Repealed.
Acts, 1990 Reg. Sess., Ch. 157.
Before entering upon the duties of his or her office, the superintendent shall subscribe to the oath hereinafter provided. The headquarters of the department shall be located in Kanawha County.
(a) The superintendent shall create, appoint and equip the State Police which shall consist of the number of troops, districts and detachments required for the proper administration of the State Police. Each troop, district or detachment shall be composed of the number of officers and members the superintendent determines are necessary to meet operational needs and are required for the efficient operation of the State Police. The superintendent shall establish the general organizational structure of the State Police by interpretive rule in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code. The superintendent shall provide adequate facilities for the training of all members of the State Police and shall prescribe basic training requirements for newly enlisted members. He or she shall also provide advanced or in-service training from time to time for all members of the State Police. The superintendent shall hold entry-level training classes for other law-enforcement officers in the state without cost to those officers, except actual expenses for food, lodging and school supplies. The superintendent may hold advanced levels of training classes for other law-enforcement officers in the state for a reasonable daily fee per student not to exceed $100.
(b) There is hereby created in the State Treasury a special revenue account, which shall be an interest bearing account, to be known as the Academy Training and Professional Development Fund. The special revenue account shall consist of training fees, any appropriations that may be made by the Legislature, income from the investment of moneys held in the special revenue account and all other sums available for deposit to the special revenue account from any source, public or private. No expenditures for purposes of this section are authorized from collections except in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twelve of this code and upon fulfillment of the provisions set forth in article two, chapter eleven-b of this code. Any balance remaining in the special revenue account at the end of any state fiscal year does not revert to the General Revenue Fund but remains in the special revenue account and shall be used solely in a manner consistent with this article. The superintendent is authorized to expend funds from the account to offset operational and training costs; for building maintenance and repair, for purchases and for equipment repair or replacement for the West Virginia State Police Academy; and to defray necessary expenses incidental to those and other activities associated with law-enforcement training.
(a) The superintendent shall appoint, from the enlisted membership of the State Police, a deputy superintendent who shall hold the rank of lieutenant colonel and be next in authority to the superintendent. The superintendent shall appoint, from the enlisted membership of the State Police, the number of other officers and members he or she considers necessary to operate and maintain the executive offices, training school and forensic laboratory; and to keep records relating to crimes and criminals, coordinate traffic safety activities, maintain a system of supplies and accounting and perform other necessary services.
(b) The ranks within the membership of the State Police shall be colonel, lieutenant colonel, major, captain, first lieutenant, second lieutenant, first sergeant, sergeant, corporal, trooper first class, senior trooper, trooper or cadet trooper. Each member while in uniform shall wear the insignia of rank as provided by law and written State Police policies. Members assigned to the forensic laboratory shall hold the title of trooper, be classified as criminalists and wear the insignia of classification as provided by written State Police policies.
The superintendent may appoint from the membership of the State Police nineteen principal supervisors who shall receive the compensation and hold the temporary rank of lieutenant colonel, major or captain at the will and pleasure of the superintendent. The superintendent may also appoint from the membership of the executive protection section of the State Police two additional supervisors who shall receive the compensation and hold the temporary rank of first lieutenant and serve at the will and pleasure of the superintendent. Appointments are exempt from any eligibility requirements established by the career progression system: Provided, That any member appointed from within the executive protection section of the State Police to the temporary rank of first lieutenant must have completed a minimum of two years service within the executive protection section prior to becoming eligible for such appointment. Any person appointed to a temporary rank under the provisions of this article remains eligible for promotion or reclassification under the provisions of the career progression system if his or her permanent rank is below that of first lieutenant. Upon the termination of a temporary appointment by the superintendent, the member may not be reduced to a rank or classification below his or her permanent rank or classification, unless the reduction results from disciplinary action, and remains eligible for subsequent appointment to a temporary rank.
(a) The superintendent shall establish within the West Virginia State Police a system to provide for: The promotion of members to the supervisory ranks of sergeant, first sergeant, second lieutenant and first lieutenant; the classification of nonsupervisory members within the field operations force to the ranks of trooper, senior trooper, trooper first class or corporal; the classification of members assigned to the forensic laboratory as criminalist I-VIII; and the temporary reclassification of members assigned to administrative duties as administrative support specialist I-VIII.
(b) The superintendent may propose legislative rules for promulgation in accordance with article three, chapter twenty-nine- a of this code for the purpose of ensuring consistency, predictability and independent review of any system developed under the provisions of this section.
(c) The superintendent shall provide to each member a written manual governing any system established under the provisions of this section and specific procedures shall be identified for the evaluation and testing of members for promotion or reclassification and the subsequent placement of any members on a promotional eligibility or reclassification recommendation list.
(d) Beginning on July 1, 2008, through June 30, 2011, members shall receive annual salaries as follows:
Cadet Trooper After Training 3,357.33 Mo. 40,288
Trooper Second Year 41,296
Trooper Third Year 41,679
Senior Trooper 42,078
Trooper First Class 42,684
Corporal 43,290
Sergeant 47,591
First Sergeant 49,742
Second Lieutenant 51,892
First Lieutenant 54,043
Captain 56,194
Major 58,344
Lieutenant Colonel 60,495
II 42,078
III 42,684
IV 43,290
V 47,591
VI 49,742
VII 51,892
VIII 54,043
II 42,078
III 42,684
IV 43,290
V 47,591
VI 49,742
VII 51,892
VIII 54,043
Beginning on July 1, 2011, and continuing thereafter, members shall receive annual salaries as follows:
Cadet Trooper After Training $ 3,438 Mo. $ 41,258
Trooper Second Year 42,266
Trooper Third Year 42,649
Senior Trooper 43,048
Trooper First Class 43,654
Corporal 44,260
Sergeant 48,561
First Sergeant 50,712
Second Lieutenant 52,862
First Lieutenant 55,013
Captain 57,164
Major 59,314
Lieutenant Colonel 61,465
II 43,048
III 43,654
IV 44,260
V 48,561
VI 50,712
VII 52,862
VIII 55,013
II 43,048
III 43,654
IV 44,260
V 48,561
VI 50,712
VII 52,862
VIII 55,013
Each member of the West Virginia State Police whose salary is fixed and specified in this annual salary schedule is entitled to the length of service increases set forth in subsection (e) of this section and supplemental pay as provided in subsection (g) of this section.
(e) Each member of the West Virginia State Police whose salary is fixed and specified pursuant to this section shall receive, and is entitled to, an increase in salary over that set forth in subsection (d) of this section for grade in rank, based on length of service, including that service served before and after the effective date of this section with the West Virginia State Police as follows: At the end of two years of service with the West Virginia State Police, the member shall receive a salary increase of $400 to be effective during his or her next year of service and a like increase at yearly intervals thereafter, with the increases to be cumulative.
(f) In applying the salary schedules set forth in this section where salary increases are provided for length of service, members of the West Virginia State Police in service at the time the schedules become effective shall be given credit for prior service and shall be paid the salaries the same length of service entitles them to receive under the provisions of this section.
(g) The Legislature finds and declares that because of the unique duties of members of the West Virginia State Police, it is not appropriate to apply the provisions of state wage and hour laws to them. Accordingly, members of the West Virginia State Police are excluded from the provisions of state wage and hour law. This express exclusion shall not be construed as any indication that the members were or were not covered by the wage and hour law prior to this exclusion.
In lieu of any overtime pay they might otherwise have received under the wage and hour law, and in addition to their salaries and increases for length of service, members who have completed basic training and who are exempt from federal Fair Labor Standards Act guidelines may receive supplemental pay as provided in this section.
The authority of the superintendent to propose a legislative rule or amendment thereto for promulgation in accordance with article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to establish the number of hours per month which constitute the standard work month for the members of the West Virginia State Police is hereby continued. The rule shall further establish, on a graduated hourly basis, the criteria for receipt of a portion or all of supplemental payment when hours are worked in excess of the standard work month. The superintendent shall certify monthly to the West Virginia State Police's payroll officer the names of those members who have worked in excess of the standard work month and the amount of their entitlement to supplemental payment. The supplemental payment may not exceed $400 monthly. The superintendent and civilian employees of the West Virginia State Police are not eligible for any supplemental payments.
(h) Each member of the West Virginia State Police, except the superintendent and civilian employees, shall execute, before entering upon the discharge of his or her duties, a bond with security in the sum of $5,000 payable to the State of West Virginia, conditioned upon the faithful performance of his or her duties, and the bond shall be approved as to form by the Attorney General and as to sufficiency by the Governor.
(i) In consideration for compensation paid by the West Virginia State Police to its members during those members' participation in the West Virginia State Police Cadet Training Program pursuant to section eight, article twenty-nine, chapter thirty of this code, the West Virginia State Police may require of its members by written agreement entered into with each of them in advance of such participation in the program that, if a member should voluntarily discontinue employment any time within one year immediately following completion of the training program, he or she shall be obligated to pay to the West Virginia State Police a pro rata portion of such compensation equal to that part of such year which the member has chosen not to remain in the employ of the West Virginia State Police.
(j) Any member of the West Virginia State Police who is called to perform active duty training or inactive duty training in the National Guard or any reserve component of the Armed Forces of the United States annually shall be granted, upon request, leave time not to exceed thirty calendar days for the purpose of performing the active duty training or inactive duty training and the time granted may not be deducted from any leave accumulated as a member of the West Virginia State Police.
