reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 16. Public Health › Article 5U. Arthritis Prevention Education Act › §16-5U-3. Interagency Council on Arthritis

(a) There is hereby established the interagency council on arthritis. The Director of Public Health shall chair the council. The council shall have representatives from appropriate state departments and agencies including, but not limited to, the entities with responsibility for aging, health care reform implementation, education and public welfare.
(b) The council shall:
(1) Coordinate arthritis programs conducted by or through the Bureau for Public Health;
(2) Establish a mechanism for sharing information on arthritis among all officials and employees involved in carrying out arthritis-related programs;
(3) Review and coordinate the most promising areas of education, prevention and treatment concerning arthritis;
(4) Assist the Bureau for Public Health and other offices in developing and coordinating plans for education and health promotion on arthritis;
(5) Establish mechanisms to use the results of research concerning arthritis in the development of relevant policies and programs; and
(6) Prepare a report that describes educational initiatives on arthritis and transmit the report to the Legislature and the Governor and make the report available to the public.
(c) The council shall establish and coordinate the advisory panel on arthritis which will provide nongovernmental input regarding the program. Membership shall include, but is not limited to, persons with arthritis, public health educators, arthritis experts, providers of arthritis health care, persons knowledgeable in health promotion and education and representatives of national arthritis organizations or their state and regional affiliates.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 16. Public Health › Article 5V. Emergency Medical Services Retirement System Act › §16-5V-4. Creation and Administration of West Virginia Emergency Medical Services Retirement System; Specification of Actuarial Assumptions

There is hereby created the West Virginia Emergency Medical Services Retirement System. The purpose of this system is to provide for the orderly retirement of emergency medical services officers who become superannuated because of age or permanent disability and to provide certain survivor death benefits, and it is contemplated that substantially all of the members of the retirement system shall be qualified public safety employees as defined in section two of this article. The retirement system shall come into effect January 1, 2008: Provided, That at least seventy percent of all eligible emergency medical services officers and at least eighty-five percent of the eligible emergency medical services officers who are currently active members of the Public Employees Retirement System elect to participate in this plan by December 31, 2007. If this level of participation is not reached, then all of the provisions of this article are void and of no force and effect. All business of the system shall be transacted in the name of the West Virginia Emergency Medical Services Retirement System. The board shall specify and adopt all actuarial assumptions for the plan at its first meeting of every calendar year or as soon thereafter as may be practicable, which assumptions shall become part of the plan.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 16. Public Health › Article 5V. Emergency Medical Services Retirement System Act › §16-5V-5. Article to Be Liberally Construed; Supplements Federal Social Security; Federal Qualification Requirements

(a) The provisions of this article shall be liberally construed so as to provide a general retirement system for emergency medical services officers eligible to retire under the provisions of this plan. Nothing in this article may be construed to permit a county to substitute this plan for federal social security now in force in West Virginia.
(b) The board shall administer the plan in accordance with its terms and may construe the terms and determine all questions arising in connection with the administration, interpretation and application of the plan. The board may sue and be sued, contract and be contracted with and conduct all the business of the system in the name of the plan. The board may employ those persons it considers necessary or desirable to administer the plan. The board shall administer the plan for the exclusive benefit of the members and their beneficiaries subject to the specific provisions of the plan.
(c) The plan is intended to meet the federal qualification requirements of Section 401(a) and related sections of the Internal Revenue Code as applicable to governmental plans. Notwithstanding any other provision of state law, the board shall administer the plan to fulfill this intent for the exclusive benefit of the members and their beneficiaries. Any provision of this article referencing or relating to these federal qualification requirements is effective as of the date required by federal law. The board may propose rules for promulgation and amend or repeal conflicting rules in accordance with the authority granted to the board pursuant to section one, article ten-d of chapter five of this code to assure compliance with the requirements of this section.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 16. Public Health › Article 5V. Emergency Medical Services Retirement System Act › §16-5V-7. Creation of Fund; Investments; Actuarial Valuations

