COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE

FOR

Senate Bill No. 420

(By Senators Mitchell and Rowe)

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[Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary;

reported March 16, 2001.]

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A BILL to amend and reenact section six, article seven, chapter twenty-four-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to empowering municipal police officers to enforce violations of the public service commission's regulatory laws.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section six, article seven, chapter twenty-four-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 7. COMPLAINTS, DAMAGES AND VIOLATIONS.

§24A-7-6. Duty of prosecuting attorneys and law-enforcement officers to enforce chapter; regulatory authority of commission; qualifications of commission employees designated as motor carrier inspectors.
It shall be is the duty of the West Virginia state police, and the sheriffs of the counties and municipal police officers certified by the United States department of transportation to perform safety inspections in West Virginia to make arrests and the duty of the prosecuting attorneys of the several counties to prosecute all violations of this chapter and of other chapters governing the regulatory authority of the commission. The commission employees designated as motor carrier inspectors shall have the same authority as law-enforcement officers to enforce the provisions of this chapter and the provisions of other chapters of this code governing the regulatory authority of the commission as such the provisions apply to entities and persons regulated by the commission in any county or city of this state. Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, such motor carrier inspectors may carry handguns in the course of their official duties after meeting specialized qualifications established by the governor's committee on crime, delinquency and correction, which qualifications shall include the successful completion of handgun training, including a minimum of four hours training in handgun safety, paid for by the commission and comparable to the handgun training provided to law-enforcement officers by the West Virginia state police: Provided, That nothing in this section shall may be construed to include motor carrier inspectors within the meaning of law-enforcement officers as defined in section one, article twenty- nine, chapter thirty of this code.
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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is empower municipal police officers to enforce violations of the public service commission's regulatory laws.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.)