(b) The superintendent shall appoint a member to the position of trooper from among the top three names on the current list of eligible applicants established by the cadet selection board.
(c) Preference in making appointments shall be given whenever possible to honorably discharged members of the Armed Forces of the United States and to residents of West Virginia. Each applicant for appointment shall be a person not less than twenty-one years of age nor more than thirty-nine years of age, of sound constitution and good moral character; is required to pass any mental and physical examination; and meet other requirements as provided in rules promulgated by the cadet selection board: Provided, That a former member may, at the discretion of the superintendent, be reenlisted.
(d) No person may be barred from becoming a member of the State Police because of his or her religious or political convictions.
(e) The superintendent shall adhere to the principles of equal employment opportunity set forth in article eleven, chapter five of this code and shall take positive steps to encourage applications for State Police membership from females and minority groups within the state. An annual report shall be filed with the Legislature on or before January 1 of each year by the superintendent which includes a summary of the efforts and the effectiveness of those efforts intended to recruit females, African-Americans and other minorities into the ranks of the State Police.
(f) Except for the superintendent, no person may be appointed or enlisted to membership in the State Police at a grade or rank above the grade of trooper.
(g) The superintendent shall appoint civilian employees as are necessary and all employees may be included in the classified service of the civil service system except those in positions exempt under the provisions of article six, chapter twenty-nine of this code.
(h) Effective July 1, 2001, civilian employees with a minimum of five years' service shall receive a salary increase equal to $100 a year for each year of service as a civilian employee. Every three years thereafter, civilian employees who have five or more years of service shall receive an annual salary increase of $300. The increases in salary provided by this subsection are in addition to any other increases to which the civilian employees might otherwise be entitled.
The Legislature further finds, upon the reports of the Legislative Auditor, that over the years, without statutory authority to do so, administrators of the West Virginia State Police and its predecessor agencies assumed control of the administration of the contribution fund, performing or directing the administrative functions necessary to receive contributions to and disbursements from the contribution fund.
The Legislature further finds that the State of West Virginia had not established the contribution fund or any similar benefit plan for the members and employees of the West Virginia State Police or its predecessor agencies, nor approved the same as an official state benefit program or plan in any manner whatsoever. In the absence of the establishment or approval of such a program or plan by the Legislature, the exercise of administrative powers for these purposes is inappropriate.
The Legislature further finds that the contribution fund is not a state program, but a private activity to which individual employees of the West Virginia State Police have committed state time and resources.
The Legislature further finds that the contributions and service of deceased members and employees of the West Virginia State Police merit sincere, dignified and personal voluntary expressions of respect and gratitude from fellow members and employees of the deceased. The Legislature further finds that the continuance of the contribution fund or similar benefit plan for the purposes of facilitating those personal voluntary expressions of respect and gratitude may be appropriate under certain circumstances.
It is therefore the intent of the Legislature to authorize the limited use of staff and other resources incidental to the continued administration of the private contribution fund in accordance with the provisions of this section.
(b) The limited use of State Police staff time, postage, duplicating and incidental resources is authorized in the continued administration of the contribution fund for the purpose of facilitating contributions and disbursements from the fund if the following conditions have been met:
(1) The superintendent has provided each member and employee of the West Virginia State Police a copy of this section and a statement in writing that clearly advises the member or employee that the contribution fund is a private activity established and maintained by members and employees of the West Virginia State Police in their private capacity with limited administration by the West Virginia State Police and is not in any manner a benefit or other plan provided by or on behalf of the State of West Virginia and that participation in the fund or plan is not required, but is only permitted if the member or employee elects to participate on a voluntary basis with no obligation to give nor opportunity for coerced participation and that the purpose of the fund is to facilitate participating members' expressions of admiration, appreciation and bereavement to the survivors of deceased members;
(2) All rosters, records and accounts of the contribution fund are available for public inspection and audit; and
(3) State Police administration is consistent with all applicable federal and state tax requirements.
(c) Membership in the State Police Contribution Fund is voluntary. On or before the thirty-first day of July, two thousand six, members or employees hired between the first day of January, two thousand three, and the effective date of this section may elect to participate in the fund, and within five days of employment or reemployment with the West Virginia State Police, a member or employee may elect to participate in the fund: Provided, That any member of the original contribution fund in good standing upon the effective date of this section shall be presumed to be a member of the contribution fund. A retired member may maintain membership in the fund. A member may terminate membership in the fund at any time, by written notice to the superintendent, or by ceasing to make contributions to the fund. Upon the death of a member of the fund, the superintendent is authorized to collect a contribution not to exceed the sum of five dollars from all personnel participating in the fund, payable to a designated beneficiary of the deceased member. To aid administrative efficiency and ease the burden of participation, the superintendent may collect funds prospectively to cover an estimated number of deaths in a given period: Provided, That any such remaining funds credited to a deceased member shall be returned to the member's designated beneficiary.
(d) Use of coercion in an attempt to influence a West Virginia State Police officer's or employee's election to participate in the contribution fund is prohibited and grounds for dismissal from employment.
(e) The superintendent is authorized to establish and maintain a nongovernmental bank account established by agreement with a bank within the state to receive contributions to and make disbursements from the fund. These receipts are not to be deposited or held in the State Treasury.
(f) The superintendent shall verify any death of a member of the fund and authorize the dissemination of a notice of the death to members of the fund. The superintendent shall use the most cost efficient means of communication available in making these notifications.
(g) The superintendent is authorized to develop a written internal department policy for the operation of the contribution fund, which may include terms and conditions of membership and the development of any necessary forms or agreements for enrollment in the fund and the designation of a beneficiary.
(b) The superintendent shall establish the weapons and enforcement equipment which are authorized for use by members of the state police and shall provide for periodic inspection of the weapons and equipment. He or she shall provide for the discipline of members using other than authorized weapons and enforcement equipment.
(c) The superintendent shall provide the members of the state police with suitable arms and weapons and, when he or she considers it necessary, with suitably equipped automobiles, motorcycles, watercraft, airplanes and other means of conveyance to be used by the West Virginia state police, the governor and other officers and executives in the discretion of the governor, in times of flood, disaster and other emergencies, for traffic study and control, criminal and safety work and in other matters of official business. He or she shall also provide the standard uniforms for all members of the state police, for officers, noncommissioned officers and troopers provided for in this section. All uniforms and all arms, weapons and other property furnished the members of the state police by the state of West Virginia are and remain the property of the state.
(d) The superintendent may purchase and maintain on behalf of members group life insurance not to exceed the amount of five thousand dollars on behalf of each member.
(e) The superintendent may contract and furnish at state police expense medical and hospital services for treatment of illness or injury of a member which shall be determined by the superintendent to have been incurred by the member while engaged in the performance of duty and from causes beyond control of the members. Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, the superintendent has the right of subrogation in any civil action or settlement brought by or on behalf of a member in relation to any act by another which results in the illness, injury or death of a member. To this end, the superintendent may initiate an action on behalf of the state police in order to recover the costs incurred in providing medical and hospital services for the treatment of a member resulting from injury or illness originating in the performance of official duties. This subsection shall not affect the power of a court to apply ordinary equitable defenses to the right of subrogation.
The superintendent may also consult with the executive director of the workers' compensation commission in an effort to defray the cost of medical and hospital services. In no case will the compensation rendered to health care providers for medical and hospital services exceed the then current rate schedule in use by the workers' compensation commission.
Third-party reimbursements received by the superintendent after the expiration of the fiscal year in which the injury, illness or death occurred will be deposited to a nonexpiring special revenue account. Funds deposited to this account may be used solely for defraying the costs of medical or hospital services rendered to any sworn members as a direct result of an illness, injury or death resulting from the performance of official duties.
(f) The superintendent shall establish and maintain local headquarters at those places in West Virginia that are in his or her judgment suitable and proper to render the West Virginia state police most efficient for the purpose of preserving the peace, protecting property, preventing crime, apprehending criminals and carrying into effect all other provisions of this article. The superintendent shall provide, by acquisition, lease or otherwise, for local headquarters, for housing and quarters for the accommodation of the members of the West Virginia state police, and for any other facilities necessary or useful for the effective operation of the West Virginia state police and shall provide all equipment and supplies necessary for the members of the West Virginia state police to perform their duties.
(b) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, the superintendent of the department of public safety shall have a setoff against any West Virginia state police retirement benefits, salary owed, sick leave benefits or vacation day benefits owed such retired, resigning or terminated member in an amount equal to the value of any equipment and clothing not returned. Notwithstanding the fact that a retired, resigning or terminated member is no longer employed by the department of public safety, the member may file a grievance for the sole purpose of protesting the application of the setoff. Such a grievance shall be processed, considered and decided pursuant to the provisions of section six of this article and rules promulgated thereunder. Prior to applying any setoff under this subsection, the superintendent will notify the retired, resigning or terminated member of his or her opportunity to file a grievance.
