H. B. 4301
(By Delegates Hutchins, Linch, Perdue,
Hunt, Staton, Faircloth and Capito)
[Introduced January 31, 2000; referred to the
Committee on Government Organization then the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section twenty-seven, article twenty,
chapter thirty-one of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to
the regional jail and correctional facility authority;
correctional officers employed by the authority at regional
jails and the northern regional jail and correctional
facility; civil service coverage of same.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section twenty-seven, article twenty, chapter
thirty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read
as follows:
ARTICLE 20. WEST VIRGINIA REGIONAL JAIL AND PRISON AUTHORITY.
§31-20-27. Correctional officers; regional jails; priority of
hiring; civil service coverage.
(a) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the
contrary, the authority, when employing correctional officers to
complete the approved staffing plan of a regional jail completed
after the effective date of this section, shall employ any
correctional officer applying for a position as a correctional
officer at a regional jail who was employed in good standing at
a county jail facility in the region at the time of its closing
or at a prison facility operated by the division of corrections:
Provided, That the regional jail is located within the same
region as the prison facility that was closed due to relocation
of the prison facility to a site outside the region. Only those
correctional officers, who are employees in good standing at the
time the prison facility is closed, are eligible for transfer
under the provisions of this subsection. Correctional officers,
employed under the provisions of this subsection, shall be
employed at a salary and with benefits consistent with the
approved plan of compensation of the division of personnel,
created under section five, article six, chapter twenty-nine of
this code. All correctional officers employed under this subsection shall also be covered by the policies and procedures
of the education and state employees grievance board, created
under section five, article six-a, chapter twenty-nine of this
code. and the classified-exempt service protection policies of
the division of personnel
(b) The authority shall, when employing correctional officers
to fill positions within the approved staffing plan of any
regional jail, employ any correctional officer applying for a
position as a correctional officer at a regional jail who was
previously employed as a correctional officer in good standing at
any local jail facility: Provided, That the local jail facility
is located within the same region as the regional jail at the
time of the local jail facility's closing or reduction in size
and was reduced in size or closed prior to or due to the
completion of the regional jail within the region. Correctional
officers employed under the provisions of this subsection shall
be employed at a salary and with benefits consistent with the
approved plan of compensation of the division of personnel,
created under section five, article six, chapter twenty-nine of
this code. Only those county correctional officers who are
employees in good standing at the time the local jail facility is closed are eligible for transfer under the provisions of this
subsection. All correctional officers employed under this
subsection shall also be covered by the policies and procedures
of the education and state employees grievance board created
under section five, article six-a, chapter twenty-nine of this
code. and the classified-exempt service protection of the
division of personnel
(c) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the
contrary, on and after the first day of July, two thousand, any
person then employed or to be employed by the regional jail and
correctional facility authority as a correctional officer in a
regional jail or at the northern regional jail and correctional
facility shall, within the limitations contained in section two,
article six, chapter twenty-nine of this code, be placed in the
civil service system as a covered employee.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide that, on and
after July 1, 2000, correctional officers employed by the
Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority shall be placed
in the civil service system as covered employees.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that
would be added.