(a) There is hereby created the "West Virginia Emergency Medical Services Retirement Fund" for the benefit of the members of the retirement system created pursuant to this article and the dependents of any deceased or retired member of the system.
(b) All moneys paid into and accumulated in the fund, except amounts designated by the board for payment of benefits as provided in this article, shall be held in trust and invested in the consolidated pensions fund administered by the West Virginia Investment Management Board as provided by law.
(c) The board shall employ a competent actuary or actuarial firm to prepare an actuarial valuation of the assets and liabilities of the fund. The actuarial valuation period shall coincide with the fiscal year of the state.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 16. Public Health › Article 5V. Emergency Medical Services Retirement System Act › §16-5V-8. Members' Contributions; Employer Contributions

(a) There shall be deducted from the monthly salary of each member and paid into the fund an amount equal to eight and one-half percent of his or her monthly salary. An additional amount shall be paid to the fund by the county commission or political subdivision in which the member is employed in covered employment in an amount determined by the board: Provided, That in no year may the total of the employer contributions provided in this section, to be paid by the county commission or political subdivision, exceed ten and one-half percent of the total payroll for the members in the employ of the county commission or political subdivision.
(b) Any active member who has concurrent employment in an additional job or jobs and the additional employment requires the emergency medical services officer to be a member of another retirement system which is administered by the Consolidated Public Retirement Board pursuant to article ten-d, chapter five of this code shall contribute to the fund the sum of eight and one-half percent of his or her monthly salary earned as an emergency medical services officer as well as the sum of eight and one-half percent of his or her monthly salary earned from any additional employment which additional employment requires the emergency medical services officer to be a member of another retirement system which is administered by the Consolidated Public Retirement Board pursuant to article ten-d, chapter five of this code. An additional percent of the monthly salary of each member shall be paid to the fund by the concurrent employer by which the member is employed in an amount determined by the board: Provided, That in no year may the total of the employer contributions provided in this section, to be paid by the concurrent employer, exceed ten and one-half percent of the payroll for the concurrent member employees.
(c) All required deposits shall be remitted to the board no later than fifteen days following the end of the calendar month for which the deposits are required. If the board upon the recommendation of the board actuary finds that the benefits provided by this article can be actuarially funded with a lesser contribution, then the board shall reduce the required member and employer contributions proportionally. Any county commission or political subdivision which fails to make any payment due the Emergency Medical Services Retirement Fund by the fifteenth day following the end of each calendar month in which contributions are due may be required to pay the actuarial rate of interest lost on the total amount owed for each day the payment is delinquent. Accrual of the loss of earnings owed by the delinquent county commission or political subdivision commences after the fifteenth day following the end of the calendar month in which contributions are due and continues until receipt of the delinquent amount. Interest compounds daily and the minimum surcharge is $50.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 16. Public Health › Article 5V. Emergency Medical Services Retirement System Act › §16-5V-10. Notice Requirements; Test Case

(a) Each county commission or political subdivision shall prepare a written notice to be delivered to each emergency medical services officer employed prior to July 1, 2007. This notice shall clearly and accurately explain the benefits, financial implications and consequences to an emergency medical services officer of electing to participate in the retirement plan created in this article, including the consequences and financial implications in regard to the benefits under the Public Employees Insurance Plan as set forth in this code for those emergency medical services officers employed by a county commission or political subdivision which participates in that insurance plan. This notice shall be distributed to each emergency medical services officer and the county or political subdivision shall obtain a signed receipt from each emergency medical services officer acknowledging that the emergency medical services officer was provided a copy of the notice required in this subsection. If an emergency medical services officer makes the election provided in section six of this article, he or she shall be considered to have made a voluntary, informed decision in regard to the election to participate in the retirement system created in this article.
(b) Nothing in this section may be construed to alter, affect or change any of the rights and benefits of any emergency medical services officer who has insurance coverage under article sixteen, chapter five of this code as a result of being a spouse or dependant of a participant who is the primary insured under article sixteen, chapter five of this code.
(c) Nothing contained in this section may be construed to affect or pertain to any life insurance coverage under article sixteen, chapter five of this code.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 16. Public Health › Article 5V. Emergency Medical Services Retirement System Act › §16-5V-11. Retirement; Commencement of Benefits

(a) Except for duty disability retirement, no member may retire before January 1, 2011.
(b) On or after the date a member attains early or normal retirement age, a member may retire and commence to receive retirement income payments on the first day of the calendar month following termination of employment and receipt of his or her written application for retirement in an amount as provided under this article: Provided, That retirement income payments under this plan are subject to the provisions of this article. Upon receipt of a request for estimation of benefits, the board shall promptly provide the member with an explanation of his or her optional forms of retirement benefits and the estimated gross monthly annuity. Upon receipt of properly executed retirement application forms from the member, the board shall process member's request for and commence payments as soon as administratively feasible.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 16. Public Health › Article 5V. Emergency Medical Services Retirement System Act › §16-5V-15. Retirement Credited Service Through Member's Use, as Option, of Accrued Annual or Sick Leave Days