(b) The superintendent and each of the officers and members of the division are hereby empowered:
(1) To make arrests anywhere within the state of any persons charged with the violation of any law of this state, or of the United States, and when a witness to the perpetration of any offense or crime, or to the violation of any law of this state, or of the United States, to make arrests without warrant; to arrest and detain any persons suspected of the commission of any felony or misdemeanor whenever a complaint is made and a warrant is issued thereon for the arrest, and the person arrested shall be immediately brought before the proper tribunal for examination and trial in the county where the offense for which the arrest has been made was committed;
(2) To serve criminal process issued by any court or magistrate anywhere within this state: Provided, That they may not serve civil process; and
(3) To cooperate with local authorities in detecting crime and in apprehending any person or persons engaged in or suspected of the commission of any crime, misdemeanor or offense against the law of this state, or of the United States, or of any ordinance of any municipality in this state; and to take affidavits in connection with any application to the Division of Highways, Division of Motor Vehicles and of West Virginia State Police for any license, permit or certificate that may be lawfully issued by these divisions of state government.
(c) Members of the West Virginia State Police are hereby designated as forest patrolmen and natural resources police officers throughout the state to do and perform any duties and exercise any powers of forest patrolmen and natural resources police officers, and may apprehend and bring before any court or magistrate having jurisdiction of these matters, anyone violating any of the provisions of chapters twenty, sixty and sixty-one of this code. The West Virginia State Police is at any time subject to the call of the West Virginia Alcohol Beverage Control Commissioner to aid in apprehending any person violating any of the provisions of chapter sixty of this code. They shall serve and execute warrants for the arrest of any person and warrants for the search of any premises issued by any properly constituted authority, and shall exercise all of the powers conferred by law upon a sheriff. They may not serve any civil process or exercise any of the powers of an officer in civil matters.
(d) Any member of the West Virginia State Police knowing or having reason to believe that any person has violated the law may make complaint in writing before any court or officer having jurisdiction and procure a warrant for the offender, execute the warrant and bring the person before the proper tribunal having jurisdiction. The member shall make return on all warrants to the tribunals and his or her official title shall be "Member of the West Virginia State Police". Members of the West Virginia State Police may execute any summons or process issued by any tribunal having jurisdiction requiring the attendance of any person as a witness before the tribunal and make return thereon as provided by law. Any return by a member of the West Virginia State Police showing the manner of executing the warrant or process has the same force and effect as if made by a sheriff.
(e) Each member of the West Virginia State Police, when called by the sheriff of any county, or when directed by the Governor by proclamation, has full power and authority within the county, or within the territory defined by the Governor, to direct and command absolutely the assistance of any sheriff, deputy sheriff, chief of police, policeman, natural resources police officer and peace officer of the state, or of any county or municipality therein, or of any able-bodied citizen of the United States, to assist and aid in accomplishing the purposes expressed in this article. When called, any officer or person is, during the time his or her assistance is required, for all purposes a member of the West Virginia State Police and subject to all the provisions of this article.
(f) The superintendent may also assign members of the division to perform police duties on any turnpike or toll road, or any section of any turnpike or toll road, operated by the West Virginia Parkways, Economic Development and Tourism Authority: Provided, That the authority shall reimburse the West Virginia State Police for salaries paid to the members and shall either pay directly or reimburse the division for all other expenses of the group of members in accordance with actual or estimated costs determined by the superintendent.
(g) The West Virginia State Police may develop proposals for a comprehensive county or multicounty plan on the implementation of an enhanced emergency service telephone system and may cause a public meeting on the proposals, all as set forth in section six-a, article six, chapter twenty-four of this code.
(h) By July 1, 1993, the superintendent shall establish a network to implement reports of the disappearance of children by local law-enforcement agencies to local school division superintendents and the State Registrar of Vital Statistics. The network shall be designed to establish cooperative arrangements between local law-enforcement agencies and local school divisions concerning reports of missing children and notices to law-enforcement agencies of requests for copies of the cumulative records and birth certificates of missing children. The network shall also establish a mechanism for reporting the identities of all missing children to the State Registrar of Vital Statistics.
(i) The superintendent may at his or her discretion and upon the written request of the West Virginia Alcohol Beverage Control Commissioner assist the commissioner in the coordination and enforcement of article sixteen, chapter eleven of this code and chapter sixty of this code.
(j) Notwithstanding the provisions of article one-a, chapter twenty of this code, the Superintendent of the West Virginia State Police may sell any surplus real property to which the West Virginia State Police or its predecessors retain title, and deposit the net proceeds into a special revenue account to be utilized for the purchase of additional real property and for repairs to or construction of detachment offices or other facilities required by the West Virginia State Police. There is hereby created a special revolving fund in the State Treasury which shall be designated as the "Surplus Real Property Proceeds Fund". The fund shall consist of all money received from the sale of surplus real property owned by the West Virginia State Police. Moneys deposited in the fund shall only be available for expenditure upon appropriation by the Legislature: Provided, That amounts collected which are found from time to time to exceed the funds needed for the purposes set forth in this subsection may be transferred to other accounts or funds and redesignated for other purposes by appropriation of the Legislature.
(k) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, the agency for surplus property is hereby empowered to transfer funds generated from the sale of vehicles, other equipment and commodities belonging to the West Virginia State Police to a special revenue account within the West Virginia State Police entitled the West Virginia State Police surplus transfer account. Moneys deposited in the fund shall only be available for expenditure upon appropriation by the Legislature: Provided, That amounts collected which are found from time to time to exceed the funds needed for the purposes set forth in this subsection may be transferred to other accounts or funds and redesignated for other purposes by appropriation of the Legislature. Any funds transferred to this account may be utilized by the superintendent to defray the cost of normal operating needs of the division.
(l) If the State Police or any other law-enforcement agency in this state receives a report that a person who has Alzheimer's disease and related dementia is missing, the State Police or any other law-enforcement agency shall immediately open an investigation for the purpose of determining the whereabouts of that missing person. Any policy of the State Police or any other law-enforcement agency relating to a waiting period prior to initiation of an investigation of a missing person does not apply in the case of a person who has Alzheimer's disease or other related dementia of the type referred to in this subsection.
(m) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, effective on and after July 1, 2007, the expenses and salaries paid to the members of the West Virginia State Police for the monitoring and enforcement duties defined in chapter seventeen-c of this code may not be paid from the State Road Fund or subject to reimbursement from the Division of Motor Vehicles but is subject to appropriation by the Legislature.
(b) No member of the West Virginia state police may in any way become active or take part in any political contest or at any time participate in any political party caucus, committee, primary, assembly or convention or in any general or special election while in uniform, except to cast his or her ballot.
(c) No member of the West Virginia state police may be detailed or ordered to duty at or near any voting precinct where any election or convention is held on the day of an election or convention; nor may any member thereof remain in, about or near the voting precinct or place of convention, except to cast his or her vote. After voting he or she shall forthwith retire from the voting precinct. No member may act as an election official. If any member of the West Virginia state police is found guilty of violating any of the provisions of this section, he or she shall be dismissed by the superintendent as hereinafter provided.
(d) While out of uniform and off duty, no member of the West Virginia state police may participate in any political activity except:
(1) Campaign for and hold office in political clubs and organizations;
(2) Actively campaign for candidates for public office in partisan and nonpartisan elections; and
(3) Contribute money to political organizations and attend political fund-raising functions.
(e) No member of the West Virginia state police may at any time:
(1) Be a candidate for public office in a nonpartisan or partisan election;
(2) Use official authority or influence to interfere with or affect the results of an election or nomination; or
(3) Directly or indirectly coerce contributions from subordinates in support of a political party or candidate.
(f) No officer or member of the West Virginia state police may, in any labor trouble or dispute between employer and employee, aid or assist either party thereto, but shall in these cases see that the statutes and laws of this state are enforced in a legal way and manner.
County of ........................., to wit:
I, ........................., do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of the State of West Virginia, and I will honestly and faithfully perform the duties imposed upon me under the provisions of law as a member of the Department of Public Safety to the best of my skill and judgment.
..............................
Taken, subscribed and sworn to before me, this the ...... day of .......................
..............................
All such oaths, except that of the superintendent, shall be filed and preserved in the office of the department of public safety.
(b) The unit will comprise, at a minimum, six members of the State Police. The superintendent shall assign a unit director, and shall assign five members regionally, to be dedicated and trained to assist county Child Protective Services Offices and caseworkers in investigating and coordinating with other law-enforcement personnel, cases of suspected child abuse or neglect. Cases to be investigated include allegations received pursuant to section two, article six-a, chapter forty-nine of this code, and any other credible child abuse or neglect allegations.
(c) The unit director's duties include:
(1) Overseeing State Police members assigned to the unit;
(2) Coordinating activities of the unit with Child Protection Services;
(3) Assisting Child Protective Services in developing and refining protocols for improving identification and prosecution of suspected criminal acts of child abuse or neglect; and
(4) Assuring that all other directives and responsibilities of the unit are fulfilled.
(d) The unit shall maintain a statewide statistical index on child abuse and neglect convictions resulting from convictions for violations of sections two, two-a, three, three-a, four and four-a, article eight-d, of chapter sixty-one of this code, to monitor the timely and proper investigation and disposition of child abuse or neglect cases. The statistical data index maintained by the unit shall not contain information of a specific nature that would identify individual cases or persons.
(e) On or before the thirty-first day of December of each year, the unit director shall submit an annual report to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance. The annual report is to include the statistical index required under the provisions of subsection (d) of this section, and may include recommendations for statutory or program reforms that will assist the unit and further promote the goals of the unit. The report may not contain information of a specific nature that would identify individual cases or persons.
(f) Every state law-enforcement agency of this state shall periodically provide statistical information regarding child abuse and neglect cases investigated and prosecuted by that law-enforcement agency to the unit.
