H. B. 2560
(By Delegates Overington, Kump, Faircloth, Butler, Cadle,
Householder, Raines and Phillips, R.)
[Introduced February 20, 2013; referred to the
Committee on Education then the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §61-7-11a of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to dangerous weapons; prohibiting
the possession of deadly weapons on premises of educational
facilities; and providing exceptions to this prohibition by
certain persons licensed to carry a concealed weapon.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §61-7-11a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 7. DANGEROUS WEAPONS.
§61-7-11a. Possessing deadly weapons on premises of educational
facilities; reports by school principals;
suspension of driver license; possessing deadly
weapons on premises housing courts of law and in
offices of family law master.
(a) The Legislature hereby finds that the safety and welfare
of the citizens of this state are inextricably dependent upon assurances of safety for children attending, and the persons
employed by, schools in this state and for those persons employed
with the judicial department of this state. It is for the purpose
of providing such assurances of safety, therefore, that subsections
(b), (g) and (h) of this section are enacted as a reasonable
regulation of the manner in which citizens may exercise those
rights accorded to them pursuant to section twenty-two, article
three of the Constitution of the State of West Virginia.
(b) (1) It shall be is unlawful for any person to possess any
firearm or any other deadly weapon on any school bus as defined in
section one, article one, chapter seventeen-a of this code, or in
or on any public or private primary or secondary education
building, structure, facility or grounds thereof, including any
vocational education building, structure, facility or grounds
thereof where secondary vocational education programs are conducted
or at any school-sponsored function.
(2) This subsection shall does not apply to:
(A) A law-enforcement officer acting in his or her official
capacity;
(B) A person specifically authorized by the Board of Education
of the county or principal of the school where the property is
located to conduct programs with valid educational purposes;
(C) A person who, as otherwise permitted by the provisions of
this article, possesses an unloaded firearm or deadly weapon in a motor vehicle, or leaves an unloaded firearm or deadly weapon in a
locked motor vehicle;
(D) Programs or raffles conducted with the approval of the
county board of education or school which include the display of
unloaded firearms; or
(E) The official mascot of West Virginia University, commonly
known as "The Mountaineer", acting in his or her official capacity;
(F) A person licensed to carry a concealed weapon pursuant to
the provisions of section four of this chapter; or
__(G) A holder of a valid permit or license from another state
who is authorized to carry a concealed handgun in this state
pursuant to the reciprocity provisions of section six-a of this
article and who is subject to the same laws and restrictions with
respect to carrying a concealed handgun as a resident of West
Virginia licensed to carry a concealed weapon pursuant to the
provisions of section four of this chapter.
(3) Any person violating this subsection shall be guilty of a
felony, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned in the
penitentiary a correctional facility of this state for a definite
term of years of not less than two years nor more than ten years,
or fined not more than $5,000, or both and imprisoned.
(c) It shall be the duty of the principal of each school
subject to the authority of the State Board of Education to report
any violation of subsection (b) of this section discovered by such principal to the State Superintendent of Schools within seventy-two
hours after such violation occurs. The State Board of Education
shall keep and maintain such reports and may prescribe rules
establishing policy and procedures for the making and delivery of
the same as required by this subsection. In addition, it shall be
the duty of the principal of each school subject to the authority
of the State Board of Education to report any violation of
subsection (b) of this section discovered by such principal to the
appropriate local office of the Division of Public Safety within
seventy-two hours after such violation occurs.
(d) In addition to the methods of disposition provided by
article five, chapter forty-nine of this code, any court which
adjudicates a person who is fourteen years of age or older as
delinquent for a violation of subsection (b) of this section may,
in its discretion, order the Division of Motor Vehicles to suspend
any driver's license or instruction permit issued to such person for
such period of time as the court may deem appropriate, such
suspension, however, not to extend beyond such person's nineteenth
birthday; or, where such person has not been issued a driver's
license or instruction permit by this state, order the Division of
Motor Vehicles to deny such person's application for the same for
such period of time as the court may deem appropriate, such denial,
however, not to extend beyond such person's nineteenth birthday.
