Senate Bill No. 31
(By Senators Hunter and Caldwell)
____________
[Introduced January 9, 2002; referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary; and the to the Committee on Finance.]
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AA BILL to amend and reenact sections three, four, six, seven and
nine, article eighteen, chapter thirty of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended;
and to further amend said article by adding thereto two new
sections, designated sections four-a and fourteen, all
relating to the licensing of private investigators and
security guards; registration of security guard employees;
penalties for late registration; and fees and charges for
services of the secretary of state.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections three, four, six, seven and nine, article
eighteen, chapter thirty of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and
reenacted; and that said article be further amended by adding thereto two new sections, designated sections four-a and
fourteen, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 18. PRIVATE INVESTIGATIVE AND SECURITY SERVICES.
§30-18-3. Application requirements for a license to conduct the
private investigation business.
(a) To be licensed to be a private detective, a private
investigator or to operate a private detective or investigative
firm, each applicant shall complete and file a written
application, under oath, with the secretary of state and in such
form as the secretary may prescribe.
(b) On the application each applicant shall provide the
following information: The applicant's name, birth date,
citizenship, physical description, military service, current
residence, residences for the preceding seven years, qualifying
education or experience, the location of each of his or her
offices in this state and any other information requested by the
secretary of state in order to comply with the requirements of
this article.
(c) In the case of a corporation or other business entity
that is seeking a firm license, the application shall be signed
by the president or comparable authorized officer, and verified
by the secretary or treasurer of such corporation or comparable
officer, and shall specify the name of the corporation or other business entity, the date and place of its incorporation
formation, the names and titles of all officers, the location of
its principal place of business, and the name of the city, town
or village, stating the street and number, and otherwise such
apt description as will reasonably indicate the location. If
the corporation has been incorporated business entity was formed
in a state other than West Virginia, a certificate of good
standing from the state of incorporation formation must
accompany the application. This information must be provided in
addition to that required to be provided by the applicant.
(d) The applicant shall provide:
(1) Information in the application about whether the
applicant has ever been arrested for or convicted of any crime
or wrongs, either done or threatened, against the government of
the United States;
(2) Information about offenses against the laws of West
Virginia or any state; and
(3) Any facts as may be required by the secretary of state
to show the good character, competency and integrity of the
applicant.
To qualify for a firm license, the applicant shall provide
such information for each person who will be authorized to
conduct the private investigation business and for each officer, member or partner of the firm.
(e) As part of the application, each applicant shall give
the secretary of state permission to review the records held by
the division of public safety West Virginia state police for any
convictions that may be on record for the applicant.
(f) For each applicant for a license and for each officer,
member and partner of the firm applying for a license, the
application shall be accompanied by one recent full-face
photograph and one complete set of the person's fingerprints one
set of classifiable fingerprints on an applicant fingerprint
card, two recent head and shoulders color photographs of the
applicant of acceptable quality for identification, at least one
inch by one inch in size.
(g) For each applicant, the application shall be accompanied
by:
(1) Character references from at least five reputable
citizens. Each reference must have known the applicant for at
least five years preceding the application. No reference may be
connected to the applicant by blood or marriage. All references
must have been written for the purpose of the application for a
license to conduct the private investigation business; and
(2) A nonrefundable application processing service charge
of fifty dollars, which shall be payable to the secretary of state to offset the cost of license review and criminal
investigation background report from the department of public
safety, along with a license fee of one hundred dollars if the
applicant is an individual, or two hundred dollars if the
applicant is a firm, or five hundred dollars if the applicant is
a nonresident of West Virginia or a foreign corporation or
business entity. The license fee shall be deposited to the
general revenue fund, and shall be refunded only if the license
is denied The applicable license fee and nonrefundable
processing service charge as provided by section fourteen of
this article; and
(3) For an annual application for renewal of one or more
licenses, if the application is filed after the license
expiration date, an additional late application fee as provided
in section fourteen of this article.
(h) All applicants for private detective or private
investigator licenses or for private investigation firm licenses
shall file in the office of secretary of state a surety bond.
