reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 7. County Commissions and Officers › Article 7. Compensation of Elected County Officials › §7-7-23. Awarding Service Pistol Upon Retirement

(a) Upon the retirement of a deputy from the sheriff's department, the county commission shall authorize the sheriff to award to the retiring deputy his or her service pistol upon determining:
(1) That the retiring deputy is retiring honorably with at least twenty years of service; or
(2) The retiring deputy is retiring with less than twenty years of service based upon a determination that the deputy is totally physically disabled.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, a sheriff shall not award his or her service pistol to any retiring deputy medically determined to be mentally incapacitated or to constitute a danger to self or others.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 7. County Commissions and Officers › Article 8. Jail and Jailer › §7-8-1. Jail to Be Provided; Temporary Jail; Compensation by County for Use of City Jail

The jail of the county shall be the jail provided by the county court as required by law. When a county is without a sufficient jail, or its jail is to be removed, rebuilt or repaired, the circuit court, or the judge thereof in vacation, may adopt the jail of another county as its jail until a sufficient jail is obtained by building or repairing. And persons committed, or to be committed, to the jail of the first-mentioned county, at or after such adoption, and before a sufficient jail is so obtained, shall be conveyed to the jail so adopted. The jail of any county in which the Supreme Court of Appeals may sit may be used as a jail for said court.
The county court of each county, or tribunal created in lieu thereof, shall have authority to provide for and pay to any city, town or village in this state in which no county jail or other place of imprisonment is owned by the county, not more than $1.50¢ for the first day and not more than $1 for each subsequent day that any person charged with a criminal offense may be temporarily held in the jail or lockup belonging to such city, town or village: Provided, That the provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to any person imprisoned for a violation of the ordinances of any city, town or village: Provided further, That in no case shall such payment be made for a period of more than five days for the detention of any one person held under any charge or charges at any one time. No such payment shall be made unless the amount of such charge is certified by the justice or other authority under whose jurisdiction such person is detained in the same manner as other costs in criminal cases are now required by law to be certified. The payment provided for in this section shall be made, in cases of persons charged with felonies or misdemeanors, in the manner and from the proper fund, according to the character of the offense charged, as provided by law for the payment of other costs payable by the county courts in criminal cases.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 7. County Commissions and Officers › Article 8. Jail and Jailer › §7-8-4. Jailer to Attend Court; Prisoners to Be Received in Jail

The jailer shall attend the sessions of court, be amenable to its authority, and obey its orders. He shall receive into his jail all persons committed by the order of such court or a judge thereof, or justice of any district in the county, or under process issuing from such court, and all persons committed by any lawful authority.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 7. County Commissions and Officers › Article 8. Jail and Jailer › §7-8-5. Keeper of Temporary Jail

The keeper of any jail adopted or designated as provided in section one of this article shall, as to the persons so conveyed thereto, be the jailer of the county from which such persons were so conveyed, until he shall, by proper authority, be ordered to discharge such persons, or deliver them over to the sheriff of the county from which they were so conveyed.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 7. County Commissions and Officers › Article 8. Jail and Jailer › §7-8-6. Guard for Prisoners

When ordered by a court to do so, or when in his opinion it is necessary for the safekeeping of a prisoner, under charge of or sentence for crime, the jailer shall summon a sufficient guard, and the circuit court or other court of record having jurisdiction of criminal cases, in the county in which the jail is, may allow therefor so much as it deems proper, not exceeding $2.50 a day for each man. The court, before certifying any allowance, shall inquire into the condition of the jail. If it appear that such guard was necessary because of the insecurity of the jail, it shall order the allowance to be certified to the county court and it shall be chargeable to the county; but if otherwise, and the guard was necessary, the allowance shall be certified for payment out of the treasury.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 7. County Commissions and Officers › Article 8. Jail and Jailer › §7-8-7. Jail Physician; Clothing for Indigent Prisoners

