Senate Bill No. 723
(By Senators Wooton, Craigo, Jackson, Walker,
White, Buckalew and Scott)
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[Introduced February 23, 1998; referred to the
Committee on Government Organization; and then to the Committee
on Finance.]
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A BILL to repeal chapter one hundred eighty-five of the Acts of
the Legislature, one thousand nine hundred fifty-five; and
to amend and reenact section four, article five-e, chapter
forty-nine of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, all relating to the Kanawha
home for children; transferring all responsibility for same
to the division of juvenile services within the department
of military affairs and public safety; authorizing the
division of juvenile services to enter into a lease
agreement with the county commission of the county of
Kanawha for same; providing for same to be operated, managed
and maintained as a secure predispositional detention
facility for certain juveniles under the control of the
division of juvenile services; and providing for an
effective date.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That chapter one hundred eighty-five of the Acts of the West
Virginia Legislature, one thousand nine hundred fifty-five, be
repealed; and that section four, article five-e, chapter forty- nine of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted,all to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 5E. DIVISION OF JUVENILE SERVICES.
§49-5E-4. Transfer of Kanawha home for children to the division of juvenile services.
(a) "Kanawha home for children" means the county home for
the detention of juvenile delinquents or children charged with
delinquency as established by the county commission of Kanawha
County pursuant to the provisions of a local bill, House Bill No.
141, enacted by the Legislature on the fourteenth day of
February, one thousand nine hundred fifty-five, as set forth in
the Acts of the West Virginia Legislature, Regular Session, 1955,
ch. 185.
(b) After the effective date of the amendment to this
section, enacted during the regular session of the Legislature,
one thousand nine hundred ninety-eight, the division of juvenile
services shall assume all fiscal responsibility for funding,
operating, maintaining, administering and managing the Kanawha home for children. To this end, the director of the division of
juvenile services is authorized to enter into a lease agreement
with the county commission of the county of Kanawha, for the
premises and all improvements, appurtenances, equipment and
furnishings thereon constituting the Kanawha home for children,
and to operate, manage and maintain the facility as one of the
several centers under the supervision and control of the division
of juvenile services providing secure predispositional detention
of juveniles, including juveniles who have been transferred to
adult criminal jurisdiction under section ten, article five of
this chapter and juveniles who are awaiting transfer to a
juvenile corrections facility.
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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to repeal the local act
which authorized the county court of Kanawha County to create a
board of supervisors to establish, improve, equip, develop,
operate, maintain, administer and manage a county home for the
detention of juvenile delinquents or children charged with
delinquency. It would transfer those responsibilities to the
Division of Juvenile Services, whose director would be authorized
to enter into a lease agreement with the Kanawha County
Commission for the premises and all improvements, appurtenances,
equipment, furnishings, etc. at the present Kanawha Home for
Children in Dunbar, which would then become one of the Division's
centers providing secure detention for juveniles who have been
accused of delinquency and who are awaiting adjudication,
disposition or transfer.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.
This bill is recommended for passage in the 1998 regular legislative session by the Legislative Task Force on Juvenile
Foster Care, Detention and Placement.)
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FINANCE COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS
On page __, section four, line __, by striking out the words
"is authorized to" and inserting in lieu thereof the word "may";
On page __, section four, line __, by striking out the word
"thereon" and inserting in lieu thereof the words "on the
premises";
On page ___, section four, line __, by striking out the word
"to" and inserting in lieu thereof the word "may";
On page __, section four, line __, after the word "the" by
inserting the word "division's";
On page __, section four, lines __ and __, by striking out
the words "of the division of juvenile services providing" and
inserting in lieu thereof the words "which provides";
And,
On pages one and two, by striking out the title and
substituting therefor a new title, to read as follows:
Eng. Senate Bill No. 723--A Bill to repeal chapter one
hundred eighty-five of the Acts of the Legislature, one thousand
nine hundred fifty-five; and to amend and reenact section four,
article five-e, chapter forty-nine of the code of West Virginia,
one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, all relating to
the Kanawha home for children; transferring all responsibility
for the home to the division of juvenile services within the
department of military affairs and public safety; authorizing the
division of juvenile services to enter into a lease agreement
with the county commission of the county of Kanawha for the home;
providing for the home to be operated, managed and maintained as
a secure predispositional detention facility for certain
juveniles under the control of the division of juvenile services;
and providing for an effective date.