H. B. 2984
(By Delegate Butcher)
[Introduced February 26, 1999; referred to the
Committee on Roads and Transportation then Government Organization.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section three, article two, chapter
seventeen-c of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to further amend said
article by adding thereto a new section, designated section
three-a, all relating to the enforcement of traffic laws;
providing that arrest quotas may not be used; defining
"arrest quota"; and providing that all law-enforcement
officers must wear a distinctive uniform and when using a
motor vehicle, the vehicle must be painted a distinctive
color.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section three, article two, chapter seventeen-c of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted; and that said article be
further amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section three-a, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. OBEDIENCE TO AND EFFECT OF TRAFFIC LAWS.
§17C-2-3. Enforcement of chapter; designation and bond of
special officers; failure to obey police officer
or special officers.
(a) It shall be is the duty of the department of public
safety state police and its members officers to enforce the
provisions of this chapter and other laws of this state governing
the operation of vehicles upon the streets and highways of this
state as defined in section one, article two, chapter seventeen-b
of this code, or in other designated places specifically referred
to in a given section in this chapter; and it shall be is the
duty of sheriffs and their deputies and of the police of cities
and towns to render to the department of public safety state
police such assistance in the performance of said those duties as
the superintendent of the department of public safety state
police may require of them.
(b) Every law-enforcement officer must be in uniform at the
time of the enforcement or must display the officer's badge or
other sign of authority as a law-enforcement officer.
Every law-enforcement officer on duty for the exclusive or main
purpose of enforcing the provisions of this code or local
ordinances relating to the maintenance and operation of vehicles
must wear a full distinctive uniform and if the officer uses a motor vehicle while on duty, the vehicle must be painted a
distinctive color specified by the superintendent of the West
Virginia state police. All officers making arrests incident to
the enforcement of the provisions of this chapter must be paid
fixed salaries for their services and may have no interest in,
nor be permitted to accept the benefit of, any fine or fee
resulting from the arrest or conviction of an offender against
any provision of this chapter.
(b) (c) The West Virginia commissioner of highways is
authorized to designate employees of the West Virginia department
division of highways as special officers to enforce the
provisions of this chapter only when such special officers are
directing traffic upon bridges and the approaches to bridges
which are a part of the state road system when any such bridge
needs special traffic direction and the superintendent of the
department of public safety state police has informed the West
Virginia commissioner of highways that he is unable to furnish
personnel for such traffic direction. The West Virginia
commissioner of highways may also designate certain employees of
the West Virginia department division of highways serving as
members of official weighing crews as special officers to enforce
the provisions of article seventeen of this chapter. The West
Virginia commissioner of highways shall provide a blanket bond in
the amount of ten thousand dollars for all employees designated as special officers, as above provided.
(c) (d) No person shall may willfully fail or refuse to
comply with a lawful order or direction of any police officer or
such special officers invested by law with authority to direct,
control or regulate traffic.
(d) (e) No person shall may willfully fail or refuse to
comply with a lawful order or direction of any special officer
designated as such pursuant to the provisions of subsection (b)
of this section.
§17C-2-3a. Arrest quotas prohibited.
(a)
Any state or local agency employing law-enforcement
officers engaged in the enforcement of the provisions of this
chapter or any local ordinance adopted pursuant to the provisions
of this chapter:
(1) May not establish policy or expectations requiring any
officer to meet an arrest quota or use the number of arrests or
citations issued by an officer as the criterion for promotion,
demotion, dismissal or the earning of any benefit provided by the
agency. Officer evaluations may include, but not be limited to
criteria such as attendance, punctuality, work habits and safety,
comments from citizens, commendations demeanor, formal training
and professional judgment;
(2) May not use the number of arrests or citations issued by
their officers as the criterion for funding, staffing or equipment needs. Agency evaluations may include, but may not be
limited to, criteria such as department objectives in crime
reduction or public safety enhancements, employee safety and
accident records, response time, success of programs, comments
from citizens and community relations and interaction,
commendations, training, employee turnover rates and
professionalism.
(b) For the purposes of this section "arrest quota" means
any requirement or performance evaluations based on the number of
arrests made or the number of citations issued by a police
officer or the proportion of such arrests made and citations
issued by an officer relative to the arrests and citations issued
by another officer or group of officers or by any law-enforcement
agency or its subdivisions. "Citation" means a notice to appear,
notice of violation or notice of parking violation.
NOTE: the purpose of this bill is to prohibit arrest quotas
and the use of unmarked vehicles in the enforcement of traffic
laws.
Section 3a is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.