HB 3363 — Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act

WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION IntroducedCommittee Substitute for House Bill 3363 By Delegates Brooks, Foster, Kump, Hott, Ward, Honaker, Street, Dean, Bridges, Barnhart,Barnhart and Kelly [Introduced[Originating Februaryin 10,the 2023;Committee on the Judiciary;

ReferredReported to the Committee on JailsFebruary and22, Prisons2023] thenCS thefor Judiciary] Intr HB 2023R2925A3363 A BILL to amend and reenact §15A-3-10 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended;

and to amend and reenact §30-29-1 of this code, relating to recognizing the law-enforcement powers of correctional officers employed by the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation.Rehabilitation;

providing that such officers are not subject to certain certification requirements;

authorizing the commissioner to consult with the Law Enforcement Professional Standards Subcommittee with regard to training;

clarifying powers of arrest;

and clarifying application of the federal Law Enforcement Officers Safety act to eligible employees.

CHAPTER 15A.

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY.

(a) Other than as As outlined in this section, a correctional officer employed by the division is not a law-enforcement officer as that term is defined in §30-29-1 of this code.code:

Provided, That such law-enforcement officers who have successfully completed the appropriate training program for correctional officers established by the commissioner pursuant to §15A-3-4 of this code are not subject to the certification requirements set forth in §30-29-1 et seq.

of this code:

Provided, however, That the commissioner may consult with the Law Enforcement Professional Standards Subcommittee of the Governor’s Committee on Crime, Delinquency and Correction when designing his or her law-enforcement officer training course specifically for correctional officers.

1 CS for HB 3363 (d) Persons employed by the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation as correctional officers are authorized and empowered to make arrests of persons already charged with a violation of law who surrender themselves to the correctional officer, to arrest persons already in the custody of the division for violations of law occurring in the officer’s presence, to detain or arrest persons for violations of state law committed on the property of any facility under the jurisdiction of the commissioner, and to conduct investigations, pursue, and apprehend escapees from the custody of a facility of the division.

(e) The commissioner may designate correctional employees as correctional peace Intr HB 2023R2925A officers who have the authority:

2 CS for HB 3363 (g) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, the commissioner may issue a certificate authorizing any correctional employee who has successfully completed the division’s training program for firearms certification to carry a firearm in the performance of his or her official duties.

To maintain certification, a correctional employee must successfully complete an annual Intr HB 2023R2925A firearms qualification course equivalent to that required of certified law-enforcement officers as established by the law enforcement professional standards program.

CHAPTER(h) 30.The provisions of §30-29-12 of this code shall apply to all correctional officers employed by the division who obtain and maintain his or her certificate issued pursuant to subsection (g) of this section.

PROFESSIONS AND OCCUPATIONS.

ARTICLE 29.

LAW-ENFORCEMENT TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION.

§30-29-1.

Definitions.

For the purposes of this article, unless a different meaning clearly appears in the context:

(1) "Approved law-enforcement training academy" means any training facility which is approved and authorized to conduct law-enforcement training as provided in this article;

(2) "Chief executive" means the Superintendent of the State Police;

the chief Natural Resources police officer of the Division of Natural Resources;

the sheriff of any West Virginia county;

any administrative deputy appointed by the chief natural resources police officer of the Division of Natural Resources;

or the chief of any West Virginia municipal law-enforcement agency;

(3) "County" means the 55 major political subdivisions of the state;

(4) "Exempt rank" means any noncommissioned or commissioned rank of sergeant or above;

(5) "Governor’s Committee on Crime, Delinquency, and Correction" or "Governor’s committee" means the Governor’s Committee on Crime, Delinquency, and Correction established as a state planning agency pursuant to §15-9-1 of this code;

(6) "Law-enforcement officer" means any duly authorized member of a law-enforcement agency who is authorized to maintain public peace and order, prevent and detect crime, make arrests, and enforce the laws of the state or any county or municipality thereof, other than parking ordinances, and includes those persons employed as campus police officers at state institutions of higher education in accordance with the provisions of §18B-4-5 of this code, persons employed as Intr HB 2023R2925A hospital police officers in accordance with the provisions of §16-5B-19 of this code, and persons employed by the Public Service Commission as motor carrier inspectors and weight-enforcement officers charged with enforcing commercial motor vehicle safety and weight restriction laws, although those institutions and agencies may not be considered law-enforcement agencies.

The term also includes those persons employed as county litter control officers charged with enforcing litter laws:

Provided, That those persons have been trained and certified as law-enforcement officers and that certification is currently active.

The term also includes those persons employed as rangers by resort area districts in accordance with the provisions of §7-25-23 of this code, although no resort area district may be considered a law-enforcement agency:

Provided, however, That the subject rangers shall pay the tuition and costs of training:

Provided, further, That the term "law-enforcement officer" also includes those persons employed as correctional officers with the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation in accordance with the provisions of §15A-3-10 of this code.

As used in this article, the term "law-enforcement officer" does not apply to the chief executive of any West Virginia law-enforcement agency, nor to any watchman or special natural resources police officer;