Such bond shall:
(1) Be in the sum of two thousand five hundred twenty
thousand dollars and conditioned upon the faithful and honest
conduct of such business by such applicant;
(2) Be written by a company recognized and approved by the insurance commissioner of West Virginia and approved by the
attorney general of West Virginia with respect to its form;
(3) Be in favor of the state of West Virginia for any person
who is damaged by any violation of this article. The bond must
also be in favor of any person damaged by such a violation.
(i) Any person claiming against the bond required by
subsection (h) of this section for a violation of this article
may maintain an action at law against any licensed individual or
firm and against the surety. The surety shall be liable only
for damages awarded under section twelve of this article and not
the punitive damages permitted under that section. The
aggregate liability of the surety to all persons damaged by a
person or firm licensed under this article may not exceed the
amount of the bond.
(j) The secretary of state shall issue an identification
card bearing the photograph, name and expiration date of each
licensee. The licensee shall carry a valid license card at all
times during the scope of employment, and present that card upon
the request of any person. Upon loss of the license card, the
licensee shall immediately order a replacement card and pay the
fee for a replacement specified in section fourteen.
§30-18-4. Requirements for employees conducting the private
investigation business under a firm license.
(a) For the purposes of this article, a "representative" of
a private detective or private investigative firm is any person
who conducts the investigative business of the firm, or who acts
as an investigator under the auspices of the firm, whether or
not that person receives compensation for conducting such
business.
(a) (b) Any person who has holds a private detective firm
or investigative firm license shall:
(1) be responsible for supervising any employee Supervise
any representative, as defined in subsection (a) of this
section; or other individual who conducts the private
investigation business under the authority of such person's firm
license, regardless of whether such employee or other individual
receives compensation for conducting such business. Such
supervision shall include providing any education or training
that is reasonably necessary to ensure compliance with the
requirements of this article.
(2) Provide any education or training that is reasonably
necessary to ensure compliance with the requirements of this
article or which is required for registration of the
representative as required by this section; and
(3) Submit, on a form prescribed by the secretary of state,
an application for registration of each representative. The application for registration for any representative acting under
the auspices of the firm on any day during the month of July,
two thousand one, shall be submitted no later than the first day
of September, two thousand one. The application for
registration of any new representative who begins work after the
first day of July, two thousand one, shall be submitted within
five days of the first day of work by that representative.
(c) Each application for registration under this section
shall:
(1) State the representative's name, residence address,
birth date, social security number, first date of service as a
representative of the applying firm, and the name and address of
the employer legally responsible for employment of the person;
(2) Indicate whether the employee holds a valid current
registration under this section as an employee of another firm
and whether the application for registration is a transfer or
concurrent registration;
(3) Affirm that the representative has previously received
a minimum of four hours of training through a program approved
by the secretary of state;
(4) Be signed and dated by the license holder of the
applying firm;
(5) Be accompanied by one set of classifiable fingerprints on an applicant fingerprint card, two recent head and shoulders
color photographs of the applicant of acceptable quality for
identification, at least one inch by one inch in size; and
(6) Be accompanied by the fee required in section fourteen
of this article.
(d) The applying firm shall give each applicant for
registration a copy of the application and shall retain a copy.
The applicant's copy will serve as a temporary registration card
until the permanent registration card is issued. The temporary
registration shall be valid only if the application for
registration is received by the secretary of state within five
days of the date the application was signed.
(b) (e) Any employee or individual representative who
conducts the private investigation business under the authority
of a private detective or investigative firm license shall:
(1) Satisfy the requirements of section two of this article,
except that such person need not satisfy the education and
training requirements contained in subdivision (7) of section
two; and
(2) Authorize the secretary of state to review the records
held by the division of public safety West Virginia state police
for any convictions that may be on record for such employee or
individual representative.
(c) (f) A holder of a private detective or investigative
firm license is prohibited from authorizing any individual or
employee representative to conduct a private investigation any
investigative business of the firm if such individual does not
comply with the requirements of this section.
(d) For every employee or individual who conducts the
business of private investigation under the authority of a
private detective or investigative firm license, the holder of
such license must maintain a recent full-face photograph and one
complete set of fingerprints on file at such firm's central
business location in this state. Upon request, the holder of
the firm license must release the photographs and fingerprints
to the secretary of state.
