FrankGoortani/open-us-law huggingface dataset:
W. Va. Code § 48-7-108 — WV Code / Chapter 48 / Article 7 / Section 108
§48-7-108. Interest or title in property prior to judicial determination.
Status: in_force

As to any third party, the doctrine of equitable distribution of marital property and the provisions of this article shall be construed as creating no interest or title in property until and unless an order is entered under this article judicially defining such interest or approving a separation agreement which defines such interest. Neither this article nor the doctrine of equitable distribution of marital property shall be construed to create community property nor any other interest or estate in property except those previously recognized in this state. A husband or wife may alienate property at any time prior to the entry of an order under the provisions of this article or prior to the recordation of a notice of lis pendens in accordance with the provisions of part 7-401, et seq., and at anytime and in any manner not otherwise prohibited by an order under this chapter, in like manner and with like effect as if this article and the doctrine of equitable distribution had not been adopted: Provided, That as to any transfer prior to the entry of an order under the provisions of this article, a transfer other than to a bona fide purchaser for value shall be voidable if the court finds such transfer to have been effected to avoid the application of the provisions of this article or to otherwise be a fraudulent conveyance. Upon the entry of any order under this article or the admission to record of any notice with respect to an action under this article, restraining the alienation of property of a party, a bona fide purchaser for value shall take such title or interest as he or she might have taken prior to the effective date of this section and no purchaser for value need see to the application of the proceeds of such purchase except to the extent he or she would have been required so to do prior to the effective date of this section: Provided, however, That as to third parties nothing in this section shall be construed to limit or otherwise defeat the interests or rights to property which any husband or wife would have had in property prior to the enactment of this section or prior to the adoption of the doctrine of equitable distribution by the Supreme Court of Appeals on May 25, 1983: Provided further, That no order entered under this article shall be construed to defeat the title of a third party transferee thereof except to the extent that the power to effect such a transfer of title or interest in such property is secured by a valid and duly perfected lien and, as to any personal property, secured by a duly perfected security interest.
W. Va. Code § 22-12-4 — WV Code / Chapter 22 / Article 12 / Section 4
§22-12-4. Authority of Secretary to promulgate standards of purity and quality.
Status: in_force

(a) The secretary has the sole and exclusive authority to promulgate standards of purity and quality for groundwater of the state.

(b) These standards shall establish the maximum contaminant levels permitted for groundwater, but in no event shall the standards allow contaminant levels in groundwater to exceed the maximum contaminant levels adopted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. The secretary may set standards more restrictive than the maximum contaminant levels where it finds that such standards are necessary to protect drinking water use where scientifically supportable evidence reflects factors unique to West Virginia or some area thereof, or to protect other beneficial uses of the groundwater. For contaminants not regulated by the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, standards for such contaminants shall be established by the secretary to be no less stringent than may be reasonable and prudent to protect drinking water or any other beneficial use. Where the concentration of a certain constituent exceeds such standards due to natural conditions, the natural concentration is the standard for that constituent. Where the concentration of a certain constituent exceeds such standard due to human-induced contamination, no further contamination by that constituent is allowed and every reasonable effort shall be made to identify, remove or mitigate the source of such contamination and to strive where practical to reduce the level of contamination over time to support drinking water use.

(c) The standards of purity and quality for groundwater promulgated by the secretary shall recognize the degree to which groundwater is hydrologically connected with surface water and other groundwater and such standards shall provide protection for such surface water and other groundwater.

(d) In the promulgation of such standards the secretary shall consult with the Department of Agriculture and the Bureau for Public Health, as appropriate.

(e) Any groundwater standard that is in effect on the effective date of this article shall remain in effect until modified by the secretary. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this code to the contrary, the authority of the secretary to adopt standards of purity and quality for groundwater granted by the provisions of this article is exclusive, and to the extent that any other provisions of this code grant such authority to any person, body, agency or entity other than the secretary, those other provisions are void.
W. Va. Code § 22-6-5 — WV Code / Chapter 22 / Article 6 / Section 5
§22-6-5. Requirements for findings, orders and notices; posting of findings and orders; judicial review of final orders of director.
Status: in_force

(a) All findings and orders made pursuant to section three or four of this article, and all notices required to be given of the making of such findings and orders, shall be in writing. All such findings and orders shall be signed by the person making them, and all such notices shall be signed by the person charged with the duty of giving the notice. All such notices shall contain a copy of the findings and orders referred to therein.

