sb256 enr

ENROLLED
Senate Bill No. 256

(By Senators Wooton, Hunter, Kessler, Minard,

Mitchell, Ross and Rowe)

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[Passed March 8, 2002; in effect ninety days from passage.]

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AN ACT to amend and reenact section three, article two, chapter seventeen-c of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to amend and reenact section three, article twenty-nine, chapter thirty of said code, all relating to enforcement of motor vehicle laws; extending the power of special officers designated by the commissioner of highways on official weighing crews to possess firearms while on duty; training requirements; qualifications; requiring division of highways to pay for training; and clarifying responsibilities and duties of governor's committee on crime, delinquency and correction.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section three, article two, chapter seventeen-c of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted; and that section three, article twenty-nine, chapter thirty of said code be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 17C. TRAFFIC REGULATIONS AND LAWS OF THE ROAD.

ARTICLE 2. OBEDIENCE TO AND EFFECT OF TRAFFIC LAWS.

§17C-2-3. Enforcement of chapter; designation and power of

special officers; bond of special officers; failure to obey police officer or special officers.

(a) It is the duty of the West Virginia state police and its members to enforce the provisions of this chapter and other laws of this state governing the operation of vehicles upon the streets and highways of this state as defined in section thirty-five, article one of this chapter or in other designated places specifically referred to in a given section in this chapter; and it is the duty of sheriffs and their deputies and of the police of municipalities to render to the West Virginia state police assistance in the performance of said duties as the superintendent of the West Virginia state police may require of them.

(b) The West Virginia commissioner of highways is authorized to designate employees of the West Virginia division of highways as special officers to enforce the provisions of this chapter only when special officers are directing traffic upon bridges and the approaches to bridges which are a part of the state road system when any bridge needs special traffic direction and the superintendent of the West Virginia state police has informed the West Virginia commissioner of highways that he or she is unable to furnish personnel for traffic direction. The West Virginia commissioner of highways may also designate certain employees of the West Virginia division of highways serving as members of official weighing crews as special officers to enforce the provisions of article seventeen of this chapter. Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, designated special officers serving as members of official weighing crews 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 division of highways and comparable to the handgun training provided to law-enforcement officers by the West Virginia state police: Provided, That nothing in this section shall be construed to include designated special officers authorized by the provisions of this section as law-enforcement officers as such are defined in section one, article twenty-nine, chapter thirty of this code. The West Virginia commissioner of highways shall provide a blanket bond in the amount of ten thousand dollars for all employees designated as special officers, as above provided.

(c) No person shall willfully fail or refuse to comply with a lawful order or direction of any police officer or designated special officer invested by law with authority to direct, control or regulate traffic.

(d) No person shall willfully fail or refuse to comply with a lawful order or direction of any designated special officer pursuant to the provisions of subsection (b) of this section.
CHAPTER 30. PROFESSIONS AND OCCUPATIONS.
ARTICLE 29. LAW-ENFORCEMENT TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION.
§30-29-3. Duties of the governor's committee and the subcommittee.

Upon recommendation of the subcommittee, the governor's committee shall, by or pursuant to rule or regulation:

(a) Provide funding for the establishment and support of law-enforcement training academies in the state;

(b) Establish standards governing the establishment and operation of the law-enforcement training academies, including regional locations throughout the state, in order to provide access to each law-enforcement agency in the state in accordance with available funds;

(d) Certify qualified law-enforcement instructors;

(e) Maintain a list of approved law-enforcement instructors;

(f) Promulgate standards governing the qualification of law-enforcement officers and the entry-level law-enforcement training curricula. These standards shall require satisfactory completion of a minimum of four hundred classroom hours, shall provide for credit to be given for relevant classroom hours earned pursuant to training other than training at an established law-enforcement training academy if earned within five years immediately preceding the date of application for certification, and shall provide that the required classroom hours can be accumulated on the basis of a part-time curricula spanning no more than twelve months, or a full-time curricula;

(g) Establish standards governing in-service law-enforcement officer training curricula and in-service supervisory level training curricula;

(h) Certify law-enforcement officers, as provided in section five of this article;

(i) Seek supplemental funding for law-enforcement training academies from sources other than the fees collected pursuant to section four of this article;

(j) Any responsibilities and duties as the Legislature may, from time to time, see fit to direct to the committee; and

(k) Submit, on or before the thirtieth day of September of each year, to the governor, and upon request to individual members of the Legislature, a report on its activities during the previous year and an accounting of funds paid into and disbursed from the special revenue account establish pursuant to section four of this article.