Any member accruing annual leave or sick leave days may, after the effective date of this section, elect to use the days at the time of retirement to acquire additional credited service in this retirement system: Provided, That the accrued annual or sick leave may not be used to purchase health insurance under the Public Employees Insurance Agency until the member reaches the age of fifty-five. The days shall be applied on the basis of two workdays' credit granted for each one day of accrued annual or sick leave days, with each month of retirement service credit to equal twenty workdays and with any remainder of ten workdays or more to constitute a full month of additional credit and any remainder of less than ten workdays to be dropped and not used, notwithstanding any provisions of the code to the contrary. The credited service shall be allowed and not considered to controvert the requirement of no more than twelve months' credited service in any year's period.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 16. Public Health › Article 5V. Emergency Medical Services Retirement System Act › §16-5V-17. Annuity Options

Prior to the effective date of retirement, but not after that date, a member may elect to receive retirement income payments in the normal form, or the actuarial equivalent of the normal form from the following options:
(a) Option A-- Contingent joint and survivor annuity. -- A life annuity payable during the joint lifetime of the member and his or her beneficiary who must be a natural person with an insurable interest in the member's life. Upon the death of the member, the benefit shall continue as a life annuity to the beneficiary in an amount equal to fifty percent, sixty-six and two-thirds percent, seventy-five percent or one hundred percent of the amount paid while both were living as selected by the member. If the beneficiary dies first, the monthly amount of benefits may not be reduced, but shall be paid at the amount that was in effect before the death of the beneficiary. If the retiring member is married, the spouse shall sign a waiver of benefit rights if the beneficiary is to be other than the spouse.
(b) Option B -- Ten years certain and life annuity. -- A life annuity payable during the member's lifetime but in any event for a minimum of ten years. If the member dies before the expiration of ten years, the remaining payments shall be made to a designated beneficiary, if any, or otherwise to the member's estate.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 16. Public Health › Article 5V. Emergency Medical Services Retirement System Act › §16-5V-18. Refunds to Certain Members Upon Discharge or Resignation; Deferred Retirement; Forfeitures

(a) Any member who terminates covered employment and is not immediately eligible to receive disability or retirement income benefits under this article is, by written request filed with the board, entitled to receive from the fund the member's accumulated contributions. Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, upon withdrawal, the member shall forfeit his or her accrued benefit and cease to be a member.
(b) Any member who ceases employment in covered employment and active participation in this plan and who thereafter becomes reemployed in covered employment may not receive any credited service for any prior withdrawn accumulated contributions from either this plan or the Public Employees Retirement System unless following his or her return to covered employment and active participation in this plan, the member redeposits in the fund the amount of the accumulated contributions withdrawn from previous covered employment, together with interest on the accumulated contributions at the rate determined by the board from the date of withdrawal to the date of redeposit. Upon repayment he or she shall receive the same credit on account of his or her former covered employment as if no refund had been made.
The repayment authorized by this subsection shall be made in a lump sum within sixty months of the emergency medical services officer's reemployment in covered employment or, if later, within sixty months of the effective date of this article.
(c) A member of this plan who has elected to transfer from the Public Employees Retirement System into this plan pursuant to subsection (b), section six of this article may not, after having transferred into and become an active member of this plan, reinstate to his or her credit in this plan any service credit relating to periods of nonemergency medical services officer service withdrawn from the Public Employees Retirement System prior to his or her elective transfer into this plan.
(d) Every member who completes sixty months of covered employment is eligible, upon cessation of covered employment, to either withdraw his or her accumulated contributions in accordance with this section or to choose not to withdraw his or her accumulated contribution and to receive retirement income payments upon attaining early or normal retirement age.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, forfeitures under the plan may not be applied to increase the benefits any member would otherwise receive under the plan.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 16. Public Health › Article 5V. Emergency Medical Services Retirement System Act › §16-5V-19. Awards and Benefits for Disability -- Duty Related