The county court for every county may appoint a physician to attend all persons confined in jail as lunatics, or persons charged with felony or misdemeanor and, such physician shall furnish all medicines and drugs for, and give proper attention to, all such persons at a stipulated, fixed and exclusive annual allowance. The appointment of such physician shall be made in open court. The court, or president thereof in vacation, shall cause notice of the days during court when sealed bids will be received to be published as a Class I legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty- nine of this code, and the publication area for such publication shall be the county. The bids shall be opened only in court, on the day specified in the notice, if the court then be in session, and, if not, on the first day of the session thereafter, and the appointment awarded to the lowest responsible bidder; and such court shall have the right to reject any or all bids. The person receiving the appointment shall give bond with sufficient surety, to be approved by the court, for the faithful performance of the trust and agreement. The court shall have power to vacate the appointment for failure or neglect of duty; but such vacation shall in no manner affect the liability on the bond. All of the proceedings shall be entered in the order book of the court. The county court may also, after examination, when a person in its jail charged with or convicted of an offense is unable to provide himself with sufficient clothing, direct the jailer to provide clothing, and allow therefor not exceeding $20 in one year. Allowances under this section, on being certified by the court, shall be paid out of the county treasury.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 7. County Commissions and Officers › Article 8. Jail and Jailer › §7-8-8. Federal Prisoners

The jail of any county may be used for the confinement of persons committed thereto under the laws of the United States. The jailer thereof shall receive, keep and discharge such persons pursuant to the commitment, as provided in the laws of the United States. For a failure of duty as to any such prisoner, the jailer shall be liable to the United States, or to the creditor at whose suit the prisoner is in custody, in like manner as in case of a prisoner committed under the authority of the state. No person arrested on civil process shall, under this section, be committed to any other jail than that of the county within which such person may reside or be found.
The United States or the creditor, as the case may be, shall be responsible to the county court for payment of the costs for the maintenance of any person confined in a county jail as provided in this section.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 7. County Commissions and Officers › Article 8. Jail and Jailer › §7-8-9. Prisoners Under Civil Process

The party at whose suit any person is confined in jail under civil process shall be responsible to the county court for the maintenance of such person during such confinement, and payment therefor shall be due monthly. Upon failure of such party to make payment when due, the jailer may discharge the prisoner when ordered to do so by the county court unless the prisoner is held under other process, but the county court shall have the right to sue for the amount due as for other money due on contract. The jailer may require a bond payable to the county court as security for the payment of such maintenance before receiving a person on civil process. Any party who shall have paid for such maintenance of such prisoner may, upon motion before the circuit court of such county, or by action before any justice having jurisdiction, obtain judgment against the person who was so confined, or his personal representative, for the amount so paid, with interest thereon, from the time of such payment.
All provisions of this section which were in effect immediately prior to the passage of this act shall continue in full force and effect until December 31, 1948.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 7. County Commissions and Officers › Article 8. Jail and Jailer › §7-8-10. Persons Privileged From Arrest Under Civil Process

In addition to the privilege of voters and members of the Legislature from arrest, as prescribed by the third section of article IV, and the seventeenth section of article VI of the Constitution, the following persons shall also be privileged from arrest under civil process, except for an escape, to wit: A judge, grand juror, or witness, required by lawful authority to attend at any court or place, during such attendance, and while going to and returning from such court or place; officers and men, while going to, attending, and returning from any muster or court-martial which they are lawfully required to attend; persons attending funerals and ministers of the gospel while engaged in performing religious service in a place where a congregation is assembled and while going to and returning from such place, but such privilege shall only be on the days of such attendance.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 7. County Commissions and Officers › Article 8. Jail and Jailer › §7-8-11. Deduction From Sentence for Good Conduct

Every prisoner sentenced to the county jail for a term exceeding six months who, in the judgment of the sheriff, shall faithfully comply with all rules and regulations of said county jail during his term of confinement shall be entitled to a deduction of five days from each month of his sentence.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 7. County Commissions and Officers › Article 8. Jail and Jailer › §7–8-14. Reimbursement for Costs of Incarceration

