Senate Bill No. 490
(By Senators Unger and Bailey)
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[Introduced February 11, 2003; referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section one, article four, chapter seven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to the qualifications of prosecuting attorneys; requiring that a person may not be appointed or file as a candidate for election as prosecuting attorney unless he or she is licensed to practice law and has been engaged in the active practice of law, including trial experience before the courts of this state for not less than two years ; and providing that the provision of this requirement relating to years of experience is not applicable to prosecuting attorneys in office who were elected in the general election of two thousand two.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section one, article four, chapter seven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:

§7-4-1. Duties of prosecuting attorney; further duties upon request of attorney general.

No person may file for election or be appointed as prosecuting attorney in any county of this state unless the person is a duly licensed attorney under the provisions of article two, chapter thirty of this code and has been engaged in the active practice of law including trial experience before the courts of this state for not less than two years. The requirement of two years' experience in the practice of law is not applicable to any prosecuting attorney who was elected in the general election of two thousand two. It shall be the duty of the prosecuting attorney to attend to the criminal business of the state in the county in which he or she is elected and qualified, and when he or she

may deem consider material. Every public officer shall give him or her information of the violation of any penal law committed within his or her county. It shall also be the duty of the prosecuting attorney to attend to civil suits in such county in which the state, or any department, commission or board thereof, is interested, and to advise, attend to, bring, prosecute or defend, as the case may be, all matters, actions, suits and proceedings in which such the county or any county board of education is interested.
It shall be the duty of the prosecuting attorney to keep his or her office open in the charge of a responsible person during the hours polls are open on general, primary and special county-wide election days, and the prosecuting attorney, or his or her assistant, if any, shall be available for the purpose of advising election officials. It shall be the further duty of the prosecuting attorney, when requested by the attorney general, to perform or to assist the attorney general in performing, in the county in which he or she

shall be paid his or her actual expenses.
Upon the request of the attorney general the prosecuting attorney shall make a written report of the state and condition of the several causes in which the state is a party, pending in his or her county, and upon any matters referred to him or her by the attorney general as provided by law.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require that a person may not be appointed or elected as prosecuting attorney unless he or she is licensed to practice law and

. The bill also provides that the requirement relating to years of experience is not applicable to prosecuting attorneys who were elected in the general election of two thousand two.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.