(a) Any member who after the effective date of this article and during covered employment: (1) Has been or becomes totally disabled by injury, illness or disease; and (2) the disability is a result of an occupational risk or hazard inherent in or peculiar to the services required of members; or (3) the disability was incurred while performing emergency medical services functions during either scheduled work hours or at any other time; and (4) in the opinion of two physicians after medical examination, one of whom shall be named by the board, the member is by reason of the disability unable to perform adequately the duties required of an emergency medical services officer, is entitled to receive and shall be paid from the fund in monthly installments the compensation set forth under either subsection (b) or (c) of this section.
(b) If the member is totally disabled, the member shall receive ninety percent of his or her average full monthly compensation for the twelve-month period preceding the member's disability or the shorter period if the member has not worked twelve months.
(c) If the member remains totally disabled until attaining sixty-five years of age, the member shall then receive the retirement benefit provided in sections sixteen and seventeen of this article.
(d) The disability benefit payments will begin the first day of the month following termination of employment and receipt of the disability retirement application by the Consolidated Public Retirement Board.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 16. Public Health › Article 5V. Emergency Medical Services Retirement System Act › §16-5V-20. Awards and Benefits for Disability -- Due to Other Causes

(a) Any member with ten or more years of contributing service and who during covered employment: (1) Has been or becomes totally disabled from any cause other than those set forth in section nineteen of this article and not due to vicious habits, intemperance or willful misconduct on his or her part; and (2) in the opinion of two physicians after medical examination, one of whom shall be named by the board, he or she is by reason of the disability unable to perform adequately the duties required of an emergency medical services officer, is entitled to receive and shall be paid from the fund in monthly installments, the compensation set forth in, either subsection (b) or (c) of this section.
(b) If the member is totally disabled, he or she shall receive sixty-six and two-thirds percent of his or her average monthly compensation for the twelve-month period immediately preceding the disability award, or if the member has not worked all twelve months during the twelve month period immediately preceding the disability award, the average of the months in which compensation was received for the twelve month period shall be used.
(c) If the member remains totally disabled until attaining sixty years of age, then the member shall receive the retirement benefit provided in sections sixteen and seventeen of this article.
(d) The board shall propose legislative rules for promulgation in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code concerning member disability payments so as to ensure that the payments do not exceed one hundred percent of the average current salary for the position last held by the member.
(e) The disability benefit payments will begin the first day of the month following termination of employment and receipt of the disability retirement application by the Consolidated Public Retirement Board.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 16. Public Health › Article 5V. Emergency Medical Services Retirement System Act › §16-5V-21. Same -- Physical Examinations; Termination of Disability

(a) The board may require any member who has applied for or is receiving disability benefits under this article to submit to a physical examination, mental examination or both, by a physician or physicians selected or approved by the board. All costs incident to any examination by a board selected physician shall be paid from the board's expense fund. The costs may include hospital, laboratory, X-ray, medical and physicians' fees. A report of the findings of any physician shall be submitted in writing to the board for its consideration. If, from the report, independent information, or from the report and any hearing on the report, the board is of the opinion and finds that: (1) The member has become reemployed as an emergency medical services officer; (2) a physician who has examined the member has found that considering the opportunities for emergency medical services in West Virginia, the member could be so employed as an emergency medical services officer; or (3) other facts exist to demonstrate that the member is no longer totally disabled, then the disability benefits shall cease the first day of the month following board action. (b) The board shall require recertification for a disabled retirant, who has not attained age sixty, at least once each year during the first five years following his or her retirement and at least once in each three year period thereafter.
(c) If a retirant refuses to submit to a medical examination or submit a statement by his or her physician certifying continued disability in any period, his or her disability annuity may be discontinued by the board until the retirant complies. If the refusal continues for one year, all the retirant's rights in and to the annuity may be revoked by the board.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 16. Public Health › Article 5V. Emergency Medical Services Retirement System Act › §16-5V-23. Awards and Benefits to Surviving Spouse -- When Member Dies in Performance of Duty, etc.