(g) The secretary of state shall issue an identification
card bearing the photograph, name and expiration date of each
registrant. The registrant shall carry a valid registration
card at all times during the scope of employment, and present
that card upon the request of any person. Upon loss of the
registration card, the registrant shall immediately order a
replacement card and pay the fee for a replacement card
specified in section thirteen.
§30-18-4a. Temporary permit for private investigator licensed
in another state.
A nonresident person who holds a valid license as a private
investigator in another state may apply for a temporary permit
to conduct private investigative activities within the state.
The application shall be made on forms prescribed by the
secretary of state, and shall be accompanied by proof that the
standards of licensure are at least substantially equivalent to
the requirements of this state, certification that the applicant
holds a valid current license and the fee established in section
fourteen of this article. The secretary of state may, at his or
her discretion, issue the nonrenewable temporary license for a
period not to exceed thirty days. It shall be the duty of the
applicant to comply with any business registration requirements
of the state pertaining to the business activity.
§30-18-6. Application requirements for a license to conduct
security guard business.
(a) To be licensed as a security guard or to operate a
security guard firm, each applicant shall complete and file a
written application, under oath, with the secretary of state and
in such form as the secretary may prescribe.
(b) On the application, each applicant shall provide the
following information: The applicant's name, birth date,
citizenship, physical description, military service, current
residence, residences for the preceding seven years, qualifying education or experience, the location of each of his or her
offices in this state and any other information requested by the
secretary of state in order to comply with the requirements of
this article.
(c) In the case of a corporation or other business entity
that is seeking a firm license, the application shall be signed
by the president or comparable authorized officer, and verified
by the secretary or treasurer of such corporation or other
comparable authorized officer and shall specify the name of the
corporation or other business entity, the date and place of its
incorporation formation, the names and titles of all officers,
the location of its principal place of business, and the name of
the city, town or village, stating the street and number, and
otherwise such apt description as will reasonably indicate the
location. If the corporation has been incorporated business
entity was formed in a state other than West Virginia, a
certificate of good standing from the state of incorporation
formation must accompany the application. This information
shall be provided in addition to that required to be provided
the applicant.
(d) The applicant shall provide:
(1) Information in the application about whether the
applicant has ever been arrested for or convicted of any crime or wrongs, either done or threatened, against the government of
the United States;
(2) Information about offenses against the laws of West
Virginia or any state; and
(3) Any facts as may be required by the secretary of state
to show the good character, competency and integrity of the
applicant.
To qualify for a firm license, the applicant shall provide
such information for each person who would be authorized to
conduct security guard business under the applicant's firm
license and for each officer, member or partner in the firm.
(e) As part of the application, each applicant shall give
the secretary of state permission to review the records held by
the department of public safety West Virginia state police for
any convictions that may be on record for the applicant.
(f) For each applicant for a license and for each officer,
member and partner of the firm applying for a license, the
application shall be accompanied by one recent full-face
photograph and one complete set of the person's fingerprints one
set of classifiable fingerprints on an applicant fingerprint
card two recent head and shoulders color photographs of the
applicant of acceptable quality for identification, at least one
inch by one inch in size.
(g) For each applicant, the application shall be accompanied
by:
(1) Character references from at least five reputable
citizens. Each reference must have known the applicant for at
least five years preceding the application. No reference may be
connected to the applicant by blood or marriage. All references
must have been written for the purpose of the application for a
license to conduct security guard business; and
(2) A nonrefundable application processing service charge
of fifty dollars, which shall be payable to the secretary of
state to offset the cost of license review and criminal
investigation background report from the department of public
safety, along with a license fee of one hundred dollars if the
applicant is an individual, or two hundred dollars if the
applicant is a firm, or five hundred dollars if the applicant is
a nonresident of West Virginia or a foreign corporation or
business entity. The license fee shall be deposited to the
general revenue fund, and shall be refunded only if the license
is denied. The applicable license fee and nonrefundable
processing service charge as provided by section fourteen of
this article.
