Bill Text: WV SB141 | 2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Creating Volunteer Firefighter Appreciation Act of 2019
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-01-09 - To Government Organization [SB141 Detail]
Download: West_Virginia-2019-SB141-Introduced.html
WEST virginia Legislature
2019 regular session
Introduced
Senate Bill 141
By Senators Ojeda and Stollings
[
Introduced January 9, 2019; Referred
to the Committee on Government Organization; and then to the Committee on
Finance]
A BILL to amend and reenact §5H-1-3 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; to amend said code by adding thereto a new section, designated §8-15-8d; to amend said code by adding thereto a new section, designated §11-21-8i; and to amend and reenact §20-2-28 of said code, all relating to creating the Volunteer Firefighter Appreciation Act of 2019; stating a retroactive effective date for the increase to death benefits; setting forth legislative findings; detailing eligibility and participation requirements for newly created incentives for volunteer firefighters; allowing certain volunteer firefighters to hunt, trap, or fish in season in West Virginia without obtaining a license; allowing certain volunteer firefighters a waiver of fees for a special volunteer firefighter registration plate on his or her primary vehicle used for responding to emergencies; declaring a discount on lodging at state parks for certain volunteer firefighters; authorizing a refundable tax credit for certain volunteer firefighters with respect to certain expenses associated with being a volunteer firefighter; detailing the calculation of the refundable tax credit; setting a cap on the maximum credit permitted per person; stating effective date of the tax credit; authorizing the Tax Commissioner to promulgate procedural rules in order to implement the credit; and detailing the procedure for hunting, trapping, or fishing without a license.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
CHAPTER 5H. SURVIVOR BENEFITS.
ARTICLE 1. WEST VIRGINIA FIRE AND EMS SURVIVOR BENEFIT ACT.
§5H-1-3. Effective date.
The effective date for this act is January 1, 2007. The operation of the amendments to this article enacted during the year 2012 shall be effective retroactively to January 1, 2012. The operation of the amendments to this article enacted during the year 2019 are effective retroactively to January 1, 2019.
CHAPTER 8. MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS.
ARTICLE 15. FIRE FIGHTING; FIRE COMPANIES AND DEPARTMENTS; CIVIL SERVICE FOR PAID FIRE DEPARTMENTS.
PART II. VOLUNTEER FIRE COMPANIES.
§8-15-8d. Recognizing and honoring the sacrifice and contributions of volunteer firefighters.
(a) Name – This section and the sections created and amended by this act in the 2019 regular legislative session shall be known as the “Volunteer Firefighter Appreciation Act of 2019.”
(b) Legislative Findings – The Legislature hereby finds that volunteer fire companies are critical to the State of West Virginia. There are 419 volunteer and part-volunteer fire departments in this state, many of which provide the only fire protection service for the areas they serve. The volunteer and part-volunteer fire departments have seen a decrease in volunteerism and there is a need to create incentives to encourage volunteerism. One of the main reasons for the decrease in volunteerism is a lack of recognition of the help the volunteers provided as volunteer firefighters. Although the matters contained in this bill do not address some of the major problems facing volunteer and part-volunteer fire departments—such as worker’s compensation costs, inadequate funding mechanisms, and a lack of internal and external controls—providing incentives to help increase the number of volunteers is a crucial piece to the overall puzzle. Accordingly, the Legislature is creating the incentives contained in this bill in order to recognize and honor the sacrifice and contributions of current volunteer firefighters and encourage additional volunteers.
(c) Eligibility and Participation – Any person who has served as a volunteer with a fire department for at least one year and is certified as a firefighter by completion of section one of the West Virginia University fire service extension or its equivalent, is eligible to receive all of the benefits set forth in this section. The chief of each volunteer fire department shall issue to all volunteers who have served for at least one year, and are in good standing, a credential, on a form approved by the State Fire Marshall. The credential is valid for one year and may be reissued an unlimited number of times, as long as the recipient remains a volunteer in good standing. In order to take advantage of any of the incentives set forth in this section, the volunteer must present the valid credential.
(d) Incentives – Any person with a valid credential, issued pursuant to this section, is entitled to the following incentives:
(1) The right to hunt, trap, or fish in season in West Virginia without obtaining a license, as further set forth in §20-2-28 of this code;
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of §17A-3-14 of this code, the waiver of fees above a standard license plate fee for use of the special volunteer firefighter registration plate on the volunteer firefighter’s primary vehicle used for responding to emergencies;
(3) A refundable tax credit against personal income taxes owed to the state, as further set forth in §11-21-8i of this code; and
(4) A 25 percent discount on the cost of lodging at any state park.
(e) Death Benefit – In addition to the incentives set forth in this section, the Legislature recognizes that volunteer firefighters sometimes pay the ultimate sacrifice. Therefore, this bill also increases the death benefit for certain emergency responders, as further set forth in §5H-1-1, et seq., of this code.
CHAPTER 11. TAXATION.
ARTICLE 21. PERSONAL INCOME TAX.
§11-21-8i. Income tax credit for volunteer firefighters.
(a) A refundable credit against the tax imposed by this article is allowed for a volunteer firefighter who has received a valid credential, as authorized by §8-15-8d of this code, during the taxable year. The credit is equal to the sum of the following:
(1) The amount of the personal property tax paid by the volunteer firefighter on his or her primary personal vehicle used for responding to emergencies during the taxable year;
(2) The amount of any sales tax paid for the purchase of items by the volunteer firefighter during the taxable year that he or she used directly in completing volunteer firefighting duties; and
(3) Twenty-five percent of the cost of any training course that the volunteer firefighter participated in during the taxable year.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, the credit authorized by this section may not exceed $1,000 in a taxable year for any single volunteer firefighter.