(a) The surviving spouse of any member who, after the effective date of this article while in covered employment, has died or dies by reason of injury, illness or disease resulting from an occupational risk or hazard inherent in or peculiar to the service required of members, while the member was or is engaged in the performance of his or her duties as an emergency medical services officer, or the survivor spouse of a member who dies from any cause while receiving benefits pursuant to section nineteen of this article, is entitled to receive and shall be paid from the fund benefits as determined in subsection (b) of this section: To the surviving spouse annually, in equal monthly installments during his or her lifetime an amount equal to the greater of: (1) Two thirds of the annual compensation received in the preceding twelve-month period by the deceased member; or (2) if the member dies after his or her early or normal retirement age, the monthly amount which the spouse would have received had the member retired the day before his or her death, elected a one hundred percent joint and survivor annuity with the spouse as the joint annuitant, and then died.
(b) Benefits for a surviving spouse received under this section, section twenty-five and section twenty-six of this article are in lieu of receipt of any other benefits under this article for the spouse or any other person or under the provisions of any other state retirement system based upon the member's covered employment.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 16. Public Health › Article 5V. Emergency Medical Services Retirement System Act › §16-5V-24. Awards and Benefits to Surviving Spouse -- When Member Dies From Nonservice-Connected Causes

(a) If a member who has been a member for at least ten years, while in covered employment after the effective date of this article, has died or dies from any cause other than those specified in section twenty-three of this article and not due to vicious habits, intemperance or willful misconduct on his or her part, the fund shall pay annually in equal monthly installments to the surviving spouse during his or her lifetime, a sum equal to the greater of: (1) One half of the annual compensation received in the preceding twelve-month employment period by the deceased member; or (2) if the member dies after his or her early or normal retirement age, the monthly amount which the spouse would have received had the member retired the day before his or her death, elected a one hundred percent joint and survivor annuity with the spouse as the joint annuitant, and then died. Where the member is receiving disability benefits under this article at the time of his or her death, the average monthly compensation received in the plan year prior to disability shall be substituted for the annual compensation in subdivision (1) of this subsection.
(b) Benefits for a surviving spouse received under this section, or other sections of this article are in lieu of receipt of any other benefits under this article for the spouse or any other person or under the provisions of any other state retirement system based upon the member's covered employment.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 16. Public Health › Article 5V. Emergency Medical Services Retirement System Act › §16-5V-25. Additional Death Benefits and Scholarships -- Dependent Children

(a) In addition to the spouse death benefits in this article, the surviving spouse is entitled to receive and there shall be paid to the spouse $100 monthly for each dependent child.
(b) If the surviving spouse dies or if there is no surviving spouse, the fund shall pay monthly to each dependent child a sum equal to one hundred percent of the spouse's entitlement under this article divided by the number of dependent children. If there is neither a surviving spouse nor a dependent child, the fund shall pay in equal monthly installments to the dependent parents of the deceased member during their joint lifetimes a sum equal to the amount which a surviving spouse, without children, would have received: Provided, That when there is only one dependent parent surviving, that parent is entitled to receive during his or her lifetime one-half the amount which both parents, if living, would have been entitled to receive: Provided, however, That if there is no surviving spouse, dependent child or dependent parent of the deceased member, the accumulated contributions shall be paid to a named beneficiary or beneficiaries: Provided further, That if there is no surviving spouse, dependent child or dependent parent of the deceased member, or any named beneficiary or beneficiaries, then the accumulated contributions shall be paid to the estate of the deceased member.
(c) Any person qualifying as a dependent child under this section, in addition to any other benefits due under this or other sections of this article, is entitled to receive a scholarship to be applied to the career development education of that person. This sum, up to but not exceeding $6,000 per year, shall be paid from the fund to any university or college in this state or to any trade or vocational school or other entity in this state approved by the board to offset the expenses of tuition, room and board, books, fees or other costs incurred in a course of study at any of these institutions so long as the recipient makes application to the board on an approved form and under rules provided by the board and maintains scholastic eligibility as defined by the institution or the board. The board may propose legislative rules for promulgation in accordance with article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code which define age requirements, physical and mental requirements, scholastic eligibility, disbursement methods, institutional qualifications and other requirements as necessary and not inconsistent with this section. Scholarship benefits awarded pursuant to this subsection are not subject to division or payable to an alternate payee by any Qualified Domestic Relations Order.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 16. Public Health › Article 5V. Emergency Medical Services Retirement System Act › §16-5V-26. Burial Benefit

