Senate Bill No. 76
(By Senators Bailey and Hunter)
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[Introduced February 14, 2001; referred to the
Committee on Pensions; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend article twenty-two, chapter eight of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
twenty-eight-a, relating to providing procedural due process
for professional police officers and firefighters applying
for pension and disability benefits; application for
benefits; requiring notice; providing for hearing; requiring
final order and notice; allowing appeal; and providing
administrative procedures in contested cases.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article twenty-two, chapter eight of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section
twenty-eight-a, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 22. RETIREMENT BENEFITS GENERALLY; POLICEMEN'S PENSION
AND RELIEF FUND; FIREMEN'S PENSION AND RELIEF
FUND; PENSION PLANS FOR EMPLOYEES OF WATERWORKS
SYSTEM, SEWERAGE SYSTEM OR COMBINED WATERWORKS
AND SEWERAGE SYSTEM.
§8-22-28a. Procedural due process; application for benefits;
notice; hearing; final order; appeal;
administrative procedures in contested cases.
(a) Upon receipt of an application for any benefit under the
provisions of section twenty-three-a, twenty-four, twenty-five,
twenty-six, twenty-six-a or twenty-seven of this article, the
board of trustees of the fund shall provide the applicant with a
written notice that the applicant has the following procedural
due process rights:
(1) To retain counsel at the applicant's cost;
(2) To take the deposition of any physicians appointed by
the board of trustees of the fund to examine the applicant;
(3) To appear before the board of trustees and present
evidence and testimony; and
(4) If denied benefits, to have the board of trustees of the
fund give a written statement outlining its reasons for denying
benefits.
(b) Upon receipt of the report of the physicians to whom the
applicant has been referred for examination, the board of
trustees of a fund must give an applicant written notice of:
(1) A copy of the report of the physicians who have examined
the applicant and any proposed grant or denial of benefits;
(2) Notice of the date, time and place of the meeting of the
board of trustees of the fund at which the application, the
reports of any physicians who have examined the applicant, and
any additional evidence will be received and considered;
(3) The procedural due process rights of the applicant: (A)
To retain counsel at the applicant's cost; (B) to take the
deposition of any physicians appointed by the board of trustees
of the fund to examine the applicant; (C) to appear before the
board of trustees and present evidence and testimony; and (D) if
denied benefits, to have the board of trustees of the fund give
a written statement outlining its reasons for denying benefits.
(c) After hearing, the board of trustees of the fund shall
send the applicant a final order of its findings, and in the event that an applicant is denied any benefits, the final order
shall contain a written statement outlining its reasons for
denying benefits.
(d) The provisions of article five of chapter twenty-nine-a
of this code, the state administrative procedures act, apply to
all proceedings, judicial review and appeals in contested cases.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide a right of
appeal to professional police officers and firefighters whose
requests for pension or disability benefits have been denied.
This section is new, therefore strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.