(g) The superintendent may propose rules for legislative approval or procedural rules as necessary to effectuate the provisions of this section in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code. The superintendent shall provide forms to law-enforcement agencies, circuit clerks and parole officers to facilitate submission of appropriate information necessary to prepare the statistical reports required by this section.
(h) There is hereby established a special account in the State Treasury, into which shall be deposited any gifts, grants or donations made to the unit, and any other funds directed to be deposited into the account by appropriation of the Legislature, and to be expended for the purposes of this section pursuant to appropriation of the Legislature.
(a) Any officer or member of the department of public safety who hires himself or herself to any person, firm or corporation to guard private property, or who demands or receives from any person, firm or corporation any money or other thing of value as a consideration for the performance of, or the failure to perform, his or her duties under the regulations of the superintendent and the provisions of this article, shall be guilty of a felony, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be confined in the penitentiary for not less than one nor more than five years, and any such officer or member of the department of public safety who violates any other provisions of this article, for which no other penalty is expressly provided, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than twenty-five dollars nor more than two hundred dollars, or imprisoned in the county jail for not more than four months, or both fined and imprisoned.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, the superintendent may contract with public, quasi-public, military or private entities to provide extraordinary police or security services by the department when it is determined by the superintendent to be in the public interest. The superintendent shall assign such personnel, equipment or facilities as is deemed necessary and the department shall be reimbursed for the wages, overtime wages, benefits and costs of providing the contract services as negotiated between the parties. The compensation paid to public safety personnel by virtue of contracts provided for in this section shall be paid from a special account and shall be excluded from any formulation used to calculate an employee's benefits. All requests for obtaining extraordinary police or security services shall be made to the superintendent in writing and shall explain the funding source and the authority for making such a request. No officer or member of the department shall be required to accept any assignment made pursuant to this subsection. Every officer or member assigned to duty hereunder shall be paid according to the hours and overtime hours actually worked notwithstanding that officer's or member's status as exempt personnel under the Federal Labor Standards Act or applicable state statutes. Every contract entered into under this subsection shall contain the provision that in the event of public disaster or emergency where the reassignment to official duty of all officers and members is required, neither the department nor any of its officers or members shall be liable for any damages incurred as the result of the reassignment. Further, any entity contracting with the department of public safety under this section shall also agree as part of that contract to hold harmless and indemnify the state, department of public safety and its personnel from any liability arising out of employment under the contract. The superintendent is authorized to promulgate legislative rules and regulations in accordance with chapter twenty-nine-a of this code relating to the implementation of any contracts made under this subsection: Provided, That said regulations shall expressly prohibit private employment of officers or members in circumstances involving labor disputes.
Whenever any member of the department is to be transferred from one station to another station, for a period of time in excess of sixty days, the superintendent shall give written notice of such proposed transfer to such member at least fifteen days in advance of such transfer. The superintendent shall not, however, be required to give such notice in the event the transfer is at the request of the member who is to be transferred. In the event that a member appeals a transfer in accordance with section six of this article, the transfer shall not take effect pending the appeal before the board. If the board upholds the transfer, such transfer shall be effective upon the issuance of the board's decision and shall remain in effect pending any appeal of such decision by the member.
Whenever any member of the department is transferred from one station to another station, for a period of time in excess of sixty days, all reasonable and necessary transportation expenses actually incurred in moving the household furniture and effects of such member and of his immediate family from his former station to his new station shall be paid by the department: Provided, That if any such member owns and resides in a mobile home, the department shall pay all reasonable and necessary transportation expenses actually incurred in moving such mobile home from such member's former station to his new station, but the department may not pay transportation expenses for moving such mobile home in excess of the amount which would have been paid for moving an equivalent amount of household furniture and effects had such member not owned such mobile home.
A member transferred shall also be given a relocation expense of three hundred dollars if the transfer necessitated relocation of the member's family.
The superintendent shall not restrict a member from residing in a county other than that in which the member is stationed, except that the superintendent may promulgate by appropriate written regulation to be applied uniformly throughout the department a restriction as to either: (1) The number of miles distant from his station which a member may reside, or (2) the time necessary under ordinary traffic conditions for a member to travel between his residence and station.
The member may appeal the superintendent's order of transfer to the board of appeals created for such purpose or to the circuit court of Kanawha County in accordance with the provisions of section six of this article and all of the original papers in such cases shall be delivered to the appeals board or the circuit court, as the case may be. The right of a member to appeal a transfer shall not apply until the member has completed the eighteen-month probationary period with the department.
The right to appeal a suspension or discharge shall not apply to members until they have completed their probationary period with the department, which shall be for a period of eighteen months.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of section one, article three, chapter five of this code, the superintendent may authorize any member of the department to employ an attorney of such member's choice to act in proceedings wherein criminal charges are brought against such member because of action in line of duty. For such attorney's services an amount determined by the judge in whose court the action is pending, not to exceed one thousand dollars, may be expended in any one case.
(b) The criminal identification bureau shall cooperate with identification bureaus of other states and of the United States to develop and carry on a complete interstate, national and international system of criminal identification.
(c) The criminal identification bureau may furnish fingerprints, photographs, records or other information to authorized law-enforcement and governmental agencies of the United States and its territories, of foreign countries duly authorized to receive the same, of other states within the United States and of the state of West Virginia upon proper request stating that the fingerprints, photographs, records or other information requested are necessary in the interest of and will be used solely in the administration of official duties and the criminal laws.
(d) The criminal identification bureau may furnish, with the approval of the superintendent, fingerprints, photographs, records or other information to any private or public agency, person, firm, association, corporation or other organization, other than a law-enforcement or governmental agency as to which the provisions of subsection (c) of this section shall govern and control, but all requests under the provisions of this subsection (d) for such fingerprints, photographs, records or other information must be accompanied by a written authorization signed and acknowledged by the person whose fingerprints, photographs, records or other information is to be released.
(e) The criminal identification bureau may furnish fingerprints, photographs, records and other information of persons arrested or sought to be arrested in this state to the identification bureau of the United States government and to other states for the purpose of aiding law enforcement.
(f) Persons in charge of any penal or correctional institution, including any city or county jail in this state, shall take, or cause to be taken, the fingerprints and description of all persons lawfully committed thereto or confined therein and furnish the same in duplicate to the criminal identification bureau, department of public safety. Such fingerprints shall be taken on forms approved by the superintendent of the department of public safety. All such officials as herein named may, when possible to do so, furnish photographs to the criminal identification bureau of such persons so fingerprinted.
(g) Members of the department of public safety, and all other state law-enforcement officials, sheriffs, deputy sheriffs, and each and every peace officer in this state, shall take or cause to be taken the fingerprints and description of all persons arrested or detained by them, charged with any crime or offense in this state, in which the penalty provided therefor is confinement in any penal or correctional institution, or of any person who they have reason to believe is a fugitive from justice or an habitual criminal, and furnish the same in duplicate to the criminal identification bureau of the department of public safety on forms approved by the superintendent of said department. Allsuch officials as herein named may, when possible to do so, furnish to the criminal identification bureau, photographs of such persons so fingerprinted. For the purpose of obtaining data for the preparation and submission to the governor and the Legislature by the department of public safety of an annual statistical report on crime conditions in the state, the clerk of any court of record, the magistrate of any magistrate court and the mayor or clerk of any municipal court before which a person appears on any criminal charge shall report to the criminal identification bureau the sentence of the court or other disposition of the charge and the prosecuting attorney of every county shall report to the criminal identification bureau such additional information as the bureau may require for such purpose, and all such reports shall be on forms prepared and distributed by the department of public safety, shall be submitted monthly and shall cover the period of the preceding month.
(h) All persons arrested or detained pursuant to the requirements of this article shall give fingerprints and information required by subsections (f) and (g) of this section. Any person who has been fingerprinted or photographed in accordance with the provisions of this section, who is acquitted of the charges upon which he or she was arrested, and who has no previous criminal record, may, upon the presentation of satisfactory proof to the department, have such fingerprints or photographs, or both, returned to them.
(i) All state, county and municipal law-enforcement agencies shall submit to the bureau uniform crime reports setting forth their activities in connection with law enforcement. It shall be the duty of the bureau to adopt and promulgate rules and regulations prescribing the form, general content, time and manner of submission of such uniform crime reports. Willful or repeated failure by any state, county or municipal law- enforcement official to submit the uniform crime reports required by this article shall constitute neglect of duty in public office. The bureau shall correlate the reports submitted to it and shall compile and submit to the governor and the Legislature semiannual reports based on such reports. A copy of such reports shall be furnished to all prosecuting attorneys and law- enforcement agencies.
(j) Neglect or refusal of any person mentioned in this section to make the report required herein, or to do or perform any act on his or her part to be done or performed in connection with the operation of this section, shall constitute a misdemeanor, and such person shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of not less than twenty-five dollars nor more than two hundred dollars, or by imprisonment in the county jail for a period of not more than sixty days, or both. Such neglect shall constitute misfeasance in office and subject such persons to removal from office. Any person who willfully removes, destroys or mutilates any of the fingerprints, photographs, records or other information of the department of public safety, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and such person shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars, or by imprisonment in the county jail for a period of not more than six months, or both.