(a) Notwithstanding any provision to the code to the contrary and in addition to any fine, cost assessment or fee authorized or required to be imposed upon a person by virtue of his or her conviction of a criminal provision of this code, or a lawfully enacted ordinance of a political subdivision of this state, a person so convicted and incarcerated in a regional jail by virtue of said conviction may be assessed the costs of up to thirty days of his or her incarceration.
(b) Prior to any person being required to pay the cost of his or her incarceration pursuant to the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, a hearing shall be held before the sentencing court to determine his or her ability to pay. The court may not sentence a defendant to pay his or her costs of incarceration unless he or she is or in the foreseeable future will be able to pay them. In determining the amount and method of payment of costs, the court shall take account of the financial resources of the defendant and the nature of the burden that payment of costs will impose.
(c) A defendant who has been sentenced to pay costs and who is not in willful default in the payment of the costs may at any time petition the sentencing court for remission of the payment of costs or of any unpaid portion of the costs. If it appears to the satisfaction of the court that payment of the amount due will impose manifest hardship on the defendant or the defendant's family or dependents, the court may excuse payment of all or part of the amount due in costs, or modify the method of payment.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 7. County Commissions and Officers › Article 9. County and City Workhouses › §7-9-1. Establishment

The commissioners of any county may unite with any city, located in said county, in the erection, management and maintenance of a workhouse for the joint use of such county and city; and the commissioners are authorized to levy and collect the necessary funds therefor from the taxable property of the county: Provided, That the commissioners shall not collect and expend a greater amount than shall be collected and expended by such city for the same purpose: Provided further, That the question of erecting such workhouse shall first be submitted to a vote of the people of the city and county desiring the same, and shall be ratified by three fifths of all votes for and against the question, at an election to be held for that purpose: And provided further, That the aggregate of all indebtedness including the amount for such workhouse shall not exceed five per cent of the assessed valuation of the real estate of the city and county erecting the same.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 7. County Commissions and Officers › Article 9. County and City Workhouses › §7-9-2. Board of Directors

The direction, management and control of any such joint workhouse, and the maintenance and care of the convicts therein, shall be vested in a board of five directors, who shall be called "the board of joint city and county workhouse directors," and such directors shall be freehold electors of such county, and shall serve without compensation, and not more than three members of the board of joint city and county workhouse directors shall be of the same political party faith.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 7. County Commissions and Officers › Article 9. County and City Workhouses › §7-9-3. Appointment of Directors

The directors shall be appointed by the mayor, and the county court or other tribunal acting in lieu thereof, of such city and county having such joint workhouse, with the approval of the council of such city and county commissioners, and shall hold their office for five years, except that at the first appointment one director shall be appointed for one year, one for two years, and one for three years, one for four years, and one for five years, and thereafter one shall be appointed annually, but all appointments shall be made in conformity with section two.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 7. County Commissions and Officers › Article 9. County and City Workhouses › §7-9-4. Officers

The board of such joint city and county workhouse directors shall elect annually, at its first regular meeting in May, one of its members as president and at the same meeting appoint a secretary and clerk, who shall make a complete record of all its proceedings, and the board may appoint such other officers as may be necessary, and fix the compensation of all officers for their services.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 7. County Commissions and Officers › Article 9. County and City Workhouses › §7-9-7. Regulations

The board shall have power to make, establish and enforce rules and regulations for its own government, and the government and control of the institution, its officers and inmates, and make contracts for supplies and the labor of its inmates either within the corporate limits of such municipality or within the limits of the county in which such workhouse is located, as the board shall direct.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 7. County Commissions and Officers › Article 9. County and City Workhouses › §7-9-8. Records

The books of the institution shall be so kept as to clearly exhibit the time, state and condition of the inmates, the number received and discharged, by what court and for what cause committed, the length of the time of commitment of each person, the number of days' labor performed by each convict, and the nature and value of such labor to such institution, and the relative costs and expenses incurred by the institution in managing and taking care of each convict, and the number employed in each branch of industry carried on, and the receipts from and expenditures for and on account of each department of business.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 7. County Commissions and Officers › Article 9. County and City Workhouses › §7-9-9. Quarterly Financial Statements

The board shall cause quarterly statements to be made, specifying minutely all receipts and expenditures, from whom and for what purpose received, and to whom and for what purpose paid, with proper voucher for each item, and submit such statement properly certified to the council of such city and the commissioners of such county, for their examination and approval.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 7. County Commissions and Officers › Article 9. County and City Workhouses › §7-9-10. Accounts and Reports

The accounts of the institutions shall be annually closed and balanced on the first Monday of January in each year. And full reports of the preceding year shall then be made and submitted to the city council and county commissioners, which shall be published as a Class I legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code, and the publication area for such publication shall be the county; and the city council and county commissioners, or either of such bodies, may require such other reports and exhibits of the condition and management of such institution as they may deem proper.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 7. County Commissions and Officers › Article 9. County and City Workhouses › §7-9-11. Superintendent