(c) The credit authorized by this section is available for tax years beginning after December 31, 2018.
(d) The Tax Commissioner may promulgate procedural rules in accordance with §29A-3-1 et seq. of this code, as necessary to implement the credit authorized by this section.
CHAPTER 20. NATURAL RESOURCES.
ARTICLE 2. WILDLIFE RESOURCES.
§20-2-28. When licenses or permits not required.
Persons in the following categories are not required to obtain licenses or permits as indicated:
(a) Bona fide resident landowners or their resident children, or resident parents, or bona fide resident tenants of the land may hunt, trap, or fish on their own land during open season in accordance with the laws and rules applying to the hunting, trapping, and fishing without obtaining a license, unless the lands have been designated as a wildlife refuge or preserve.
(b) Any bona fide resident of this state who is totally blind may fish in this state without obtaining a fishing license. A written statement or certificate from a duly licensed physician of this state showing the resident to be totally blind shall serve in lieu of a fishing license and shall be carried on the person of the resident at all times while he or she is fishing in this state.
(c) All residents of West Virginia on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States of America, while on leave or furlough, may hunt, trap, or fish in season in West Virginia without obtaining a license. Leave or furlough papers shall serve in lieu of any license and shall be carried on the person at all times while trapping, hunting or fishing.
(d) In accordance with the provisions of §20-2-27 of this code, any resident 65 years of age or older before January 1, 2012, is not required to have a license to hunt, trap, or fish during the legal seasons in West Virginia, but in lieu of the license the person shall at all times while hunting, trapping, or fishing carry on his or her person a valid West Virginia driver's license or nondriver identification card issued by the Division of Motor Vehicles.
(e) Except as otherwise provided for in this section, residents of states that share river borders with the State of West Virginia who carry hunting or fishing licenses valid in that state may hunt or fish without obtaining licenses, but the hunting or fishing shall be confined to the fish and waterfowl of the river proper and not on its tributaries: Provided, That the state shall first enter into a reciprocal agreement with the director extending a like privilege of hunting and fishing to licensed residents of West Virginia without requiring the residents to obtain that state's hunting and fishing licenses.
(f) Residents of the state of Ohio who carry hunting or fishing licenses valid in that state may hunt or fish on the Ohio River or from the West Virginia banks of the river without obtaining licenses, but the hunting or fishing shall be confined to fish and waterfowl of the river proper and to points on West Virginia tributaries and embayments identified by the director: Provided, That the state of Ohio shall first enter into a reciprocal agreement with the director extending a like privilege of hunting and fishing from the Ohio banks of the river to licensed residents of West Virginia without requiring the residents to obtain Ohio hunting and fishing licenses.
(g) Any resident of West Virginia who was honorably discharged from the Armed Forces of the United States of America and who receives a veteran's pension based on total permanent service-connected disability as certified to by the Veterans Administration may hunt, trap, or fish in this state without obtaining a license. The director shall propose rules for legislative approval in accordance with the provisions of §29A-3-1 et seq. of this code setting forth the procedure for the certification of the veteran, manner of applying for and receiving the certification and requirements as to identification while the veteran is hunting, trapping, or fishing.
(h) Any disabled veteran who is a resident of West
Virginia and who, as certified to by the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, is
eligible to be exempt from the payment of any fee on account of registration of
any motor vehicle owned by the disabled veteran as provided in §17A-10-8 of
this code shall be permitted to may hunt, trap, or fish in this
state without obtaining a license. The director shall propose rules for
legislative approval in accordance with the provisions of §29A-3-1 et seq.
of this code setting forth the procedure for the certification of the disabled
veteran, manner of applying for and receiving the certification and
requirements as to identification while the disabled veteran is hunting,
trapping, or fishing.
(i) Any resident or inpatient in any state mental health, health or benevolent institution or facility may fish in this state, under proper supervision of the institution involved, without obtaining a fishing license. A written statement or certificate signed by the superintendent of the mental health, health or benevolent institution or facility in which the resident or inpatient, as the case may be, is institutionalized shall serve in lieu of a fishing license and shall be carried on the person of the resident or inpatient at all times while he or she is fishing in this state.
(j) Any resident who is developmentally disabled, as certified by a physician and the Director of the Division of Health, may fish in this state without obtaining a fishing license. As used in this section, “developmentally disabled” means a person with a severe, chronic disability which:
(1) Is attributable to a mental or physical impairment or a combination of mental and physical impairments;
(2) Is manifested before the person attains age 22;
(3) Results in substantial functional limitations in three or more of the following areas of major life activity:
(A) Self-care;
(B) Receptive and expressive language;
(C) Learning;
(D) Mobility;
(E) Self-direction;
(F) Capacity for independent living; and
(G) Economic self-sufficiency; and
(4) Reflects the person's need for a combination and sequence of care, treatment, or supportive services which are of lifelong or extended duration and are individually planned and coordinated.
(k) A student 18 years of age or younger receiving instruction in fly fishing in a public, private, parochial, or Christian school in this state may fly fish in the state for catch and release only without obtaining a fishing license while under the supervision of an instructor authorized by the school.
(l) A volunteer firefighter who holds a valid credential, as authorized by §8-15-8d of this code may hunt, trap, or fish in season in West Virginia without obtaining a license. The valid credential shall serve in lieu of any license and shall be carried on the person at all times while hunting, trapping, or fishing.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create the Volunteer Firefighter Appreciation Act of 2019. The bill proposes to provide certain incentives for individuals to serve as volunteer firefighters.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.
