H. B. 2799


(By Delegates Amores, Faircloth, DeLong, Pino,

Smirl, Stemple and Webster)


[Introduced January 30, 2003; referred to the

Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.]



A BILL to amend article two, chapter fifteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section fifty-one, relating to the West Virginia state police and the reemployment of recently retired troopers.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article two, chapter fifteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by adding a new section, designated section fifty-one, to read as follows:

CHAPTER 15. PUBLIC SAFETY.

ARTICLE 2. WEST VIRGINIA STATE POLICE.
§15-2-51. State police re-employment.
(a) The legislature finds:
(1) That the West Virginia state police is currently suffering from an unacceptably high number of vacant trooper positions, and that given the time factors and expense associated with the hiring and training of personnel with no prior law enforcement experience, it is in the interest of the state to re-employ recently retired troopers in order to fill vacant positions;
(2) That no pension rights of any kind shall accrue or attach pursuant to re-employment under this section;
(3) That the state police shall bear no responsibility for medical payments for work related injuries or illnesses of employees hired pursuant to this section, other than those commonly associated with state employees covered by workers' compensation.
(b) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, any member of the West Virginia state police honorably retired pursuant to the provisions of section twenty-seven of this article, between December 1, 1997 and December 1, 2002, may, at the discretion of the superintendent, be re-employed subject to the provisions of this section.
(c) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, any honorably retired member of the state police who qualifies for re-employment pursuant to the provisions of this section and who is not currently certified as a law enforcement officer under section five, article twenty-nine, chapter thirty of this code may be deemed to have met the entry level law enforcement re-certification requirements of 149 CSR 215, Section 15.3, upon successful completion of a course or instruction prescribed by the superintendent. Such course of instruction shall include at a minimum the following subject areas: firearms training and certification, defensive driving, mechanics of arrest, law of arrest search and seizure, West Virginia motor vehicle law, criminal law update, and domestic crimes.
(d) Any member re-employed pursuant to the provisions of this section shall hold the non-supervisory rank of corporal and shall receive the same compensation as a regularly enlisted member of the same rank. For purposes of determining length of service pursuant to section five of this article, any member re-employed pursuant to this section shall receive credit for all years of service accrued prior to their retirement, as well as service rendered after re- employment. Any member re-employed pursuant to this section shall exercise the same authority as a regularly enlisted member of the state police, shall wear the same uniform and insignia, shall be subject to the same oath, shall execute the same bond, shall exercise the same powers and shall be subject to the same limitations as a regularly enlisted member of the state police.
(e) Any member re-employed pursuant to the provisions of this section shall not be eligible for promotion or reclassification of any type, nor shall he or she be eligible for appointment to temporary rank pursuant to the provisions of section four of this article.
(f) Any re-employment offered subject to the provisions of this section shall be for a period not exceeding ten years from the effective date of this section.
(g) Any retired member applying for re-employment under this section shall be required to pass such mental and physical examinations, and meet such other requirements as may be provided for in rules promulgated by the superintendent pursuant to this section.
(h) Notwithstanding the provisions of section ten of this article, the superintendent shall make provisions for coverage of personnel employed pursuant to this section by the workers' compensation division, bureau of employment programs. In the even a member re-employed pursuant to this section sustains an illness or injury which is work related in origin, any cost associated with the treatment of same shall be defrayed in this manner and not from state police funds.
(i) In the event a work related illness or injury, as described within subsection (g) above, renders a member of the division employed pursuant to the provisions of this section permanently physically or mentally disabled, the provisions of subsections (a) and (b), section twenty-nine of this article shall apply, and the member's existing pension shall be recalculated as though the disabling event had occurred coincident with the member's original retirement. Any change in benefits resulting from this recalculation shall not be retroactive in nature. The provisions of subsection c, section twenty-nine of this article shall not apply with respect to payments for medical, surgical, laboratory, x-ray, hospital, ambulance and dental expenses and fees. Neither shall the provisions of this subsection apply in the event the member is disabled due to some cause or event which is determined not to be work related.
(j) Any individual re-employed pursuant to this section is not eligible to contribute to any pension plan administered by the consolidated public retirement board, nor may he or she establish or accrue any new pension eligibility pursuant to such re- employment.
(k) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, any member re-employed pursuant to this section shall serve at the will and pleasure of the superintendent, and is subject to termination without cause. Any member re-employed pursuant to this section shall not be included in the classified service of the civil service system.
(l) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, compensation paid to any member re-employed pursuant to this section shall be in addition to any retirement payments or pension benefits which he or she is already entitled to receive under section twenty-seven of this article.