(b) Notice of any finding or order required by section three or four of this article to be given to an operator shall be given by causing such notice, addressed to the operator of the well, well site or other oil and/or gas facility to which such finding or order pertains, to be delivered to such operator by causing a copy thereof to be sent by registered mail to the permanent address of such operator as filed with the division and by causing a copy thereof to be posted upon the drilling rig or other equipment at the well, well site or other oil and/or gas facility, as the case may be. The requirement of this article that a notice shall be "addressed to the operator of the well, well site or other oil and/or gas facility to which such finding or order pertains," shall not require that the name of the operator for whom it is intended shall be specifically set out in such address. Addressing such notice to "Operator of ___________________," specifying the well, well site or other oil and/or gas facility sufficiently to identify it, shall satisfy such requirement.

(c) Any well operator, complaining coal operator, owner or lessee, if any, adversely affected by a final order issued by the director under section four of this article shall be entitled to judicial review thereof. All of the pertinent provisions of section four, article five, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code shall apply to and govern such judicial review with like effect as if the provisions of said section four were set forth in extenso in this section.

(d) The judgment of the circuit court shall be final unless reversed, vacated or modified on appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeals in accordance with the provisions of section one, article six, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code.

(e) Legal counsel and services for the director in all appeal proceedings in any circuit court and the Supreme Court of Appeals shall be provided by the Attorney General or his or her assistants and in any circuit court by the prosecuting attorney of the county as well, all without additional compensation. The director, with written approval of the Attorney General, may employ special counsel to represent the director at any such appeal proceedings.
W. Va. Code § 12-6-8 — WV Code / Chapter 12 / Article 6 / Section 8
§12-6-8. Investment funds established; management thereof.
Status: in_force

(a) There is continued a special investment fund designated as the Consolidated Fund. Effective June 30, 2005, the power and authority of the board as to the consolidated fund terminates. On July 1, 2005, the board shall transfer the consolidated fund, all moneys, obligations, assets, securities and other investments of the consolidated fund and all records, properties and any other document or item pertaining to the consolidated fund in its possession or under its control to the West Virginia Board of Treasury Investments established in article six-c of this chapter.

(b) Each board, commission, department, official or agency charged with the administration of state funds may request the State Treasurer to make moneys available to the board for investment.

(c) Each political subdivision of this state through its treasurer or equivalent financial officer may enter into agreements with the State Treasurer for the investment of moneys of the political subdivision. Any political subdivision may enter into an agreement with a state spending unit from which it receives funds to request transfer of the funds to their investment account with the Investment Management Board or the West Virginia Board of Treasury Investments.

(d) Moneys held in the various funds and accounts administered by the board shall be invested as permitted by this article and subject to the restrictions contained in this article. The board shall report the earnings on the various funds under management to the State Treasurer at the times determined by the State Treasurer. The board shall also establish rules for the administration of the various funds and accounts established by this section as it considers necessary for the administration of the funds and accounts, including, but not limited to: (1) The specification of amounts which may be deposited in any fund or account and minimum periods of time for which deposits will be retained; and (2) creation of reserves for losses: Provided, That in the event any moneys made available to the board may not lawfully be combined for investment or deposited in the consolidated funds established by this section, the board may create special accounts and may administer and invest those moneys in accordance with the restrictions specially applicable to those moneys.

(e) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, the funds, pools and securities maintained or invested in by the board in accordance with this article are authorized investments for all local government funds.
W. Va. Code § 18-5-19E — WV Code / Chapter 18 / Article 5 / Section 19E
§18-5-19e. Adult education taskforce.
Status: in_force

(a) The Legislature finds that:

(1) While adult learning centers are part of the West Virginia Department of Education, that department is not obligated to fund these adult learning centers;

(2) Funding for adult learning centers derives its income from many areas without any regularity;

(3) A taskforce to study and consider funding options, the existing funding sources, and the best approach to provide direct funding for the adult learning centers would stabilize the regularity of funding these centers.

(b) The State Superintendent of Schools shall establish in the West Virginia Department of Education a taskforce to consider options for direct funding of adult education learning centers.

(c) The taskforce shall include at a minimum the State Superintendent of Schools, or his or her designee, the head of the adult education learning centers, and geographically diverse representatives from the community, including, but not limited to, representation from business and the community college system, appointed by the State Superintendent of Schools, in consultation with the Chancellor for Community and Technical College Education.