National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact, 42 U.S.C. §14616, as it existed on the first day of January, two thousand six, and the compact shall remain in effect in this state until the Legislature renounces the compact by statute. The Superintendent of the West Virginia State Police shall execute, administer, and implement the compact on behalf of the state, and may adopt necessary rules, regulations, and procedures for the national exchange of criminal history records for noncriminal records purposes. Ratification of the compact does not affect the obligations and responsibilities of the State Police criminal records section regarding the dissemination of criminal history records within West Virginia.
Upon retirement or medical discharge from the West Virginia state police and with the written consent of the superintendent, any retired or medically discharged member may carry a handgun for the life of the member following retirement or medical discharge notwithstanding the provisions of article seven, chapter sixty-one of this code: Provided, That the superintendent's written letter of consent to carry a handgun may not last for more than five years at a time and a retired or medically discharged member who wishes to continue to carry a handgun beyond five years of the date of his or her initial retirement or medical discharge must request and obtain a renewal of the superintendent's written permission to carry a handgun at least once every five years. A retired or medically discharged member desiring to carry a handgun after retirement or medical discharge must provide his or her own handgun. Upon request, each member shall be presented with a letter of authorization signed by the superintendent authorizing the retired or medically discharged member to carry a handgun. The written authorization shall be carried by the retired or medically discharged member at all times that he or she has a handgun on his or her person. The superintendent may not issue a letter of authorization to any retired or medically discharged member who is no longer employed by the state police due to a mental disability or who the superintendent has reason to believe is mentally incapacitated to the extent it would present a threat of physical harm to one or more persons for the member to carry a concealed weapon. The superintendent may revoke the authority at any time without cause and without recourse. Conviction of the retired or medically discharged member for the commission of any felony or for a misdemeanor involving the improper or illegal use of a firearm shall cause this authority to terminate immediately without a hearing or other recourse and without any action on the part of the superintendent. The superintendent shall promulgate a legislative rule in accordance with the provisions of chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, which rule shall prescribe requirements necessary for the issuance and continuance of the authority herein granted.
(a) "Actuarially equivalent" or "of equal actuarial value" means a benefit of equal value computed upon the basis of the mortality table and interest rates as set and adopted by the retirement board in accordance with the provisions of this article: Provided, That when used in the context of compliance with the federal maximum benefit requirements of Section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code, "actuarially equivalent" shall be computed using the mortality tables and interest rates required to comply with those requirements.
(b) "Agency" means the West Virginia State Police.
(c) "Beneficiary" means a surviving spouse or other surviving beneficiary who is entitled to, or will be entitled to, an annuity or other benefit payable by the fund.
(d) "Board" means the West Virginia Consolidated Public Retirement Board created pursuant to article ten-d, chapter five of this code.
(e) "Dependent child" means any unmarried child or children born to or adopted by a member of the fund who is:
(1) Under the age of eighteen;
(2) After reaching eighteen years of age, continues as a full-time student in an accredited high school, college, university, business or trade school, until the child or children reaches the age of twenty-three years; or
(3) Is financially dependent on the member by virtue of a permanent mental or physical disability upon evidence satisfactory to the board.
(f) "Dependent parent" means the member's parent or stepparent claimed as a dependent by the member for federal income tax purposes at the time of the member's death.
(g) "Employee" means any person regularly employed in the service of the agency as a law-enforcement officer before March 12, 1994, and who is eligible to participate in the fund.
(h) "Fund", "plan" or "system" means the West Virginia State Police Death, Disability and Retirement Fund.
(i) "Law-enforcement officer" means an individual employed or otherwise engaged in either a public or private position which involves the rendition of services relating to enforcement of federal, state or local laws for the protection of public or private safety, including, but not limited to, positions as deputy sheriffs, police officers, marshals, bailiffs, court security officers or any other law-enforcement position which requires certification, but excluding positions held by elected sheriffs or appointed chiefs of police whose duties are determined by the board to be purely administrative in nature.
(j) "Member" means any person who has contributions standing to his or her credit in the fund and who has not yet entered into retirement status.
(k) "Partially disabled" means an employee's inability, on a probable permanent basis, to perform the essential duties of a law-enforcement officer by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than twelve months, but which impairment does not preclude the employee from engaging in other types of nonlaw-enforcement employment.
(l) "Physical or mental impairment" means an impairment that results from an anatomical, physiological or psychological abnormality that is demonstrated by medically accepted clinical and laboratory diagnostic techniques.
(m) "Plan year" means the twelve-month period commencing on July 1 of any designated year and ending the following June 30.
(n) "Qualified public safety employee" means any employee of a participating state or political subdivision who provides police protection, fire-fighting services or emergency medical services for any area within the jurisdiction of the state or political subdivision, or such other meaning given to the term by Section 72(t)(10)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code or by Treasury Regulation §1.401(a)-1(b)(2)(v) as they may be amended from time to time.
(o) "Retirant" or "retiree" means any former member who is receiving an annuity payable by the fund.
(p) "Surviving spouse" means the person to whom the member was legally married at the time of the member's death and who survived the member.
(q) "Totally disabled" means an employee's probable permanent inability to engage in substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determined physical or mental impairment that can be expected to result in death or that has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than twelve months. For purposes of this subsection, an employee is totally disabled only if his or her physical or mental impairments are so severe that he or she is not only unable to perform his or her previous work as an employee of the agency but also cannot, considering his or her age, education and work experience, engage in any other kind of substantial gainful employment which exists in the state regardless of whether: (1) The work exists in the immediate area in which the employee lives; (2) a specific job vacancy exists; or (3) the employee would be hired if he or she applied for work.
designating the Consolidated Public Retirement Board
as administrator of fund.
(a) There is continued the Death, Disability and Retirement
Fund created for the benefit of members, retirants and any
dependents of retirants or deceased members of the fund. It is
contemplated that substantially all of the members of the
retirement system shall be qualified public safety employees as
defined in section twenty-five-b of this article.
(b) There shall be deducted from the monthly payroll of each employee and paid into the fund six percent of the amount of his or her salary: Provided, That beginning on July 1, 1994, there shall be deducted from the monthly payroll of each employee and paid into the fund seven and one-half percent of the amount of his or her salary: Provided, however, That on and after July 1, 1995, there shall be deducted from the monthly payroll of each employee and paid into the fund nine percent of the amount of his or her salary. An additional twelve percent of the monthly salary of each employee shall be paid by the State of West Virginia monthly into the fund out of the annual appropriation for the agency: Provided further, That beginning on July 1, 1995, the agency shall pay thirteen percent of the monthly salary of each employee into the fund: And provided further, That beginning on July 1, 1996, the agency shall pay fourteen percent of the monthly salary of each employee into the fund: And provided further, That on and after July 1, 1997, the agency shall pay fifteen percent of the monthly salary of each employee into the fund. There shall also be paid into the fund amounts that have previously been collected by the superintendent of the agency on account of payments to employees for court attendance and mileage, rewards for apprehending wanted persons, fees for traffic accident reports and photographs, fees for criminal investigation reports and photographs, fees for criminal history record checks, fees for criminal history record reviews and challenges or from any other sources designated by the superintendent. All moneys payable into the fund shall be deposited in the State Treasury and the board shall keep a separate account thereof.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article, forfeitures under the fund shall not be applied to increase the benefits any member would otherwise receive under the fund.
(d) The moneys in this fund, and the right of a member to a retirement allowance, to the return of contributions, or to any benefit under the provisions of this article, are exempt from any state or municipal tax; are not subject to execution, garnishment, attachment or any other process whatsoever, with the exception that the benefits or contributions under the fund are subject to "qualified domestic relations orders" as that term is defined in Section 414(p) of the Internal Revenue Code with respect to governmental plans; and are unassignable except as is provided in this article. The fund shall be administered by the board created pursuant to article ten-d, chapter five of this code.
(e) All moneys paid into and accumulated in the fund, except amounts designated or set aside by the awards, shall be invested by the West Virginia Investment Management Board as provided by law.
(1) Has or shall have completed twenty-five years of service as a member of the fund (including military service credit granted under the provisions of section twenty-eight of this article);
(2) Has or shall have attained the age of fifty years and has or shall have completed twenty years of service as a member of the fund (excluding military service credit granted under section twenty-eight of this article); or
(3) Being under the age of fifty years has or shall have completed twenty years of service as a member of the fund (excluding military service credit granted under section twenty-eight of this article).
(b) When the board retires any member under any of the provisions of this section, the member is entitled to receive annually and shall be paid from the fund in equal monthly installments during his or her lifetime while in status of retirement, one or the other of two amounts, whichever is the greater, subject to reduction if necessary to comply with the maximum benefit provisions of Section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code and section forty-four of this article:
(1) An amount equal to five and one-half percent of the aggregate of salary paid to the employee during the whole period of service as an employee of the agency; or
(2) The sum of $6,000.
When a member has or shall have served twenty years or longer but less than twenty-five years as a member of the fund and is retired under any of the provisions of this section before he or she has attained the age of fifty years, payment of monthly installments of the amount of retirement award to the member shall commence on the day following the date he or she attains the age of fifty years. Beginning on July 15, 1994, in no event may the provisions of section thirteen, article sixteen, chapter five of this code be applied in determining eligibility to retire with either immediate or deferred commencement of benefit.
(c) A member meeting the age and service requirements of this section who terminates employment at two thousand four hundred hours may begin to receive retirement annuity payments immediately upon termination of employment. Any member meeting the age and service requirements of this section who terminates employment at a time of day other than two thousand four hundred hours shall receive a pro rata share of a full day's amount for that day. Upon receipt of properly executed forms from the agency and the member, the board shall process the member's retirement petition and commence annuity payments as soon as administratively feasible.
