Senate Bill No. 285
(By Senators Anderson, Wooton, Bowman, Buckalew,
Deem, Dittmar, Grubb, Miller, Oliverio, Ross, Schoonover and Scott)
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[Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary;
reported February 1, 1996.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section six, article seven, chapter
twenty-four-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to the enforcement of
laws governing the public service commission; clarifying the
duties of law-enforcement officers, prosecuting attorneys and
motor carrier inspectors; authorizing motor carrier inspectors
to carry firearms in the course of their official duties;
establishing qualifications to carry such firearms; clarifying
scope of authority of motor carrier inspectors; and making
certain technical revisions.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section six, article seven, chapter twenty-four-a of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 7. COMPLAINTS, DAMAGES AND VIOLATIONS.
§24A-7-6. Duty of prosecuting attorneys and law-enforcement
officers to enforce chapter; regulatory authority of
commission; qualifications of commission employees designated
as law-enforcement officers.
(a) It shall be the duty of the West Virginia state police and
the sheriffs of the counties in West Virginia to make arrests and
the duty of the prosecuting attorneys of the several counties to
prosecute all violations of this chapter and other chapters
pertaining to the regulatory authority of the commission and the
commission employees designated by it as motor carrier inspectors
shall have all the lawful powers of law-enforcement officers to
enforce the provisions of this chapter and the provisions of other
chapters of this code pertaining to the regulatory authority of the
commission as such provisions apply to entities and persons
regulated by the commission in any county or city of this state.
Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, such
motor carrier inspectors may carry firearms in the course of their
official duties after meeting specialized qualifications
established by the governor's committee on crime, delinquency and
correction.
(b) Nothing in this section shall be construed as making motor
carrier inspectors law-enforcement officers as such term is defined
in section one, article twenty-nine, chapter thirty of this code.
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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize public
service commission motor carrier inspectors to exercise the powers
of law-enforcement officers in enforcing motor carrier laws and to
carry firearms in the course of their duties.
Section six is substantially rewritten; therefore
strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.)