Any member who dies as a result of any service related illness or injury after the effective date is entitled to a lump sum burial benefit of $5,000. If the member is married, the burial benefit shall be paid to the member's spouse. If the member is not married, the burial benefit shall be paid to the member's estate for the purposes of paying burial expenses, settling the member's final affairs, or both. Burial benefits awarded pursuant to this section are not subject to division or payable to an alternate payee by any Qualified Domestic Relations Order.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 16. Public Health › Article 5V. Emergency Medical Services Retirement System Act › §16-5V-27. Double Death Benefits Prohibited

A surviving spouse is not entitled to receive simultaneous death benefits under this article as a result of the death of two or more members to whom the spouse was married. Any spouse who becomes eligible for a subsequent death benefit under this article while receiving a death benefit under this article shall receive the higher benefit, but not both.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 16. Public Health › Article 5V. Emergency Medical Services Retirement System Act › §16-5V-28. Right to Benefits Not Subject to Execution, etc.;assignments Prohibited; Deductions for Group Insurance; Setoffs for Fraud; Exception for Certain Domestic Relations Orders; Benefits Exempt From Taxes

The right of a person to any benefit provided for in this article shall not be subject to execution, attachment, garnishment, the operation of bankruptcy or insolvency laws, or other process whatsoever, nor shall any assignment thereof be enforceable in any court except that the benefits or contributions under this system shall be subject to "qualified domestic relations orders" as that term is defined in Section 414(p) of the Internal Revenue Code as applicable to governmental plans: Provided, That should a member be covered by a group insurance or prepayment plan participated in by a participating public employer, and should he or she be permitted to, and elect to, continue such coverage as a retirant, he or she may authorize the board of trustees to have deducted from his or her annuity the payments required of him or her to continue coverage under such group insurance or prepayment plan: Provided, however, That a participating public employer shall have the right of setoff for any claim arising from embezzlement by, or fraud of, a member, retirant or beneficiary. The assets of the retirement system are hereby exempt from state, county and municipal taxes.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 16. Public Health › Article 5V. Emergency Medical Services Retirement System Act › §16-5V-29. Fraud; Penalties; and Repayment

Any person who knowingly makes any false statement or who falsifies or permits to be falsified any record of the retirement system in any attempt to defraud that system is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine not to exceed 1,000, by confinement in jail not to exceed one year, or by both fine and confinement. Any increased benefit received by any person as a result of the falsification or fraud shall be returned to the fund upon demand by the board.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 16. Public Health › Article 5V. Emergency Medical Services Retirement System Act › §16-5V-31. How a County Commission, Political Subdivision, or County 911 Public Safety Answering Point Becomes a Participating Public Employer

Any county commission, or political subdivision, or county 911 public safety answering point employing emergency medical services officers or 911 personnel may by a three-fifths vote of its governing body, or by a majority vote of its electors, elect to become a participating public employer and thereby include its emergency medical services officers and 911 personnel in the membership of the plan. The clerk or secretary of each such county commission, or political subdivision, or county 911 public safety answering point governing board electing to become a participating public employer shall certify the determination of the county commission, or political subdivision, or county 911 public safety answering point governing board to the Consolidated Public Retirement Board within 10 days from and after the vote of the governing body or the canvass of votes upon such action. Once a county commission, or political subdivision, or county 911 public safety answering point governing board elects to participate in the plan, the action is final and it may not, at a later date, elect to terminate its participation in the plan.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 16. Public Health › Article 5V. Emergency Medical Services Retirement System Act › §16-5V-32. Effective Date; Report to Joint Committee on Government and Finance; Special Starting Date for Benefits

(a) The provisions of this article become effective January 1, 2008: Provided, That no payout of any benefits may be made to any person prior to January 1, 2011: Provided, however, That emergency medical services officers who retire due to a duty disability pursuant to this article may begin receiving the benefits at the rate and in the amount specified in this article from this fund after June 30, 2008: Provided further, That until June 30, 2008, those emergency medical services officers who retire due to a duty disability pursuant to this article may draw benefits from this fund at the rate and in the amount set forth in section twenty-five, article ten, chapter five of this code.
(b) During the 36-month period before the payout of benefits begins, the Joint Committee on Government and Finance shall cause an interim study or studies to be conducted on the potential effects of the implementation of this retirement system, including, but not limited to, potential funding mechanisms to provide health insurance coverage for retirees in the fifty to fifty-five age group: Provided, That after the effective date of this provision, the Director of the Public Employees Insurance Agency shall propose a rule for legislative approval in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code governing the funding of health insurance coverage for retirees under the plan provided in this article who are in the fifty to fifty-five year age group, which rule may be filed as an emergency rule: Provided, however, That any rule filed as an emergency rule pursuant to this subsection shall be refiled at the earliest opportunity as a legislative rule for review and promulgation in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 16. Public Health › Article 5V. Emergency Medical Services Retirement System Act › §16-5V-35. Return to Covered Employment by Retirant