The superintendent of such workhouse shall have the control and management of its affairs, subject to the laws of the state and the ordinance of the corporation and the rules and regulations adopted by the board for its government. And it shall be his duty to obey all written orders and instructions of the board not inconsistent with the laws, rules and regulations relating to the government of the institution.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 7. County Commissions and Officers › Article 9. County and City Workhouses › §7-9-12. Inspection and Supervision

The superintendent shall be responsible for the manner in which the institution is managed and conducted, shall reside at the same, devote his time and attention to the proper business thereof, and visit and examine into the condition of every department thereof, and of each person confined therein, daily, or as often as good order or necessity may require, and he shall exercise a general supervision and direction in regard to all matters of discipline, police regulation and business of the institution.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 7. County Commissions and Officers › Article 9. County and City Workhouses › §7-9-14. Removal of Officers

The board, for misconduct or willful neglect of duty, and upon sufficient proof thereof, may remove any officer or employee of the institution, except the superintendent thereof, who shall be removed for cause and in the manner provided for the removal of city officers; and any employee of the superintendent may be discharged at his discretion, but no officer shall be removed by the board until he has had an opportunity to be heard in his defense.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 7. County Commissions and Officers › Article 9. County and City Workhouses › §7-9-15. Costs of Maintenance

The costs of maintaining such joint city and county workhouse, over and above the proceeds arising from the sale of the products thereof, shall be borne by such city and county jointly, and such expenses shall be paid quarterly by such city and county out of the respective treasuries thereof, upon the certificate of such secretary of such joint city and county workhouse, on the approval of the council of such city and the commissioners of such county. And the county court of any county having such joint city and county workhouse is hereby authorized and required to levy upon all the real and personal property, outside of the corporate limits of such city, such sum as may be necessary, and the city council of such city is hereby authorized and required to levy upon all the real and personal property, inside of the corporate limits of such city, such sum as may be necessary for the maintenance aforesaid; and the board of such joint city and county workhouse directors, the city council of such city, and the county commissioners of such county, in ascertaining and determining at the end of each quarter the amount to be paid to such board to meet any deficiency in the products of such joint workhouse to maintain the same, shall take into account and be governed by the number of convicts furnished by such city and county, the number of days' labor performed by the convicts from each, the value of such labor, and the relative costs and expenses of taking care of, managing and disciplining the convicts of each, and give to such city and county each full credit for the value of the products of such workhouse produced by the labor, skill and diligence of the convicts from each, and charge to the account of each (city and county) the cost to such institution of working, managing, maintaining, taking care of, and disciplining its convicts, and make assessments upon such city and county for the maintenance of such institution accordingly.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 7. County Commissions and Officers › Article 9. County and City Workhouses › §7-9-16. Commitments

When a person over sixteen years of age is convicted of an offense, under the law of the state or an ordinance of a municipal corporation, and the tribunal before which the conviction is had is directed by law to commit the offender to the county jail, or corporation prison, the court, mayor or justice of the peace, as the case may be, shall sentence the offender to the workhouse, if there is such house in the county: Provided, That when a commitment is made from a city, village or township in the county, other than in the municipality containing such workhouse, the council of such city or village, or the trustees of such township, shall transmit with the mittimus a sum of money equal to 40¢ per day for the time of such commitment, to be placed in the hands of the superintendent of such workhouse, for the care and maintenance of such prisoner.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 7. County Commissions and Officers › Article 9. County and City Workhouses › §7-9-17. Inmates From Other Counties and Cities

Any city and county or county having or that may hereafter erect a joint city and county workhouse, or county workhouse, may receive as inmates of such joint city and county workhouse, or county workhouse, persons sentenced thereto as provided by law, from counties and municipal corporations having no workhouse, upon such terms and for such length of time as may be agreed upon by the commissioners of such county or the council of such municipal corporation, and the board of such joint city and county workhouse directors, or county workhouse directors: Provided, That such convicts so received shall, in all respects, be and remain under control of the directors of such workhouse, and subject to the rules, regulations and discipline of such workhouse the same as other convicts therein detained.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 7. County Commissions and Officers › Article 9. County and City Workhouses › §7-9-18. Inmates From Cities