(d) The State Superintendent of Schools shall determine the number of members of the taskforce and eligibility to serve.

(e) The meetings of the taskforce shall be open to the public and follow the Open Governmental Meetings Act.

(f) The taskforce shall be created and begin its meetings on or before July 1, 2024, and submit a report of recommendations to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education Accountability by December 1, 2024.

(g) The provisions of the section shall sunset on December 31, 2025.
W. Va. Code § 5B-2M-3 — WV Code / Chapter 5B / Article 2M / Section 3
§5B-2M-3. Applicability.
Status: in_force

This article applies to any vertiport that is available for public use by any advanced air mobility operator authorized by the U.S. Department of Transportation or Federal Aviation Administration to engage in passenger and/or cargo services in scheduled or non-scheduled service in or affecting interstate commerce.
W. Va. Code § 22-22A-1 — WV Code / Chapter 22 / Article 22A / Section 1
§22-22A-1. Short title.
Status: in_force

This article may be cited as the West Virginia Limited Liability for Persons Responding to Oil Discharges Act.
W. Va. Code § 62-4-6 — WV Code / Chapter 62 / Article 4 / Section 6
§62-4-6. Remission of fines by Governor.
Status: in_force

Fines may be remitted by the Governor, subject to the provisions of sections sixteen and seventeen, article one, chapter five of this code.
W. Va. Code § 55-7A-2 — WV Code / Chapter 55 / Article 7A / Section 2
§55-7A-2. Parental liability for willful, malicious or criminal acts of children.
Status: in_force

The custodial parent or parents of any minor child shall be personally liable in an amount not to exceed $5,000 for damages which are the proximate result of any one or a combination of the following acts of the minor child:

(a) The malicious and willful injury to the person of another; or

(b) The malicious and willful injury or damage to the property of another, whether the property be real, personal or mixed; or

(c) The malicious and willful setting fire to a forest or wooded area belonging to another; or

(d) The willful taking, stealing and carrying away of the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the owner of possession.

For purposes of this section, "custodial parent or parents" shall mean the parent or parents with whom the minor child is living, or a divorced or separated parent who does not have legal custody but who is exercising supervisory control over the minor child at the time of the minor child's act.

Persons entitled to recover damages under this article shall include, but not be limited to, the State of West Virginia, any municipal corporation, county commission and Board of Education, or other political subdivision of this state, or any person or organization of any kind or character. The action may be brought in magistrate or another court of competent jurisdiction. Recovery hereunder shall be limited to the actual damages based upon direct out-of-pocket loss, taxable court costs, and interest from date of judgment. The right of action and remedy granted herein shall be in addition to and not exclusive of any rights of action and remedies therefor against a parent or parents for the tortious acts of his or their children heretofore existing under the provisions of any law, statutory or otherwise, or now so existing independently of the provisions of this article.

The provisions of this article shall be applicable to causes of action arising on and after the effective date of reenactment of this article. Causes of actions arising before the effective date of reenactment of this article and proceedings thereon shall be governed by the previously enacted provisions of this article in force at the time the cause arose.
W. Va. Code § 48-28-1 — WV Code / Chapter 48 / Article 28 / Section 1
§48-28-1. Title.
Status: in_force

This article may be cited as the "Uniform Interstate Enforcement of Domestic Violence Protection Orders Act."
W. Va. Code § 29-1-1A — WV Code / Chapter 29 / Article 1 / Section 1A
§29-1-1a. Transfer of powers and duties; existing contracts and obligations.
Status: in_force

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this article, the powers and duties of the West Virginia antiquities commission, the West Virginia arts and humanities council and the department of archives and history are hereby transferred to the Department of Tourism.

(b) All existing assets, equipment, contracts, and records of the Department of Arts, Culture, and History, the West Virginia antiquities commission, the West Virginia arts and humanities council, and the department of archives and history, or relating to the present science and culture center, shall be transferred to the Department of Tourism.

(c) Beginning on July 1, 2025, all employees of any section or commission listed in §29-1-1(b) of this code shall be exempt from the state grievance procedures as set forth in §6C-2-1 et seq . of this code and from the classified civil service system under §29-6-1 et seq . of this code except that:

(1) All employees of any section or commission listed in §29-1-1(b) of this code who are currently members of the classified civil service system shall retain their status as long as they remain in their current position, and all employees of any section or commission listed in §29-1-1(b) of this code who currently have recourse to the state grievance procedures will continue to have access to the state grievance procedures as long as they remain in their current position; and

(2) Any employee of any section or commission listed in §29-1-1(b) of this code that leaves his or her position and remains an employee within the Department of Tourism shall, at that time, be transferred to the classified-exempt service system as defined in §29-6-2(g) of this code and be exempted from the state grievance procedures as set forth in §6C-2-1 et seq . of this code.