(3) For an annual application for renewal of one or more
licenses, if the application is filed after the license expiration date, an additional late application fee as provided
in section fourteen of this article.
(h) All applicants for security guard licenses or security
guard firm licenses shall file in the office of secretary of
state a surety bond. Such bond shall:
(1) Be in the sum of two thousand five hundred twenty
thousand dollars and conditioned upon the faithful and honest
conduct of such business by such applicant;
(2) Be written by a company recognized and approved by the
insurance commissioner of West Virginia and approved by the
attorney general of West Virginia with respect to its form;
(3) Be in favor of the state of West Virginia for any person
who is damaged by any violation of this article. The bond must
also be in favor of any person damaged by such a violation.
(i) Any person claiming against the bond required by
subsection (h) of this section for a violation of this article
may maintain an action at law against any licensed individual or
firm and against the surety. The surety shall be liable only
for damages awarded under section twelve of this article and not
the punitive damages permitted under that section. The
aggregate liability of the surety to all persons damaged by a
person or firm licensed under this article may not exceed the
amount of the bond.
(j) The secretary of state shall issue an identification
card bearing the photograph, name and expiration date of each
licensee. The licensee shall carry a valid license card at all
times during the scope of employment and present that card upon
the request of any person. Upon loss of the license card, the
licensee shall immediately order a replacement card and pay the
fee for a replacement card specified in section fourteen.
§30-18-7. Requirements for employees conducting security guard
business under a firm license.
(a) For the purposes of this article, a "representative" of
a security guard firm is any person who conducts the security
business of the firm, or who acts as a security guard under the
auspices or in the uniform of the firm, whether or not that
person receives compensation for conducting such business.
(a) (b) Any person who has holds a security guard firm
license shall:
(1) be responsible for supervising any employee Supervise
any representative, as defined in subsection (a) of this
section; or other individual who conducts security guard
business under the authority of such person's firm license,
regardless of whether such employee or other individual receives
compensation for conducting such business. Such supervision shall include providing
(2) Provide any education or training that is reasonably
necessary to ensure compliance with the requirements of this
article or which is required for registration of the
representative as required by this section; and
(3) Submit on a form prescribed by the secretary of state,
an application for registration of each representative. The
application for registration for any representative acting under
the auspices of the firm on any day during the month of July,
two thousand two, shall be submitted no later than the first day
of September, two thousand one. The application for
registration of any new representative who begins work after the
first day of July, two thousand one, shall be submitted within
five days of the first day of work by that representative.
(c) Each application for registration under this section
shall:
(1) State the representative's name, residence address,
birth date, social security number, first date of service as a
representative of the applying firm, and the name and address of
the employer legally responsible for employment of the person;
(2) Indicate whether the representative holds a valid
current registration under this section as an employee of
another firm, and whether the application for registration is a transfer or concurrent registration;
(3) Affirm that the representative has previously received
a minimum of four hours of training through a program approved
by the secretary of state;
(4) Be signed and dated by the license holder of the
applying firm;
(5) Be accompanied by one set of classifiable fingerprints
on an applicant fingerprint card, two recent head and shoulders
color photographs of the applicant of acceptable quality for
identification, at least one inch by one inch in size; and
(6) Be accompanied by the fee required in section fourteen
of this article.
(d) The applying firm shall give each applicant for
registration a copy of the application and shall retain a copy.
The applicant's copy will serve as a temporary registration card
until the permanent registration card is issued. The temporary
registration shall be valid only if the application for
registration is received by the secretary of state within five
days of the date the application was signed.
(b) (e) Any employee or individual representative who
conducts security guard business under the authority of a firm
license shall:
(1) Satisfy the requirements of section five of this article, except that such person need not satisfy the prior
employment requirements contained in subdivision (7) of section
five; and
(2) Authorize the secretary of state to review the records
held by the department of public safety West Virginia state
police for any convictions that may be on record for such
employee or individual representative.
(c) (f) A holder of a security guard firm license is
prohibited from authorizing any individual or employee to
conduct any investigative or security guard business of the firm
if such individual does not comply with the requirements of this
section.
