ENROLLED

COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE

FOR

H. B. 4086

(By Delegates Beane and Frich)


[Passed March 12, 2004; in effect ninety days from passage.]
AN ACT to amend and reenact §9A-1-2 and §9A-1-3 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, all relating to the veterans' council ; adding Gulf War veterans and Afghanistan conflict or Iraqi conflict veterans to the veterans' council; and deleting outdated language.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §9A-1-2 and §9A-1-3 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. DIVISION OF VETERANS' AFFAIRS.

§9A-1-2. Veterans' council; administration of division.
There is continued the "veterans' council" consisting of nine members who must be citizens and residents of this state and who have served in and been honorably discharged or separated under honorable conditions from the armed forces of the United States and whose service was within a time of war as defined by the laws of the United States, either Public Law No. 2 -- 73rd Congress, or Public Law No. 346 -- 78th Congress, and amendments thereto. At least one member of the council must be a veteran of World War II, at least one member of the council must be a veteran of the Korean Conflict, at least two members of the council must be veterans of the Vietnam era, at least one member must be a veteran of the first Gulf War and at least one member must be a veteran of the Afghanistan or Iraqi Conflicts. The members of the veterans' council must be selected with special reference to their ability and fitness to effectuate the purposes of this article.
A director and such veterans' affairs officers, assistants and employees as may be deemed advisable, shall administer the West Virginia division of veterans' affairs.
§9A-1-3. Appointment of veterans' council members; term of office; removal.

The term of office of the members of the veterans' council is six years, and members must be appointed by the governor by and with the advice and consent of the Senate: Provided, That upon the expansion of the council from seven to nine members, the governor shall initially appoint one new member for a term of four years and shall initially appoint the other new member for a term of six years. Thereafter the successors of these members shall be appointed for the term of six years. In case of a vacancy in the veterans' council, the appointment is for the remainder of the unexpired term. A member of the veterans' council is subject to removal by the governor for cause, but may 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 is final.