The commissioners of any county, or the council of any municipal corporation, wherein there is no workhouse, may agree with the council of any municipal corporation or other authority having control of the workhouse of any other city, or with the directors of any district or joint city and county workhouse, or county workhouse, upon terms and conditions upon which persons convicted of misdemeanors or of the violation of any ordinance of such municipal corporation by any court or magistrate of such county or municipal corporation, having no workhouse, may be received into such workhouse under sentence of such court or magistrate; and the county commissioners of such county, and the council of any such municipal corporation, are authorized to pay the expenses incurred under such agreement out of the General Fund of such county, or of the municipal corporation, upon the certificate of the proper officer of such workhouse; and the sheriff or other officer transporting any person to such workhouse shall have the following fees therefor: 6¢ per mile for himself, going and returning, and 5¢ per mile for transporting such convict, and 5¢ per mile going and coming for the service of each guard, to be allowed as in penitentiary cases; the number of miles to be computed by the usual route of travel, to be paid in state cases out of the General Fund of the county, on the allowance of the county commissioners, and in cases for the violation of the ordinances of any municipal corporation by such municipal corporation on the order of the council thereof.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 7. County Commissions and Officers › Article 9. County and City Workhouses › §7-9-19. Sentence to Workhouse

When any person has been convicted of a misdemeanor or of the violation of any ordinance of a municipal corporation, by any court or magistrate of the state, or of such municipal corporation, in a county or municipal corporation having no workhouse, and the commissioners of such county or council of such municipal corporation have made provisions as allowed by law for receiving persons so convicted into the workhouse of a city in any other county or district, or a joint city and county workhouse, or county workhouse in this state, it shall be competent for such court or magistrate, in its discretion, where imprisonment in the county or municipal jail may by law or ordinance be imposed in punishment of such offense, to sentence such person to such workhouse for a period not exceeding the maximum period of confinement in the county or municipal jail allowed by statute or ordinance for such offense; and in all such cases such court or magistrate may further order that such person stand committed to such workhouse until the costs of prosecution are paid, or he be discharged, as herein provided; and in all cases where a fine may be imposed in whole or in part punishment of an offense, or for violation of an ordinance of any municipal corporation, and such court or magistrate could order that such person stand committed to the jail of the county or municipal corporation until such fine and costs of prosecution are paid, such court or magistrate may order that such person stand committed to such workhouse until such fine and costs of prosecution are paid, or until he be discharged therefrom by allowing a credit of 60¢ per day on such fine and costs for each day of confinement in such workhouse, or be otherwise legally discharged.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 7. County Commissions and Officers › Article 9. County and City Workhouses › §7-9-20. Procedure After Sentence

When a person is sentenced to such workhouse by the circuit or criminal courts, the clerk thereof shall make and deliver to the sheriff a certified copy of the docket and journal entries, showing the crime charged and the sentence of the court, which shall be delivered by the sheriff to the proper officer in charge of such workhouse, which shall be his warrant for detaining such person in custody therein. In case of such convictions by any court or magistrate, such court or magistrate shall make a certified transcript of the docket in such case, which shall in like manner be delivered to the marshal or constable or sheriff by such court or magistrate, which shall be delivered by such officer to the proper officer in charge of such workhouse, which shall be his warrant for detaining such person in custody therein. In all cases of sentences to a workhouse, the person so sentenced may be confined in the jail of the county or corporation prison for such period as may be reasonably necessary for the officer to procure the papers and make arrangements to transport to such workhouse.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 7. County Commissions and Officers › Article 9. County and City Workhouses › §7-9-21. Payment of Fine

When a person is committed to such workhouse under sentence that he stand committed to such workhouse until the fine and costs of prosecution assessed against him are paid, as provided in section eighteen, such person may pay in money, in whole or in part, to the board of workhouse directors, such fine and costs assessed against him, and such board shall receive and turn the same, quarterly, into the treasury of the county from which such person was committed: Provided, That such person was so committed for the violation of any law of the state; and when any person so committed for the violation of an ordinance of a municipal corporation shall make such payment to such board, it shall be its duty to receive and quarterly turn the same into the treasury of the municipal corporation from which such person was committed.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 7. County Commissions and Officers › Article 9. County and City Workhouses › §7-9-22. Enlargement of Buildings