(d) For every employee or individual who conducts security
guard business under the authority of a security guard firm
license, the holder of such license must maintain a recent full-
face photograph and one complete set of fingerprints on file at
such firm's central business location in this state. Upon
request, the holder of the firm license must release the
photographs and fingerprints to the secretary of state.
(g) The secretary of state shall issue an identification
card bearing the photograph, name and expiration date of each
registrant. The registrant shall carry a valid registration
card at all times during the scope of employment, and present that card upon the request of any person. Upon loss of the
registration card, the registrant shall immediately order a
replacement card and pay the fee for a replacement card
specified in section fourteen.
(h) A registrant who transfers employment or whose services
are supplied in a subcontracting arrangement to another licensed
security guard agency at any time during the duration of the
one-year registration period shall submit a transfer of
registration or a concurrent registration which shall be in
effect for the remainder of the registration year. The request
for transfer or concurrent registration shall be made on a form
prescribed by the secretary of state and shall be accompanied by
the fee prescribed in section fourteen of this article. The
registrant shall during the scope of employment carry and
present upon request the registration card of the security
company responsible for the security at the site where the
employee performs his or her duties.
§30-18-9. Renewal of license.
A license or registration granted under the provisions of
this article shall be in effect for one year from the date the
certificate of license is issued and may be renewed for a period
of one year by the secretary of state upon application, in such
form as the secretary may prescribe, and upon payment of the fee and the filing of the surety bond, when required. At the time
of applying for renewal of a license, the secretary of state may
require any person to provide additional information to reflect
any changes in the original application or any previous renewal.
§30-18-14. Licensing and registration fees and service charges.
(a) Each West Virginia resident or West Virginia domestic
corporation, limited liability company or other business entity
which applies for a license under this article shall pay
nonrefundable processing service charge of fifty dollars and a
licensing fee according to the following schedule:
(1) For a private investigator
license for one individual$100.00
(2) For a private investigator
license for one firm200.00
(3) For a security guard license
for one individual100.00
(4) For a security guard license
for one firm200.00
(5) For any combination of license types or individual and
firms combined, the sum of each of the applicable license fees.
(b) Each out-of-state resident or foreign corporation,
limited liability company or other business entity which applies
for a license under this article shall pay nonrefundable processing service charge of fifty dollars and a licensing fee
according to the following schedule:
(1) For a private investigator license
for one individual or one firm$500.00
(2) For a security guard license for
one individual or one firm500.00
(3) For any combination of license types or individual and
firms combined, the sum of each of the applicable license fees.
(4) For a thirty-day temporary private
investigator permit for one individual 50.00
(c) Each person who submits a registration as a
representative of a licensed private investigative or security
guard firm and working under the control and direction of that
firm shall pay nonrefundable processing service charge of forty
dollars. Each person who submits an application for transfer of
the registration of a representative from one firm to another
during the duration of the one-year registration period, or who
submits an application for concurrent registration at any
additional firm during the duration of the one-year registration
period shall pay a fee of fifteen dollars.
(d) Each applicant for renewal of a license under sections
four-a and six of this article whose application is received by
the secretary of state after the expiration of the previous license shall pay a late fee of fifty dollars for each whole or
partial month the application is late. Each applicant for
renewal of a registration under section seven of this article
whose application is received by the secretary of state after
the expiration of the previous license shall pay a late fee of
ten dollars for each whole or partial month the application is
late.
(e) Beginning the first day of July, two thousand two, all
nonrefundable processing service charges, all service charges
for the replacement of license or registration cards, and all
late application fees paid to the secretary of state according
to the provisions of this article shall be deposited to a
special revenue account for the operation of the office of the
secretary of state.
(f) All license fees paid to the secretary of state
according to the provisions of this article shall be deposited
to the general revenue account of the state.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to enhance identity
information on private investigator and "representative"
applications and identity cards, to increase bonds for
investigators, to allow supervised "representatives" of
investigating firms, to allow temporary permits for nonresident
investigators, to provide requirements for employees of security
guard business and to increase licensing fees.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.
§§30-18-4a and 14 are new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.