H. B. 4750


(By Delegate Modesitt, Azinger, L. Smith, H. White,

Perdue, Angotti and Manchin)


[Introduced February 25, 2000; referred to the

Committee on Government Organization.]



A BILL to amend article two, chapter fifteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding thereto four new sections, designated sections forty-four, forty-five, forty-six and forty-seven, all relating to state police officers' rights when faced with accusations of misconduct or otherwise adverse employment actions; prescribing standards for the investigation and interrogation of state police officers accused of misconduct or against whom adverse employment action is sought; providing hearing procedures; providing that state police officers have the right to refuse to disclose personal finances but that exceptions exist; and, providing for appeal from adverse decisions.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article two, chapter fifteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by adding thereto four new sections, designated sections forty-four, forty-five, forty-six and forty-seven, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. WEST VIRGINIA STATE POLICE
§15-2-44. Investigation and interrogation of a state police officer.

When any state police officer is under investigation and subjected to interrogation by his or her commanding officer, or any other member of the department which could lead to punitive action, the interrogation shall be conducted under the following conditions:
(a) The interrogation shall be conducted at a reasonable hour, preferably at a time when the state police officer is on duty, or during his or her normal working hours, unless the seriousness of the investigation requires otherwise. If the interrogation does occur during off-duty time of the state police officer being interrogated at any place other than his or her residence, the officer shall be compensated for off-duty time in accordance with regular department procedure. If the interrogation of the state police officer occurs during his or her regular duty hours, the officer may not be released from employment for any work missed due to interrogation.
(b) Any state police officer under investigation shall be informed of the nature of the investigation prior to any interrogation. The officer shall also be informed of the name, rank and command of the officer in charge of the interrogation, the interrogating officers, and all other persons to be present during the interrogation. No more than three interrogators at one time may question the officer under investigation.
(c) No state police officer under interrogation may be subjected to offensive language or threatened with punitive action. No promise of reward shall be made as an inducement to answering questions.
(d) The complete interrogation of any state police officer shall be recorded, either written, taped or transcribed. Upon request of the officer under investigation or his or her counsel, and upon advance payment of the reasonable cost thereof, a copy of the record shall be made available to the officer and his or her counsel not less than ten days prior to any hearing.
(e) Upon the filing of a formal written statement of charges or whenever an interrogation focuses on matters which are likely to result in punitive action against a state police officer, that officer shall have the right to be represented by counsel who may be present at all times during the interrogation.
Nothing herein shall prohibit the immediate temporary suspension, pending an investigation, from duty of any state police officer who reports for duty under the influence of alcohol or controlled substances, or otherwise mentally or emotionally impaired to the extent the officer's mental state likely would prevent the officer from performing his or her duties as prescribed in this article.
§15-2-45. Hearing.

(a) Before taking any punitive action against an accused officer, the department shall give notice to the accused officer that he or she is entitled to a hearing on the issues by a hearing board. The notice shall state the time and place of the hearing and the issues involved and shall be delivered to the accused officer no later than ten days prior to the hearing.
(b) When an accused officer faces a recommended punitive action of discharge, suspension or reduction in rank or pay, but before the punitive action is taken, a hearing board must be appointed and must afford the accused officer a hearing conducted pursuant to the provisions of section six of this article: Provided, That the punitive action may be taken before the hearing board conducts the hearing if exigent circumstances exist which require it.
(c) When an accused officer faces a recommended punitive action of written reprimand or transfer for the purpose of punishment the hearing board shall conduct a hearing pursuant to the provisions of subsection (d) of this section.
(d) The following requirements shall govern the operation conduct of a hearing board under subsection (c) of this section:
(1) The hearing board shall keep an official record of each hearing it conducts. The official record shall include the testimony offered and exhibits introduced at the hearing;
(2) The department and the accused officer shall be given ample opportunity to present evidence and argument with respect to any issue raised at the hearing;
(3) The hearing board may subpoena witnesses and administer oaths or affirmations and examine any individual under oath, and may require and compel the production of records, books, papers, contracts and other documents, in connection with any issue raised at the hearing;
(4) The hearing board shall prepare a written order detailing any decision or action it takes as a result of the hearing. The written order shall include written findings of fact setting forth a concise statement of the hearing board's factual findings and conclusions on each issue raised at the hearing. The hearing board shall hand-deliver or promptly mail a copy of the written order to the accused officer or his or her attorney of record.
(e) A hearing board's order is binding on all parties involved unless it is overturned in the appeal process described in section forty-seven of this article.
§15-2-46. Right to refuse to disclose personal finances; exceptions.

No state police officer may be required or requested for purposes of job assignment or other personnel action to disclose any item of his or her property, income, assets, source of income, debts or personal or domestic expenditures unless the information is obtained through proper legal procedures or is necessary for the employing agency to ascertain the desirability of assigning the officer to a specialized unit in which there is a strong possibility that bribes or other improper inducements might be offered.
 §15-2-47. Appeal.
A hearing board's decision rendered under the provisions of section six of this article may be appealed by the state police officer adversely affected by the order or by the detachment commander if he or she believes that the department would be adversely affected by the hearing board's order. An appeal under this subsection shall be made to the circuit court of the county in which the state police officer resides.




NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to add four new sections to the code addressing state police officers' rights when confronted with accusations of misconduct or when adverse employment actions are otherwise sought against them. The bill prescribes standards for the investigation and interrogation of state police officers accused of misconduct or against whom adverse employment action is sought. Further, it provides hearing procedures relative to opposing accusations and adverse employment actions while providing that state police officers have the right to refuse to disclose personal finances with exceptions. Finally, it provides for appeal from adverse decisions against state police officers.
These sections are new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.