The annuity of any member who retires under the provisions of this article and who resumes service in covered employment shall be suspended while the member continues in covered employment. The monthly annuity payment for the month in which the service resumes shall be pro-rated to the date of commencement of service, and the member shall again become a contributing member during resumption of service. At the conclusion of resumed service in covered employment the member shall have his or her annuity recalculated to take into account the entirety of service in covered employment.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 16. Public Health › Article 5W. Regulation of Behavioral Health › §16-5W-1. Reporting

(a) The Office of the Inspector General shall send to county prosecutors any findings that may be subject to criminal prosecution in cases of abuse and neglect with IDD. The Office of the Inspector General shall send to the P&A the findings of any cases involving instances of substantiated abuse or neglect involving a person with a developmental disability.
(b) An annual report shall be submitted to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Health and Human Resources Accountability including:
(1) All instances where abuse and neglect cases involving IDD at any location has been substantiated by the Office of the Inspector General.
(2) The county or region where the substantiated abuse or neglect occurred;
(2) The descriptive category of the abuse and neglect;
(3) The type of setting where the abuse and neglect occurred;
(4) Whether the abuse and neglect information was turned over to the county prosecutor and law enforcement;
(5) The name of the provider, if the provider is involved, who is charged with the care of the individual; and
(6) The age range and gender of the individual.
(c) In instances where abuse and/or neglect leads to the death of an individual, the department shall send a letter, within 30 days after the findings where substantiated, to the Senate President, the Speaker of the House, and the chairs of LOCHHRA outlining the information above about the case.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 16. Public Health › Article 5W. Regulation of Behavioral Health › §16-5W-2. Independent Mental Health Ombudsman

(a) (1) The Office of the Inspector General shall continue an independent mental health ombudsman;
(2) The duties of the mental health ombudsman shall include, but are not limited to, the following:
(A) Advocating for the well-being, treatment, safety, and rights of consumers of mental health care facilities or psychiatric hospital;
(B) Participating in any procedure to investigate, and resolve complaints filed on behalf of a consumer of a mental health care facility or psychiatric hospital, relating to action, inaction, or decisions of providers of mental and behavioral health, of public agencies, or social service agencies, which may adversely affect the health, safety, welfare, and rights of a consumer of a mental health care facility or psychiatric hospital; and
(C) Monitoring the development and implementation of federal, sate, and local legislation, regulations, and policies with respect to mental and behavioral health care and services;
(3) The mental health ombudsman shall participate in ongoing training programs related to his or her duties or responsibilities;
(4)(A) Information relating to any investigation of a complaint that contains the identity of the complainant or consumer shall remain confidential except:
(i) Where imminent risk of serious harm is communicated directly to the mental health ombudsman or his or her staff; or
(ii) Where disclosure is necessary to the Office of Health Facility Licensure and Certification in order for such office to determine the appropriateness of initiating an investigation to determine facility compliance with applicable rules of licensure, certification, or both;
(B) The mental health ombudsman shall maintain confidentiality with respect to all matters including the identities of complainants, witnesses, or others from whom information is acquired, except insofar as disclosures may be necessary to enable the mental health care ombudsman to carry out duties of the office or to support recommendations;
(C) All information, records, and reports received by or developed by the mental health ombudsman program which relate to a consumer of a mental health care facility or psychiatric hospital, including written material identifying a consumer are confidential, and are not subject to the provisions of 29-1-1,
et seq
. of this code, and may not be disclosed or released by the mental health ombudsman program, except under the circumstances enumerated in this section;
(D) Nothing in this section prohibits the preparation and submission by the mental health ombudsman of statistical data and reports, as required to implement the provisions of this section or any applicable federal law, exclusive of any material that identifies any consumer or complainant; and
(E) The Inspector General shall have access to the records and files of the mental health ombudsman program to verify its effectiveness and quality.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 16. Public Health › Article 5W. Regulation of Behavioral Health › §16-5W-3. Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Waiver Program Workforce Study