(d) The secretary shall have the authority to designate certain employees’ status under the classified civil service system and grievance procedures as may be deemed necessary to comply with federal regulation, or the requirements for receipt of federal funding or assistance.

(e) Nothing in this article shall prevent a person, at the secretary’s discretion, from serving in multiple positions or professions within the sections or commissions listed in §29-1-1(b) of this code.

(f) Subsection (c) of this section shall not apply to any position appointed by the Governor.

(g) Nothing in this section shall exempt any section or commission listed in §29-1-1(b) of this code from the provisions of this code prohibiting nepotism, favoritism, discrimination, or unethical practices related to the promotion, transfer, layoff, removal, discipline, and compensation of state employees.
W. Va. Code § 39B-1-111 — WV Code / Chapter 39B / Article 1 / Section 111
§39B-1-111. Coagents and successor agents.
Status: in_force

(a) A principal may designate two or more persons to act as coagents. Unless the power of attorney otherwise provides, each coagent may exercise his or her authority independently and the consent of all coagents is not necessary for the validity of an act or transaction.

(b) A principal may designate one or more successor agents to act if an agent resigns, dies, becomes incapacitated, is not qualified to serve, or declines to serve. A principal may grant authority to designate one or more successor agents to an agent or other person designated by name, office or function. Unless the power of attorney otherwise provides, a successor agent:

(1) Has the same authority as that granted to the original agent; and

(2) May not act until all predecessor agents have resigned, died, become incapacitated, are no longer qualified to serve, or have declined to serve.

(c) Except as otherwise provided in the power of attorney and this act, an agent who does not participate in or conceal a breach of fiduciary duty committed by another agent, including a predecessor agent, is not liable for the actions of the other agent.

(d) An agent who has actual knowledge of a breach or imminent breach of fiduciary duty by another agent has a duty to notify the principal and, if the principal is incapacitated, take any action reasonably appropriate in the circumstances to safeguard the principal's best interest. An agent who fails to notify the principal or take action as required by this article is liable for the reasonably foreseeable damages that could have been avoided if the agent had notified the principal or taken such action.
W. Va. Code § 5-10B-8 — WV Code / Chapter 5 / Article 10B / Section 8
§5-10B-8. Federal and state income tax.
Status: in_force

Notwithstanding any other provision of this article or any other provision of law to the contrary, any compensation deferred under any deferred compensation plan shall not be subject to any federal, state or municipal income tax nor shall any amount of compensation deferred be included for the purposes of computation of any such income tax withheld on behalf of any employee.
W. Va. Code § 22-6B-1 — WV Code / Chapter 22 / Article 6B / Section 1
§22-6B-1. Legislative findings and purpose; applicability.
Status: in_force

(a) The Legislature finds the following:

(1) Exploration for and development of oil and gas reserves in this state must coexist with the use, agricultural or otherwise, of the surface of certain land and that each constitutes a right equal to the other.

(2) The surface owner of lands on which horizontal wells are drilled shall be compensated for damages to the surface of the land pursuant to the provisions of this article.

(b) The Legislature declares that the public policy of this state shall be that the compensation and damages provided in this article for surface owners may not be diminished by any provision in a deed, lease or other contract of conveyance entered into after December 31, 2011.

(c) It is the purpose of this article to provide constitutionally permissible protection and compensation to surface owners of lands on which horizontal wells are drilled from the burden resulting from drilling operations commenced after January 1, 2012. This article is to be interpreted in the light of the legislative intent expressed herein. This article shall be interpreted to benefit surface owners, regardless of whether the oil and gas mineral estate was separated from the surface estate and regardless of who executed the document which gave the oil and gas developer the right to conduct drilling operations on the land. Section four of this article shall be interpreted to benefit all persons.

(d) The provisions of this article apply to any natural gas well, other than a coalbed methane well, drilled using a horizontal drilling method, and which disturbs three acres or more of surface, excluding pipelines, gathering lines and roads or uses more than two hundred ten thousand gallons of water in any thirty-day period. Article seven of this chapter does not apply to any damages associated with the drilling of a horizontal well.