Senate Bill No. 39
(By Senator Ross)
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[Introduced January 12, 2000; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section fifteen, article ten,
chapter sixty-one of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to
pecuniary interest of county and district officers,
teachers and school officials in contracts; offering or
giving compensation; specifying violations and providing
criminal penalties; and providing that the section is
inapplicable with regard to individuals who, but for their
status as employees of a vendor or supplier under contract
with the county, would not be in violation of the section.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section fifteen, article ten, chapter sixty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 10. CRIMES AGAINST PUBLIC POLICY.
§61-10-15. Pecuniary interest of county and district officers,
teachers and school officials in contracts;
exceptions; offering or giving compensation;
penalties.
It shall be unlawful for any No member of a county
commission, overseer of the poor, district school officer,
secretary of a board of education, supervisor or superintendent,
principal or teacher of a public schools school, or any member
of any other county or district board, or for any county or
district officer to may be or become pecuniarily interested,
directly or indirectly, in the proceeds of any contract or
service, or in the furnishing of any supplies in the contract
for, or the awarding or letting of which a contract, if, as such
a member, officer, secretary, supervisor, superintendent,
principal, or teacher, he or she may have any voice, influence
or control: Provided, however, That nothing herein shall be
construed to prevent or make in this section prevents or makes
unlawful the employment of the spouse of any such a member, officer, secretary, supervisor, superintendent, principal or
teacher as a principal or teacher, or auxiliary or service
employee in the public schools of any county, nor to prevent or
make or prevents or makes unlawful the employment by any joint
county and circuit clerk of his or her spouse. Any person or
officer named in this section who shall violate violates any of
the foregoing provisions of this section shall be is guilty of
a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not
less than fifty nor more than five hundred dollars, and may, in
the discretion of the court, be imprisoned for a period not to
exceed one year. In addition to the foregoing these penalties,
any such officer convicted of violating the provisions of this
section shall be removed from his or her office and the
certificate or certificates of any teacher, principal,
supervisor and or superintendent who violates any provision of
this section shall, upon conviction thereof, be revoked
immediately. Any person, firm or corporation that offers or
gives any compensation or thing of value, or who forebears to
perform any an act whatever to any of the officers or persons
hereinbefore named in this section or to or for any other
person, with the intent to secure the influence, support or vote of such the officer or person for any contract, service, award
or other matter as to which any county or school district shall
becomes or may become the paymaster, shall be is guilty of a
misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not
less than five hundred, nor more than twenty-five hundred
dollars, and, at in the court's discretion, of the court, such
the person or any member of such the firm, or, if it be is a
corporation, any agent or officer thereof of the corporation so
offering or giving such compensation or other thing of value,
may, in addition to such a fine, be imprisoned for a period not
to exceed one year.
The provisions of this section shall do not apply to
publications in newspapers required by law to be made. by law
The provisions of this section do not apply with respect to
any person who, but for his or her status as an employee of a
vendor or supplier under a contract subject to the provisions of
this section, would not otherwise be in violation of this
section.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide that mere
employment with a vendor or supplier under contract with a county agency will not constitute a violation of the prohibition
that county officers, including school board members, may not be
pecuniarily interested in purchasing decisions over which he or
she has some voice, influence or control.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.