Senate Bill No. 596
(By Senators Fanning and Hunter)
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[Introduced February 18, 1998; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section nine, article two, chapter
six-b of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to investigations
of ethics or criminal complaints against elected or
appointed public officials; and the appointment of a special
nonresident prosecutor in cases of criminal complaints
against elected or appointed public officials.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section nine, article two, chapter six-b 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 ETHICS COMMISSION; POWERS AND DUTIES;
DISCLOSURE OF FINANCIAL INTEREST BY PUBLIC
OFFICIALS AND EMPLOYEES; APPEARANCES BEFORE PUBLIC
AGENCIES.
§6B-2-9. Special prosecutor authorized.
(a) If the ethics commission finds as the result of an
investigation of a complaint that a pattern of ethics violations
or criminal violations under this chapter or under article
five-a, chapter sixty-one of this code, exists in a state, county
or covered municipal government, county school board or one of
their respective departments, agencies, boards or commissions,
and also finds that the prosecuting attorney of the county in
which the violation occurred is, for some reason, unable or
unwilling to take appropriate action, the chairman of the ethics
commission may, upon a two-thirds vote of the members of the
ethics commission, petition the appropriate circuit court for
the appointment of a special prosecutor for the purpose of
conducting an investigation to determine whether a violation of
the criminal law of this state has occurred the chairman of the
ethics commission shall petition the appropriate circuit court
for the appointment of a special prosecutor from outside the
state for the investigation of a complaint that a pattern of
criminal violations under this chapter or under article five-a,
chapter sixty-one of this code exists in a state, county or
covered municipal government, county school board or one of their
respective departments, agencies, boards or commissions. The
circuit court shall appoint a special prosecutor, under
guidelines for the admission of nonresidents to practice law in
this state and based upon the recommendations of the prosecuting attorney of the county in which the investigation is being
conducted, as to the qualifications of the special prosecutor.
(b) A special prosecutor shall have the same authority as a
county prosecutor to investigate and prosecute persons subject to
this act for criminal violations committed in connection with
their public office or employment which constitute felonies.
(c) The ethics committee shall be authorized to employ and
assign the necessary professional and clerical staff to assist
any such special prosecutor in the performance of his or her
duties and to pay and to set the compensation to be paid to a
special prosecutor in an amount not to exceed seventy-five
dollars per hour up to a maximum of fifty thousand dollars per
annum.
(d) The special prosecutor shall be empowered to make a
presentment to any regularly or specially impaneled grand jury in
the appointing circuit court. The special prosecutor shall be
empowered to prosecute any person indicted by such grand jury.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require the
appointment of a special prosecutor, who is not a resident of
West Virginia, in cases of criminal violations of elected or
appointed public officials.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.