ENGROSSED
Senate Bill No. 59
(By Senators Dittmar, Kessler, Love,
Sharpe, Bowman, White, Ball and Anderson)
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[Introduced January 14, 1998;
referred to
the Committee on Natural Resources; and
then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section one-c, article seven, chapter
twenty of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to adding and
redesignating ranks; setting corporals salary; updating the
minimum base pay scale for conservation officers; requiring
across-the-board pay increases be included in minimum base
pay scale; and providing for retention of merit increases.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section one-c, article seven, chapter twenty of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 7. LAW ENFORCEMENT, MOTORBOATING, LITTER.
§20-7-1c. Conservation officers, ranks, salary schedule, base
pay, exceptions.
(a) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the
contrary, the ranks within the law-enforcement section of the
division of natural resources are colonel, lieutenant colonel,
major, captain, lieutenant, sergeant, corporal, conservation
officer first class, senior conservation officer, conservation
officer and conservation officer-in-training. Each officer while
in uniform shall wear the insignia of rank as provided by the
chief conservation officer.
(b) Conservation officers shall be paid the minimum annual
salaries based on the following schedule:
ANNUAL SALARY SCHEDULE (BASE PAY)
SUPERVISORY AND NONSUPERVISORY RANKS
Conservation Officer-In-Training
(first year)$21,725 $22,025
Conservation Officer (second year)$23,914 $24,214
Conservation Officer (third year)$24,186 $24,486
Senior Conservation Officer (fourth year)$24,398 $24,698
Conservation Officer First Class
(after fifth year)$25,976 $26,276
Conservation Officer (after tenth year)$27,554 $27,854
Conservation Officer (after fifteenth year)$28,954 $29,254
Corporal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$31,065
Sergeant$32,577 $32,877
Lieutenant$35,397 $35,697
Captain$37,683 $37,983
Major$39,966 $40,266
Lieutenant Colonel$42,008 $42,308
Colonel
Conservation officers in service at the time the amendment
to this section becomes effective shall be given credit for prior
service and shall be paid such salaries as the same length of
service will entitle them to receive under the provisions of this
section.
(c) This section does not apply to special or emergency
conservation officers appointed under the authority of section
one of this article.
(d) Nothing in this section prohibits other pay increases as
provided for under section two, article five, chapter five of
this code: Provided, That an across-the-board pay increase
granted by the Legislature or the governor is added to, and
reflected in, the minimum salaries set forth in this section; and
that merit increases are retained by an officer when he or she
advances from one rank to another.