The board of joint city and county workshop directors, or county workhouse directors, may enlarge or improve the buildings, shops or grounds from any surplus that may arise from the income of such workhouse, or from the levy from such maintenance made by such county and city, or county; but no levy for maintenance shall be made when it has not been necessary to use more than one half of the avails of the levy for the year preceding; and any surplus arising from the carrying on of such joint workhouse shall be returned to the General Fund of such city and county in the proportion that such surplus may have been produced by the labor of the convicts of each, and any surplus arising from the carrying on of such county workhouse shall be returned to the General Fund of the county.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 7. County Commissions and Officers › Article 9. County and City Workhouses › §7-9-23. Fees of Officers

In all cases of sentence and commitment to such joint city and county workhouse all officers shall be paid the same fees therefor allowed by law for similar services in other cases; such fees, in cases of misdemeanor, shall be paid out of the county treasury of the county from which such commitment was made, and when such sentence is for violation of an ordinance, such fees shall be paid out of the treasury of the municipal corporation from which commitment was made: Provided, That such fees shall only be paid out of the costs paid by convicted persons sentenced under the provisions of this article.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 7. County Commissions and Officers › Article 9. County and City Workhouses › §7-9-24. Parole

The foregoing board of joint city and county workhouse directors shall have power to establish rules and regulations under which, and specify the conditions on which, any prisoner may be allowed to go upon parole outside of the buildings and inclosures, but to remain while on parole in the legal custody and under the control of the board and subject at any time to be taken back within the inclosure of said institution; and full power to enforce such rules and regulations and conditions, and to retake and reimprison any convict so upon parole, is hereby conferred upon such board, whose written order, certified by its secretary, shall be a sufficient warrant, for all officers named therein, to authorize such officer to return to actual custody any conditionally released or paroled prisoner; and it is hereby made the duty of all officers to execute such order the same as ordinary criminal process; and the board may employ or authorize any person or persons to see that the conditions of such paroles are not violated, and in case of such violation to return any such prisoner so violating such parole to said workhouse, and the time between the violation of the conditions of such parole or conditional release (by whatever name), as entered by order of the board in the record of its meetings, and the reimprisonment or return of such prisoner shall not be counted as any part or portion of time served under any sentence; and any prisoner at large upon such parole who fails to return to the custody of said workhouse as may be specified as one of the conditions of his parole, or commits a fresh crime and is convicted thereof, shall be, on the order of such board, treated as an escaped prisoner and subject to the penalties concerning escapes from prison.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 7. County Commissions and Officers › Article 10. Humane Officers › §7-10-1. Deputy Sheriffs as Humane Officers

The sheriff of each county of this state shall annually designate, by a record made in the office of the clerk of the county commission, one of his or her deputies to act as humane officer of the county; or, if the county commission and sheriff agree, the county dog warden may be designated to act as the humane officer or as an additional humane officer; any person designated to act as a humane officer and all peace officers designated by law as a humane officer or an additional humane officer shall investigate all complaints made to him or her of cruel or inhumane treatment of animals within the county and he or she shall personally see that the law relating to the prevention of cruelty to animals is enforced. The wilful failure of such designee to investigate any complaint made to him or her and to take proper measures in such case or to perform his or her duty in any other respect may constitute good cause for removal from employment.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 7. County Commissions and Officers › Article 10. Humane Officers › §7-10-2. Duty of Humane Officers; Reporting Requirement When Abuse or Neglect of Individuals Suspected; Prohibition Against Interference With Humane Officers; Penalties

(a) Humane officers shall prevent the perpetration or continuance of any act of cruelty upon any animal and investigate and, upon probable cause, cause the arrest and assist in the prosecution of any person engaging in such cruel and forbidden practices. Upon reasonable cause, and, as provided by law, such officers have the right to access and inspect records and property reasonably necessary to any investigation.
(b) Whenever a humane officer, pursuant to an investigation of animal cruelty, forms a reasonable suspicion that a minor child, or incapacitated or elderly person, is the victim of abuse or neglect or has a suspicion of domestic violence, he or she shall report the suspicion and the grounds for the suspicion. In the event of suspected child abuse or neglect, the humane officer shall report to the local child protective services agency of the Department of Health and Human Resources in accordance with the provisions of §49-2-809 of this code. In the event of suspected abuse or neglect of an incapacitated or elderly person, he or she shall report to the department’s local adult protective services agency in accordance with the provisions of §9-6-11 of this code. In the event of suspected domestic violence, he or she shall report to the State Police in accordance with the provisions of §48-27-101 et seq. of this code.
(c) Any person who interferes with, obstructs or resists any humane officer in the discharge of his or her duty is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $100 nor more than $500 or confined in jail not more than 30 days, or both fined and confined. Any penalties imposed for a violation of this subsection shall be imposed in addition to any penalties the person incurs for cruel or inhumane treatment of any animal.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 7. County Commissions and Officers › Article 10. Humane Officers › §7-10-3. Cruel Treatment of Animal Drawing or in Vehicle; Custody and Care Thereof by Humane Officers