Any suspension ordered by the court pursuant to this subsection shall be effective upon the date of entry of such order. Where the
court orders the suspension of a driver's license or instruction
permit pursuant to this subsection, the court shall confiscate any
driver's license or instruction permit in the adjudicated person's
possession and forward the same to the Division of Motor Vehicles.
(e) (1) If a person eighteen years of age or older is convicted
of violating subsection (b) of this section, and if such person does
not act to appeal such conviction within the time periods described
in subdivision (2) of this subsection, such person's license or
privilege to operate a motor vehicle in this state shall be revoked
in accordance with the provisions of this section.
(2) The clerk of the court in which the person is convicted as
described in subdivision (1) of this subsection shall forward to the
commissioner a transcript of the judgment of conviction. If the
conviction is the judgment of a magistrate court, the magistrate
court clerk shall forward such transcript when the person convicted
has not requested an appeal within twenty days of the sentencing for
such conviction. If the conviction is the judgment of a circuit
court, the circuit clerk shall forward such transcript when the
person convicted has not filed a notice of intent to file a petition
for appeal or writ of error within thirty days after the judgment
was entered.
(3) If, upon examination of the transcript of the judgment of
conviction, the commissioner shall determine that the person was convicted as described in subdivision (1) of this subsection, the
commissioner shall make and enter an order revoking such person's
license or privilege to operate a motor vehicle in this state for
a period of one year, or, in the event the person is a student
enrolled in a secondary school, for a period of one year or until
the person's twentieth birthday, whichever is the greater period.
The order shall contain the reasons for the revocation and the
revocation period. The order of suspension shall advise the person
that because of the receipt of the court's transcript, a presumption
exists that the person named in the order of suspension is the same
person named in the transcript. The commissioner may grant an
administrative hearing which substantially complies with the
requirements of the provisions of section two, article five-a,
chapter seventeen-c of this code upon a preliminary showing that a
possibility exists that the person named in the notice of conviction
is not the same person whose license is being suspended. Such
request for hearing shall be made within ten days after receipt of
a copy of the order of suspension. The sole purpose of this hearing
shall be for the person requesting the hearing to present evidence
that he or she is not the person named in the notice. In the event
the commissioner grants an administrative hearing, the commissioner
shall stay the license suspension pending the commissioner's order
resulting from the hearing.
(4) For the purposes of this subsection, a person is convicted when such person enters a plea of guilty or is found guilty by a
court or jury.
(f) (1) It shall be unlawful for any parent(s), guardian(s) or
custodian(s) of a person less than eighteen years of age who knows
that said person is in violation of subsection (b) of this section,
or who has reasonable cause to believe that said person's violation
of said subsection is imminent, to fail to immediately report such
knowledge or belief to the appropriate school or law-enforcement
officials.
(2) Any person violating this subsection shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more
than $1,000, or shall be confined in jail not more than one year,
or both.
(g) (1) It shall be unlawful for any person to possess any
firearm or any other deadly weapon on any premises which houses a
court of law or in the offices of a family law master.
(2) This subsection shall not apply to:
(A) A law-enforcement officer acting in his or her official
capacity; and
(B) A person exempted from the provisions of this subsection
by order of record entered by a court with jurisdiction over such
premises or offices.
(3) Any person violating this subsection shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $1,000, or shall be confined in jail not more than one year,
or both.
(h) (1) It shall be unlawful for any person to possess any
firearm or any other deadly weapon on any premises which houses a
court of law or in the offices of a family law master with the
intent to commit a crime.
(2) Any person violating this subsection shall be guilty of a
felony, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned in the
penitentiary a correctional facility of this state for a definite
term of years of not less than two years nor more than ten years,
or fined not more than $5,000, or both fined and imprisoned.
(i) Nothing in this section may be construed to be in conflict
with the provisions of federal law.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide exceptions to the
prohibition of the possession of deadly weapons on premises of
educational facilities by allowing certain persons licensed to carry
a concealed weapon on those premises.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.