ENROLLED

Senate Bill No. 428

(By Senators Bowman, Bailey, Minear, Plymale and Prezioso)

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[Passed February 14, 2002; in effect ninety days from passage.]

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AN ACT to amend and reenact section four, article one, chapter nine-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to revising the duties and functions of the veterans' council.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section four, article one, chapter nine-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. DIVISION OF VETERANS' AFFAIRS.
§9A-1-4. Duties and functions of veterans' council; appointment of director; term of office; removal.

It is the duty and function of the veterans' council to advise the director on the general administrative policies of the division, to select, at their first meeting in each fiscal year commencing on the first day of July, a chairman to serve one year, to advise the director on rules as may be necessary, to advise the governor and the Legislature with respect to legislation affecting the interests of veterans, their widows, dependents and orphans and to make annual reports to the governor respecting the service of the division. The director has the same eligibility and qualifications prescribed for members of the veterans' council. The governor shall appoint a director for a term of six years, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Before making the appointment, the governor shall request the council of the West Virginia division of veterans' affairs to furnish a full and complete report concerning the qualifications and suitability of the proposed appointee. The director may only be removed by the governor for cause, but shall have upon his or her own request an open hearing before the governor on the complaints or charges lodged against him or her. The action of the governor shall be final. The director ex officio shall be the executive secretary of the veterans' council, keep the minutes of each meeting and be in charge of all records of the division.