When any person arrested is, at the time of such arrest, in charge of any vehicle drawn by or containing any animal cruelly treated, such officer shall take charge of such animal and of such vehicle and its contents, and of the animal or animals drawing the same, and shall, if the person in charge thereof be not the owner, give notice of such seizure to the owner, and provide for them until their owner shall take charge of the same; and if the person in charge of or driving such animals be the owner thereof, the same shall not be returned to him until he has been tried for the offense and acquitted, or if convicted, until he shall give bond in the penalty of $500 with approved security before the tribunal trying the case conditioned not to again cruelly treat such animals; and the officer shall have a lien upon such animals and the vehicle and its contents for the expenses of such care and provision, or such expenses or any part thereof remaining unpaid may be recovered by such humane officer in a civil action.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 7. County Commissions and Officers › Article 10. Humane Officers › §7-10-4a. Reporting of Animals Abandoned, Neglected or Cruelly Treated; Enforcement

(a) It is the duty of any licensed veterinarian and the right of any other person to report to a humane officer any animal found, reasonably known or believed to be abandoned, neglected or cruelly treated as set forth in this article, and such veterinarian or other person may not be subject to any civil or criminal liability as a result of such reporting.
(b) Any person who, with force, assaults, resists, or impedes any other person engaged in the reporting of abandoned, neglected or cruelly treated animals as provided for in this section is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $250 nor more than $1,000, or confined in the county jail not more than one year, or both so fined and confined.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 7. County Commissions and Officers › Article 10. Humane Officers › §7-10-5. Destruction of Animals

Any humane officer or animal shelter lawfully may humanely destroy or cause to be humanely destroyed any animal in a manner consistent with the provisions of section four of this article when, in the judgment of the humane officer or director or supervisor of an animal shelter and upon the written certificate of a regularly licensed veterinary surgeon, the animal appears to be injured, disabled or diseased past recovery or the animal is unclaimed.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 7. County Commissions and Officers › Article 11. County Parks and Recreation Commissions › §7-11-1. County Courts Authorized to Create a County Parks and Recreation Commission

The county court of any county is hereby authorized and empowered, by order entered of record, to create a county parks and recreation commission for the purpose of establishing, improving, developing, administering, operating and maintaining a county public parks and recreation system or public recreational facilities.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 7. County Commissions and Officers › Article 11. County Parks and Recreation Commissions › §7-11-2a. Authority to Lease Property for Educational Instruction in Fire Prevention and Protection

In addition to the powers and duties set forth in this article, any county parks and recreation commission organized pursuant to the provision of this article is hereby empowered and authorized: (1) To sell and convey any real estate owned by it which is not contiguous to any tract of land which forms a part of a park owned or operated by the commission: Provided, That such real estate shall be sold at public auction for a fair and adequate consideration. The public auction shall be held at a place designated by the commission, but before making any such sale, notices of the time, terms and place of sale, together with a brief description of the property to be sold, shall be published as a Class II legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of the Code of West Virginia, and the publication area for such publication shall be the county wherein the commission is located,
And,
(2) To lease any of its real estate or any part thereof or any of its personal property or any part thereof or any interest in any of the foregoing to any governmental entity or nonprofit corporation for the purpose of establishing a fire prevention and protection or firefighting school or educational institution. Every such lease shall be for a term not to exceed forty years and shall be authorized by a resolution of the commission, which resolution shall specify the terms and conditions to be contained in such lease: Provided, That before any such resolution is adopted, a public hearing on such proposed lease shall be held by the commission after notice of the date, time, place and purpose of such public hearing has been published as a Class I legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of the Code of West Virginia, and the publication area for such publication shall be the county wherein the commission is located.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 7. County Commissions and Officers › Article 11. County Parks and Recreation Commissions › §7-11-3. Number of Members; Quorum; Qualifications; Appointment; Term; Disqualifications

