Senate Bill No. 4
(By Senators Buckalew, Ross, Helmick, Kimble, McKenzie and
Kessler)
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[Introduced January 14, 1998;
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary; and then to the
Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section thirty-three, article two,
chapter fifteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to awards and
benefits to dependent members of the West Virginia state
police.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section thirty-three, article two, chapter fifteen of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one,
as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. WEST VIRGINIA STATE POLICE.
§15-2-33. Awards and benefits to dependents of member -- When
member dies in performance of duty, etc.; dependent child scholarship and amount.
The surviving spouse or the dependent child or children or
dependent parent or parents of any member who has lost or shall
lose loses his or her life by reason of injury, illness or
disease resulting from an occupational risk or hazard inherent in
or peculiar to the service required of members while such the
member was or shall be is engaged in the performance of his or
her duties as a member of the division, or if said the member
shall die dies from any cause after having been retired pursuant
to the provisions of section twenty-nine of this article, the
surviving spouse or other dependent shall be is entitled to
receive and shall be paid from the death, disability and
retirement fund benefits as follows: To the surviving spouse
annually, in equal monthly installments during his or her
lifetime one or the other of two amounts, which shall become
immediately available and which shall be the greater of:
(1) An amount equal to seven tenths of the salary received
in the preceding twelve-month employment period by the deceased
member: Provided, That if the member had not been employed with
the division for twelve months prior to the disability, the
amount of monthly salary shall be annualized for the purpose of
determining the benefit; or
(2) The sum of six thousand dollars.
In addition thereto such the surviving spouse shall be is entitled to receive and there shall be paid to such that person
one hundred dollars monthly for each dependent child or children.
If such the surviving spouse dies or if there is no surviving
spouse, there shall be paid monthly to each such dependent child
or children from the death, disability and retirement fund a sum
equal to twenty-five percent of the surviving spouse's
entitlement. If there are no surviving spouse and no dependent
child or children, there shall be paid annually in equal monthly
installments from the death, disability and retirement fund to
the dependent parents of the deceased member during their joint
lifetimes a sum equal to the amount which a surviving spouse,
without children, would have received: Provided, That when there
is but one dependent parent surviving, that parent is entitled to
receive during his or her lifetime one half the amount which both
parents, if living, would have been entitled to receive.
Any person qualified as a surviving dependent child under
this section, shall in addition to any other benefits due under
this or other sections of this article, be is entitled to receive
a scholarship to be applied to the career development education
of that person. This sum up to but not exceeding seven thousand
five hundred dollars shall be paid from the death, disability and
retirement fund to any university or college in this state or to
any trade or vocational school or other entity in this state
approved by the board, to offset the expenses of tuition, room and board, books, fees or other costs incurred in a course of
study at any of those institutions so long as the recipient makes
application to the board on an approved form and under such the
rules as the board may provide, and maintains scholastic
eligibility as defined by the institution or the board. The
board may by appropriate rules define age requirements, physical
and mental requirements, scholastic eligibility, disbursement
methods, institutional qualifications and other requirements as
necessary and not inconsistent with this section.
Awards and benefits for a member's surviving spouse or
dependents received under any section or any of the provisions of
this retirement system shall be in lieu of receipt of any such
benefits for such persons under the provisions of any other state
retirement system. Receipt of benefits under any other state
retirement system shall be in lieu of any right to receive any
benefits under this retirement system, so that only a single
receipt of retirement benefits shall occur.
For the purposes of this section, the term "salary" does not
include any compensation paid for overtime service.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to make payment of awards
and benefits to the surviving spouse or dependent of a member of
the West Virginia State Police irregardless of the receipt of any
other member's surviving spouse or dependents awards and benefits
received under any other section of the State Police Retirement
System.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.