COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 387
(By Senators Unger, Snyder, Nohe, Yost and Williams)
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[Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary;
reported February 23, 2011.]
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A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated §15-2-25c, relating to allowing retired officers to carry a concealed weapon in accordance with federal law; directing the Superintendent of the State Police to create a firearms course; and establishing a fee for said course.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated §15-2-25c, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. WEST VIRGINIA STATE POLICE.
§15-2-25c. Rules generally; retired qualified law-enforcement officers carrying concealed weapons upon retirement.
(a) For purposes of this section, unless the context otherwise indicates:
(1) “Qualified retired law-enforcement officer” means an individual who:
(A) Retired in good standing from service with a public agency as a law-enforcement officer, other than for reasons of mental instability;
(B) Before such retirement, was authorized by a law to engage in or supervise the prevention, detection, investigation, or prosecution of, or the incarceration of any person for, any violation of law, and had statutory powers of arrest;
(C)(i) Before such retirement, was regularly employed as a law-enforcement officer for an aggregate of fifteen years or more; or
(ii) Retired from service with such agency, after completing any applicable probationary period of such service, due to a service-connected disability, as determined by such agency;
(D) Has a nonforfeitable right to benefits under the retirement plan of the agency;
(E) During the most recent twelve-month period , has met, at the expenses of the individual, the State’s standards for training and qualification for active law-enforcement officers to carry firearms;
(F) Is not under the influence of alcohol or another intoxicating or hallucinatory drug or substance; and
(G) Is not prohibited by Federal law from possessing a firearm.
(2) “Firearm” does not include any machine gun, any firearm silencer and destructive device as defined in the Federal “Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2004."
(b) Qualified retired law-enforcement officers shall be permitted to carry firearms and weapons and no license may be required for the privilege.
(c) Any qualified retired law-enforcement officer is authorized by state law to carry a concealed firearm that has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce pursuant to the federal Law-Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2004.
(d) The Superintendent of the West Virginia State Police will create and administer a “Retired Carry Course” that qualified law-enforcement officers are required to take every year for a fee of $25 to receive a valid ID to carry a concealed firearm in accordance with federal law.