The commission shall consist of eleven members, a majority of whom shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. Each member of said commission shall be a bona fide resident of the county and shall own real estate within such county. The term of the commission members shall be for three years and until their successors have been appointed and have qualified: Provided, That the county court in appointing the members of the first commission shall appoint three members for a term of one year; four members for a term of two years and four members for a term of three years. The order of the county court shall fix the date on which the term of such commission members shall begin. The members of any board of park and recreation commissioners heretofore created under the former provisions of this article shall continue in office as members of the parks and recreation commission of such county until their terms expire and their successors have been appointed and have qualified. Any member of the commission who shall cease to be a bona fide resident of the county or a freeholder thereof, shall thereby be disqualified as a member of said commission and his office shall become vacant. When a vacancy occurs on said commission by reason of death, resignation, change of residence from the county, failure to remain a freeholder of the county, or expiration of term, the county court shall appoint a successor or successors to fill out the unexpired term of the member of the commission whose term has been vacated.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 7. County Commissions and Officers › Article 11. County Parks and Recreation Commissions › §7-11-4. Oath of Members; Officers; Location of Office; Personnel

After appointment, the members of the commission shall qualify by taking and filing with the clerk of the county court the oath prescribed by law for public officials; one of the members of said commission shall be elected as president, another as vice president, and a secretary shall be elected who need not be a member of the commission. Said commission shall maintain an office at any place it may designate in the county and have control of the management and operation of all properties and facilities which shall be operated in connection with the public parks and recreation system of such county and shall have power to employ or appoint such persons as, in its opinion, may be necessary for the construction, establishment, improvement, development, administration, operation and maintenance of the properties and facilities under its control, subject, however, to the limits of available funds.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 7. County Commissions and Officers › Article 11A. Museum Commissions › §7-11A-1. County Commission or Municipality May Establish Museum Commission; Cooperation; Appointments

Any county commission by order entered of record and any municipality by ordinance or any county and municipality by joint agreement may, if it or they so desire, establish a museum commission hereinafter, in this article referred to as the commission, to consist of not less than five nor more than ten appointees to be appointed by the county court or the mayor, as the case may be, and in the case of cooperative efforts between counties and municipalities, hereby authorized, each authority is to have equal appointive power.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 7. County Commissions and Officers › Article 11A. Museum Commissions › §7-11A-2. Provisions of Order or Ordinance Creating Commission

In any such order or ordinance, the governing body shall include provisions specifying (1) the terms of the members of such commission; (2) a method of filling vacancies; (3) whether the members of the commission are to be reimbursed for all reasonable and necessary expenses actually incurred in the performance of their duties; (4) the officers of the commission to be elected from the membership thereof; (5) requirements as to meetings of the commission; (6) requirements as to a quorum of the commission; (7) requirements as to voting by members of the commission; and (8) such other matters as may be deemed necessary or desirable for the proper functioning of the commission.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 7. County Commissions and Officers › Article 11A. Museum Commissions › §7-11A-3. Commission Empowered to Employ Personnel and Charge Admission Fees

Any such commission may also be authorized and empowered by any such ordinance or order to employ, within the limits of funds available therefor, such employees, assistants, technical personnel and consultants as are necessary to discharge the duties and responsibilities of the commission which such duties shall be contained in the order or ordinance establishing the commission. Any such commission may, in its discretion, charge admission fees.
Any such commission shall have the right and power to exercise eminent domain, with the approval of the county commission wherein the power of eminent domain is sought to be exercised, for the purpose of preserving historical and archeological points of interest in their respective jurisdictions.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 7. County Commissions and Officers › Article 11A. Museum Commissions › §7-11A-4. County Commission or Municipality May Contribute Money to Commission; Commission May Receive Gifts, etc.

Any municipality or county establishing any such commission shall have plenary power and authority to appropriate and contribute funds to such commission for expenditure by the commission for the purposes of this article and any expenditure and contribution of county commission or municipal funds shall be under this article. Any such commission may receive gifts, grants, donations, bequests or devises from sources other than public funds.