned or leased vehicles
assigned to investigators employed in the criminal investigation
unit.
(f) Reports. -- 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 the division's compliance
with the provisions of this section, including, but not limited
to, activities of the units created by this section and
disbursement of funding.