(d) Any individual who is a leased employee is not eligible to participate in the fund. For purposes of this fund, a "leased employee" means any individual who performs services as an independent contractor or pursuant to an agreement with an employee leasing organization or other similar organization. If a question arises regarding the status of an individual as a leased employee, the board has final power to decide the question.
(b) Any retirant or beneficiary who receives a benefit pursuant to the provisions of section twenty-nine, thirty, thirty-three or thirty-four of this article shall begin to receive the annual annuity adjustment one year after the commencement of the benefit on the next July first: Provided, That if the retirant has been retired for less than one year or if the beneficiary has been in receipt of beneficiary payments for less than one year when the first annuity adjustment is given on that July first, that first annuity adjustment shall be a pro rata share of the full year's annuity adjustment.
(b) Any member of the fund who has previously served on active military duty is entitled to and shall receive credit on the minimum period of service required by law for retirement pay from the service of the West Virginia State Police under the provisions of this article for a period equal to the active military duty not to exceed five years, subject to the following:
(1) That he or she has been honorably discharged from the armed forces;
(2) That he or she substantiates by appropriate documentation or evidence his or her period of active military duty;
(3) That he or she is not receiving credit from any other retirement system administered by the board for his or her active military duty; and
(4) That, except with respect to disability retirement pay awarded under section thirty of this article, he or she has actually served with the fund for twenty years exclusive of his or her active military duty.
(c) The amount of retirement pay to which any member is entitled shall be calculated and determined as if he or she had been receiving for the period of his or her active military duty a monthly salary from the agency equal to the average monthly salary which he or she actually received from the agency for his or her total service with the agency exclusive of the active military duty. The superintendent shall transfer and pay into the fund from moneys appropriated for the agency, a sum equal to eighteen percent of the aggregate of the salaries on which the retirement pay of all members has been calculated and determined for their periods of active military duty. In addition, any person who, while an employee of the agency was commissioned, enlisted or inducted into the armed forces of the United States or, being a member of the reserve officers' corps, was called to active duty in the armed forces between the first day of September, one thousand nine hundred forty, and the close of hostilities in World War II, or between the twenty-seventh day of June, one thousand nine hundred fifty, and the close of the armed conflict in Korea on the twenty-seventh day of July, one thousand nine hundred fifty-three, between the first day of August, one thousand nine hundred sixty-four, and the close of the armed conflict in Vietnam, or during any other period of armed conflict by the United States whether sanctioned by a declaration of war by the Congress or by executive or other order of the President, is entitled to and shall receive credit on the minimum period of service required by law for retirement pay from the service of the West Virginia State Police for a period equal to the full time he or she has or shall, pursuant to the commission, enlistment, induction or call, have served with the Armed Forces subject to the following:
(1) That he or she has been honorably discharged from the armed forces;
(2) That within ninety days after honorable discharge from the armed forces he or she has presented himself or herself to the superintendent and offered to resume service as an active employee of the agency; and
(3) That he or she has made no voluntary act, whether by reenlistment, waiver of discharge, acceptance of commission or otherwise, to extend or participate in extension of the period of service with the armed forces beyond the period of service for which he or she was originally commissioned, enlisted, inducted or called.
(d) That amount of retirement pay to which any employee is entitled shall be calculated and determined as if the employee has continued in the active service of the agency at the rank or grade to him or her appertaining at the time of the commission, induction, enlistment or call, during a period coextensive with the time the employee served with the armed forces pursuant to the commission, induction, enlistment or call. The superintendent of the agency shall transfer and pay each month into the fund from moneys appropriated for the agency a sum equal to eighteen percent of the aggregate of salary which all employees would have been entitled to receive had they continued in the active service of the agency during a period coextensive with the time the employee served with the armed forces pursuant to the commission, induction, enlistment or call: Provided, That the total amount of military service credit allowable under this section shall not exceed five years.
(e) Notwithstanding any of the preceding provisions of this section, contributions, benefits and service credit with respect to qualified military service shall be provided in accordance with Section 414(u) of the Internal Revenue Code. For purposes of this section, "qualified military service" has the same meaning as in Section 414(u) of the Internal Revenue Code. The board may determine all questions and make all decisions relating to this section and, pursuant to the authority granted to the board in section one, article ten-d, chapter five of this code, may promulgate rules relating to contributions, benefits and service credit to comply with Section 414(u) of the Internal Revenue Code.
(1) An amount equal to five and one-half percent of the total salary which would have been earned during twenty-five years, or during actual service if more than twenty-five years in the fund, based on the average earnings of the retirant while employed as an employee of the agency; or
(2) The sum of six thousand dollars.
(b) A retirant who is partially disabled under this article may not, while in receipt of benefits for partial disability, be employed as a law-enforcement officer: Provided, That a retirant retired on partial disability under this article may serve as an elected sheriff or appointed chief of police in the state without a loss of disability retirement benefits so long as the elected or appointed position is shown, to the satisfaction of the board, to require the performance of administrative duties and functions only, as opposed to the full range of duties of a law-enforcement officer.
(c) If any member not yet in retirement status on the basis of age and service is found by the board to be permanently and totally disabled as the result of a physical or mental impairment resulting from any occupational risk or hazard inherent in or peculiar to the services required of employees of the agency or incurred pursuant to or while the member was engaged in the performance of his or her duties as an employee of the agency, the member is entitled to receive annually and there shall be paid from the fund in equal monthly installments during his or her lifetime or until the disability eligibility sooner terminates, an amount equal to eight and one-half percent of the total salary which would have been earned by the employee during twenty-five years, or during actual service if more than twenty-five years of service in the fund, based on the average earnings of the retirant while employed as an employee of the agency: Provided, That in no event may the amount be less than fifteen thousand dollars per annum, unless otherwise required by this article.
(d) The superintendent may expend moneys from funds appropriated for the agency in payment of medical, surgical, laboratory, X-ray, hospital, ambulance and dental expenses and fees and reasonable costs and expenses incurred in the purchase of artificial limbs and other approved appliances which may be reasonably necessary for any member or disability retirant who has or becomes temporarily, permanently or totally disabled by injury, illness or disease resulting from any occupational risk or hazard inherent in or peculiar to the service required of employees of the agency or incurred pursuant to or while the member was or shall be engaged in the performance of duties as an employee of the agency. Whenever the superintendent determines that any disabled member or retirant is ineligible to receive any of the aforesaid benefits at public expense, the superintendent shall, at the request of the disabled member or retirant, refer the matter to the board for hearing and final decision. In no case will the compensation rendered to health care providers for medical and hospital services exceed the then current rate schedule approved by the West Virginia Insurance Commission.
(e) Any member awarded a disability benefit under the provisions of this section may receive retirement disability annuity payments on the day following the board's approval of his or her disability application. Upon termination of employment and receipt of properly executed forms from the agency and the member, the board shall process the member's disability retirement benefit and commence annuity payments as soon as administratively feasible.
(f) For the purposes of this section, the term "salary" does not include any compensation paid for overtime service.
(b) If the employee, at the time of retirement under the terms of this section, has served twenty years or longer as an employee of the agency, the employee is entitled to receive annually and shall be paid from the fund in equal monthly installments, commencing on the date the employee is retired and continuing during his or her lifetime while in status of retirement or until the disability eligibility sooner terminates, a sum equal to five and one-half percent of the aggregate of salary paid to the retirant through the day immediately preceding his or her disability award, to be determined in the manner provided by subsection (c), section twenty-seven of this article.
(c) An employee awarded a disability benefit under the provisions of this section may receive retirement disability annuity payments on the day following the board's approval of his or her disability application. Upon termination of employment and receipt of properly executed forms from the agency and the employee, the board shall process the disability retirement benefit and commence annuity payments as soon as administratively feasible.
(d) For the purposes of this section, the term "salary" does not include any compensation paid for overtime service.
(b) A disability retirant who is returned to active duty as a member of the West Virginia State Police shall again become a member of the retirement system in which he or she was originally enrolled and the retirant's credited service in force at the time of retirement shall be restored.
(b) The board shall propose legislative rules in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code relating to the processing of applications and petitions for disability retirement under this article.
(c) The board shall notify the member and the superintendent of its final action on the disability application or petition within ten days of the board's final action. The notice shall be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested. If either the member or the superintendent is aggrieved by the decision of the board and intends to pursue judicial review of the board's decision as provided in section four, article five, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, the party so aggrieved shall notify the board within twenty days of the member's or superintendent's receipt of the board's notice that they intend to pursue judicial review of the board's decision.
(d)(1) The board shall require each disability benefit recipient to file an annual certified statement of earnings, to include the amount and source of earnings and any other information required in legislative rules which may be proposed by the board. The board may waive or modify the requirement that a recipient of total disability benefits file the annual statement of earnings if the board's physician certifies that the recipient's disability is ongoing. The board shall annually examine the information submitted by each recipient. If a disability retirant refuses to file a statement and other information required by the board, the disability benefit shall be suspended, after notice and opportunity to be heard, until the statement and information are filed.
(2) The board shall annually examine any information available from the State Tax Commissioner on all recipients of disability benefits pursuant to article ten, chapter eleven of this code.
(e)(1) A nonblind recipient earning annual income exceeding the equivalent of eight hundred sixty dollars per month in the year two thousand six, after impairment-related work expenses are subtracted from earnings, has engaged in substantial gainful activity. A statutorily blind recipient has engaged in substantial gainful activity in the year two thousand six if the recipient has earned annual income exceeding the equivalent of one thousand four hundred fifty dollars per month after impairment-related work expenses are subtracted from earnings.
(2) The substantial gainful activity dollar limit shall be automatically adjusted annually to correspond to the dollar limit as established and published by the United States Social Security Administration for each year in accordance with methods published in the Federal Register (FR6582905 December 29, 2000) and similar methods used by the Social Security Administration applying the average annual wage index.
(3) If after review of a disability retirant's annual statement of earnings, tax records or other financial information, as required or otherwise obtained by the board, the board determines that earnings of the recipient of total disability benefits in the preceding year are sufficient to show that the recipient engaged in substantial gainful activity, the disability retirant's disability annuity shall be terminated by the board, upon recommendation of the board's disability review committee and after notice and opportunity to be heard, on the first day of the month following the board's action.
(4) If the board obtains information that a recipient of partial disability benefits is employed as a law-enforcement officer, upon recommendation of the board's disability review committee and after notice and an opportunity to be heard, the board shall terminate the recipient's disability benefits on the first day of the month following the board's action.
(f) Any person who wishes to reapply for disability retirement and whose disability retirement has been terminated by the board pursuant to this section may do so within ninety days of the effective date of termination: Provided, That any person reapplying for disability benefits shall undergo an examination at the applicant's expense by an appropriate medical professional selected by the board as part of the reapplication process.
(g) Notwithstanding other provisions in this section, any person whose disability retirement has been terminated by the board pursuant to this section may apply for regular retirement benefits upon meeting the eligibility requirements of age and years of service.
(1) An amount equal to five and one-half percent of the total salary which was or would have been earned by the deceased member or duty disability retirant during twenty-five years of service based on the average earnings of the member or duty disability retirant while employed by the agency; or
(2) The sum of six thousand dollars.
(b) In addition, the surviving spouse is entitled to receive and shall be paid one hundred dollars monthly for each dependent child or children. If the surviving spouse dies or if there is no surviving spouse, there shall be paid monthly to each dependent child or children from the fund a sum equal to twenty-five percent of the surviving spouse's entitlement. If there is no surviving spouse and no dependent child or children, there shall be paid annually in equal monthly installments from the fund to the dependent parents of the deceased member or retirant during their joint lifetimes a sum equal to the amount which a surviving spouse, without children, would have received: Provided, That when there is one dependent parent surviving, that parent is entitled to receive during his or her lifetime one-half the amount which both parents, if living, would have been entitled to receive.
(c) Any person qualified as a surviving dependent child under this section, in addition to any other benefits due under this or other sections of this article, is entitled to receive a scholarship to be applied to the career development education of that person. This sum up to but not exceeding seven thousand five hundred dollars shall be paid from the fund to any university or college in this state or to any trade or vocational school or other entity in this state approved by the board, to offset the expenses of tuition, room and board, books, fees or other costs incurred in a course of study at any of those institutions so long as the recipient makes application to the board on an approved form and under rules as provided by the board and maintains scholastic eligibility as defined by the institution or the board. The board may by appropriate rules define age requirements, physical and mental requirements, scholastic eligibility, disbursement methods, institutional qualifications and other requirements as necessary and not inconsistent with this section.
(d) A surviving spouse or dependent of an employee meeting the requirements of this section is entitled to receive beneficiary payments on the first day following the date the deceased employee is removed from payroll by the agency. A surviving spouse or dependent of a member who is not currently an employee meeting the requirements of this section is entitled to receive beneficiary payments on the first day following the date of the deceased member's death. A surviving spouse or dependent of a retirant meeting the requirements of this section is entitled to receive beneficiary payments on the first day of the month following the date of the deceased retirant's death. Upon receipt of properly executed forms from the agency and the surviving spouse or dependent, the board shall process the surviving spouse or dependent benefit as soon as administratively feasible.
(e) For the purposes of this section, the term "salary" does not include any compensation paid for overtime service.
When any surviving spouse of a member shall die or remarry while receiving or being entitled to receive any benefits under any section except section thirty-three of this article, the surviving spouse may not from the date of his or her remarriage, nor may the deceased member's estate from the date of death of the surviving spouse, be entitled to receive any benefits hereunder whatsoever: Provided, That in any case where under the terms of this article benefits are provided for a child or children surviving the death or remarriage of the surviving spouse, payment of benefits to that child or children shall be calculated for payment from the date the surviving spouse dies or remarries.
(b) A surviving spouse or dependent meeting the requirements of this section is entitled to receive beneficiary payments on the first day following the date the deceased employee is removed from payroll by the agency. Upon receipt of properly executed forms from the agency and the surviving spouse or dependent, the board shall process the surviving spouse or dependent benefit as soon as administratively feasible.
(c) For the purposes of this section, the term "salary" does not include compensation paid for overtime service.
(b) A surviving spouse or dependent of an employee meeting the requirements of this section is entitled to receive beneficiary payments on the first day following the date the deceased employee is removed from payroll by the agency. A surviving spouse or dependent of a retirant meeting the requirements of this section is entitled to receive beneficiary payments on the first day of the month following the date of the deceased retirant's death. Upon receipt of properly executed forms from the agency and the surviving spouse or dependent, the board shall process the surviving spouse or dependent benefit as soon as administratively feasible.
The board may continue payments of a surviving spouse's entitlement in full to any dependent children who continue to be dependent by reason of mental or physical incapacity as determined by the board notwithstanding the age of the dependent child or other provisions of this article.
(b) Any member withdrawing contributions who may thereafter be reemployed by the agency shall not receive any prior service credit in the fund on account of former service. The employee may redeposit in the fund established in article two-a of this chapter the amount of the refund, together with interest thereon at the rate of seven and one-half percent per annum from the date of withdrawal to the date of redeposit, in which case he or she shall receive the same credit on account of his or her former service as if no refund had been made. He or she shall become a member of the retirement system established in article two-a of this chapter.
(c) Every employee who completes ten years of service with the agency is eligible, upon separation of employment, either to withdraw his or her contributions in accordance with subsection (a) of this section or to choose not to withdraw his or her accumulated contributions with interest. Upon attainment of age sixty-two, a member who chooses not to withdraw his or her contributions is eligible to receive a retirement annuity. Any member choosing to receive the deferred annuity under this subsection is not eligible to receive the annual annuity adjustment provided in section twenty-seven-a of this article. When the board retires any member under any of the provisions of this section, the member is entitled to receive annually and shall be paid from the fund in equal monthly installments during the lifetime of the member while in status of retirement one or the other of two amounts, whichever is greater, subject to reduction if necessary to comply with the maximum benefit provisions of Section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code and section forty-four of this article:
(1) An amount equal to five and one-half percent of the aggregate of salary paid to the employee during the whole period of service as an employee of the agency; or
(2) The sum of $6,000.
(d) A member may choose, in lieu of a life annuity available under the provisions of subsection (c) of this section, an annuity in a reduced amount payable during the member's lifetime, with one half of the reduced monthly amount paid to his or her surviving spouse, for the spouse's remaining lifetime after the death of the retirant. Reduction of this monthly benefit amount shall be calculated to be of equal actuarial value to the life annuity the member could otherwise have chosen.
(e) A member retiring under the provisions of this section may receive retirement annuity payments on the day following his or her attaining age sixty-two. Upon receipt of properly executed forms from the agency and the member, the board shall process the member's retirement benefit and commence annuity payments as soon as administratively feasible.
(b) If any increase of existing benefits or creation of new benefits for any retirees or beneficiaries currently receiving monthly benefit payments under the system, other than an increase in benefits or new benefits effected by operation of law in effect on the effective date of this article, causes any additional unfunded actuarial accrued liability in any of the West Virginia state sponsored pension systems as calculated in the annual actuarial valuation for the plan during any fiscal year, the additional unfunded actuarial accrued liability of the system shall be fully amortized over no more than the six consecutive fiscal years following the date the increase in benefits or new benefits become effective as certified by the Consolidated Public Retirement Board. Following the receipt of the certification of additional actuarial accrued liability, the Governor shall submit the amount of the amortization payment each year for the system as part of the annual budget submission or in an executive message to the Legislature.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (a) and (b) of this section, the computation of annuities or benefits for active members due to retirement, death or disability as provided for in the system shall not be amended in such a manner as to increase any existing benefits or to provide for new benefits.
(d) The provisions of this section terminate effective the first day of July, two thousand twenty-five: Provided, That if bonds are issued pursuant to article eight, chapter twelve of this code, the provisions of this section shall not terminate while any of the bonds are outstanding.
The superintendent of the department of public safety shall be the chairman, ex officio, of the commission and shall provide the necessary staff and meeting facilities to the commission. The appointed members shall serve for a term of two years and may be reappointed. Any appointed member who ceases to occupy the position which qualifies him for the appointment shall immediately vacate his membership on the commission. Each member shall serve until the appointment of his successor.
No member shall receive any compensation, but shall be reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of his duties.
A majority of the members of the commission shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. Meetings shall be held at the call of the chairman or of a majority of its members.
(a) Develop and maintain a comprehensive program to prevent drunk driving and to enhance the enforcement of laws defining drunk driving offenses.
(b) Inquire and determine from state and local law- enforcement agencies the availability and need for equipment and additional personnel for the effective enforcement of laws defining drunk driving offenses.
(c) Subject to appropriations of the Legislature, administer the drunk driving prevention fund created by the provisions of section sixteen, article fifteen, chapter eleven of this code by providing grants to state and local law- enforcement agencies for the purchase of equipment or hiring of additional personnel for the effective enforcement of laws defining drunk driving offenses and such other items as the commission may define by legislative rule to be reasonable and necessary.
(d) Promulgate rules to guide and administer said fund and to establish procedures and criteria for grants to state and local law-enforcement agencies under this section, in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code.
(e) Monitor, review and evaluate the expenditure, use and effectiveness of the fund and report to the Legislature annually on the exercise of its powers and duties under this section, including an annual accounting of expenditures and of the grants made under this section.
(1) That the retiring member is retiring honorably with at least twenty years of service; or
(2) Such retiring member is retiring with less than twenty years of service based upon a determination that such member is totally physically disabled as a result of his or her service with the West Virginia state police.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, the superintendent may not award his or her service revolver to any member whom the superintendent finds to be mentally incapacitated or who constitutes a danger to any person or the community.
(c) The disposal of state police service weapons, when replaced due to routine wear, shall not fall under the jurisdiction of the agency for surplus property, within the purchasing division of the department of administration. The superintendent may offer these surplus weapons for sale to any active or retired member of the state police, at fair market value, with the proceeds from any sales used to offset the cost of the new weapons.
(a) The payment of benefits under the fund to any member shall be distributed to him or her not later than the required beginning date, or be distributed to him or her commencing not later than the required beginning date, in accordance with regulations prescribed under Section 401(a)(9) of the Internal Revenue Code, over the life of the member or over the lives of the member and his or her beneficiary, or over a period not extending beyond the life expectancy of the member and his or her beneficiary. For purposes of this section, the term "required beginning date" means April 1 of the calendar year following the later of: (i) The calendar year in which the member attains age seventy and one-half; or (ii) the calendar year in which the member retires or otherwise ceases providing covered service under this fund. Benefit payments under this section shall not be delayed pending, or contingent upon, receipt of an application for retirement from the member.
(b) If a member dies after distribution to him or her has commenced pursuant to this section but before his or her entire interest in the retirement system has been distributed, then the remaining portion of that interest shall be distributed at least as rapidly as under the method of distribution being used at the date of his or her death.
(c) If a member dies before distribution to him or her has commenced, then his or her entire interest in the fund shall be distributed by December 31 of the calendar year containing the fifth anniversary of the member's death, except as follows:
(1) If a member's interest is payable to a beneficiary, distributions may be made over the life of that beneficiary or over a period certain not greater than the life expectancy of the beneficiary commencing on or before December 31 of the calendar year immediately following the calendar year in which the participant died; or
(2) If the member's beneficiary is the surviving spouse, the date distributions are required to begin shall be no later than the later of:
(A) December 31 of the calendar year in which the member would have attained age seventy and one-half; or
(B) The earlier of: (i) December 31 of the calendar year following the calendar year in which the member died; or (ii) December 31 of the calendar year following the calendar year in which the spouse died.
(1) "Eligible rollover distribution" means any distribution of all or any portion of the balance to the credit of the distributee, except that an eligible rollover distribution does not include any of the following: (i) Any distribution that is one of a series of substantially equal periodic payments not less frequently than annually made for the life or life expectancy of the distributee or the joint lives or the joint life expectancies of the distributee and the distributee's designated beneficiary, or for a specified period of ten years or more; (ii) any distribution to the extent the distribution is required under Section 401(a)(9) of the Internal Revenue Code; (iii) the portion of any distribution that is not includable in gross income determined without regard to the exclusion for net unrealized appreciation with respect to employer securities; (iv) any hardship distribution described in Section 401(k)(2)(B)(i)(iv) of the Internal Revenue Code; and (v) any other distribution or distributions that are reasonably expected to total less than $200 during a year. For distributions after December 31, 2001, a portion of a distribution shall not fail to be an eligible rollover distribution merely because the portion consists of after-tax employee contributions which are not includable in gross income. However, this portion may be paid only to an individual retirement account or annuity described in Section 408(a) or (b) of the Internal Revenue Code, or (for taxable years beginning before January 1, 2007) to a qualified trust which is part of a defined contribution plan described in Section 401(a) or (for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2006) to a qualified trust or to an annuity contract described in Section 403(a) or(b) of the Internal Revenue Code that agrees to separately account for amounts transferred (including interest or earnings thereon), including separately accounting for the portion of the distribution which is includable in gross income and the portion of the distribution which is not so includable, or (for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2007) to a Roth IRA described in Section 408A of the Internal Revenue Code.
(2) "Eligible retirement plan" means an individual retirement account described in Section 408(a) of the Internal Revenue Code, an individual retirement annuity described in Section 408(b) of the Internal Revenue Code, an annuity plan described in Section 403(a) of the Internal Revenue Code, or a qualified plan described in Section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code, that accepts the distributee's eligible rollover distribution: Provided, That in the case of an eligible rollover distribution prior to January 1, 2002, to the surviving spouse, an eligible retirement plan is limited to an individual retirement account or individual retirement annuity. For distributions after December 31, 2001, an eligible retirement plan also means an annuity contract described in Section 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code and an eligible plan under Section 457(b) of the Internal Revenue Code which is maintained by a state, political subdivision of a state, or any agency or instrumentality of a state or political subdivision of a state and which agrees to separately account for amounts transferred into the plan from this system. For distributions after December 31, 2007, an eligible retirement plan also means a Roth IRA described in Section 408A of the Internal Revenue Code: Provided, That in the case of an eligible rollover distribution after December 31, 2007, to a designated beneficiary (other than a surviving spouse) as such term is defined in Section 402(c)(11) of the Internal Revenue Code, an eligible retirement plan is limited to an individual retirement account or individual retirement annuity which meets the conditions of Section 402(c)(11) of the Internal Revenue Code.
(3) "Distributee" means a member. In addition, the member's surviving spouse and the member's spouse or former spouse who is the alternate payee under a qualified domestic relations order, as defined in Section 414(p) of the Internal Revenue Code with respect to governmental plans, are distributees with regard to the interest of the spouse or former spouse. For distributions after December 31, 2007, "distributee" also includes a designated beneficiary (other than a surviving spouse) as such term is defined in Section 402(c)(11) of the Internal Revenue Code.
(4) "Direct rollover" means a payment by the system to the eligible retirement plan.
(b) Nothing in this section may be construed as permitting rollovers into this fund or any other retirement system administered by the board.
Acts, 2010 Reg. Sess., Ch. 32.
(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 reemploy recently retired troopers in order to fill vacant positions;
(2) That no pension rights of any kind shall accrue or attach pursuant to reemployment 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 the first day of December, one thousand nine hundred ninety-seven and the first day of December, two thousand two, may, at the discretion of the superintendent and subject to executive order of the governor specifying circumstances warranting such reemployment and establishing beginning and end dates for such reemployment, be reemployed 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 reemployment 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 recertification requirements of 149 CSR 215, Section 15.3, upon successful completion of a course of 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 reemployed pursuant to the provisions of this section shall hold the nonsupervisory 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 reemployed pursuant to this section shall receive credit for all years of service accrued prior to their retirement, as well as service rendered after reemployment. Any member reemployed 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 reemployed 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 reemployment offered subject to the provisions of this section shall be for a period not exceeding five years from the effective date of this section.
(g) Any retired member applying for reemployment 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 event a member reemployed 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 (h) 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 reemployed 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 reemployment.
(k) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, any member reemployed pursuant to this section shall serve at the will and pleasure of the superintendent, and is subject to termination without cause. Any member reemployed 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 reemployed 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.
(m) The provisions of this section shall terminate on the first day of April, two thousand four.
(b) Any termination of benefits pursuant to this section may be appealed pursuant to the state administrative procedures act in chapter twenty-nine-a of this code. The board may promulgate rules in accordance with the provisions of article three of said chapter regarding the procedure for termination of benefits and any repayment of benefits.
(b) When the president of the association or his or her designee uses the donated annual leave he or she is considered on personal annual leave of absence with pay just as if he or she used his or her annual leave. While the president of the association or his or her designee are using donated annual leave, all payroll deductions and employee status are maintained as if he or she had
used his or her regularly accrued annual leave. All donated leave that is not used by July 1 of every year will be forfeited to the state and no unused donated leave may be used to add to the president's or his or her designee's retirement.
(c) No member of the association shall be considered absent from service as a member of the West Virginia State Police while serving as president of the association, or as his or her designee in that capacity: Provided, That the period of service credit granted for that service shall not exceed ten years: Provided, however, That a member of the West Virginia State Police Retirement System who is serving or has served as president of the association, or as his or her designee, shall make deposits to the West Virginia State Police Retirement Fund, for the time of any absence, in an amount equal to the sum of the amount which both the employer and the employee would have contributed in his or her regular assignment for a like period of time: Provided further, That if the president of the association, or his or her designee, is a member of the West Virginia State Police Death, Disability and Retirement Fund, he or she may not receive service credit for time spent serving as president or the president's designee.
Note: WV Code updated with legislation passed through the 2012 1st Special Session
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