(a) By July 1, 2023, the Legislative Oversight Commission on Health and Human Resources Accountability shall conduct a workforce study pertaining to the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Waiver Program (IDDW Program). The study shall use data and statistics generally relied upon by reasonably prudent individuals, and shall determine/address the following:
(1) The categories of personnel offering services as part of the IDDW Program;
(2) The mean hourly pay rate for each such category of personnel, broken down by West Virginia County where service is provided to patients;
(3) The mean hourly pay rate for each such category of personnel offering services as part of programs equivalent to the IDDW Program in surrounding states.
(4) A comparison of the hourly pay rates identified in subdivisions 2 and 3 of this section, broken down by category of personnel; and
(5) Any other factor the commission reasonably deems relevant to the issues.
(b) Within the report the commission shall make recommendations as to the appropriateness of the current mean hourly pay rate for each category of IDDW Program personnel, as well as any potential pay rate increases necessary to ensure that the IDDW Programs can successfully recruit and retain qualified personnel.
(c) The commission shall issue the report by January 1, 2024.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 16. Public Health › Article 5W. Regulation of Behavioral Health › §16-5W-4. Annual Capitation Rate Review

(a) The Bureau of Medicaid Services shall conduct an annual study reviewing the adequacy and appropriateness of the reimbursement rates to providers in the IDDW Program. The bureau shall also include a recommendation for any adjustment deemed appropriate, including, but not limited to, annual inflationary costs, costs arising from amendments to existing contracts, costs relating to recruiting and retaining personnel, and any other costs necessitating additional payments to IDDW providers. The bureau may require, and contracted providers shall provide financial data to the bureau to assist in the study. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing in conducting this study, the bureau shall review and compare equivalent programs both in and out of state in order to determine appropriate rates.
(b) Upon completion of the study, BMS shall provide the report to the Joint Committee of Finance beginning July 1, 2024, and annually thereafter, on its findings, conclusions, and recommendations, together with drafts of any legislation necessary to effectuate its recommendations.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 16. Public Health › Article 5X. Caregiver Advise, Record and Enable Act › §16-5X-1. Definitions

For purpose of this article:
(1) "Aftercare" means any assistance provided by a designated lay caregiver to an individual under this article after the patient's discharge from a hospital. Assistance may include tasks that are limited to the patient's condition at the time of discharge that do not require a licensed professional;
(2) "Discharge" means a patient's exit or release from a hospital to the patient's residence following an inpatient stay;
(3) "Hospital" means a facility licensed pursuant to article five-b, chapter sixteen of this code and any acute care facility operated by state government;
(4) "Lay caregiver" means any individual eighteen years of age or older designated as a lay caregiver pursuant to the provisions of this article who provides aftercare assistance to a patient in the patient's residence; and
(5) "Residence" means a dwelling considered by a patient to be his or her home, not including a hospital or, a nursing home or group home, as defined by section two, article five-c, chapter sixteen of this code.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 16. Public Health › Article 5X. Caregiver Advise, Record and Enable Act › §16-5X-2. Caregiver Designation

(a) (1) A hospital shall provide a patient or the patient's legal guardian with an opportunity to designate one lay caregiver following the patient's admission into a hospital.
(2) If the patient is unconscious or otherwise incapacitated upon admission to the hospital, the hospital shall provide the patient's legal guardian with an opportunity to designate a lay caregiver following the patient's recovery of consciousness or capacity, so long as the designation or lack of a designation does not interfere with, delay or otherwise affect the medical care provided to the patient.
(3) If the patient or the patient's legal guardian declines to designate a lay caregiver under this article, the hospital shall promptly document that in the patient's medical record, and the hospital is considered to have complied with the provisions of this article.
(4) If the patient or the patient's legal guardian designates an individual as a lay caregiver under this article, the hospital shall promptly request the written consent of the patient or the patient's legal guardian to release medical information to the patient's designated lay caregiver pursuant to the hospital's established procedures for releasing personal health information and in compliance with applicable state and federal law.
(5) If the patient or the patient's legal guardian declines to consent to the release of medical information to the patient's designated lay caregiver, the hospital shall promptly document that in the patient's medical record, and the hospital is considered to have complied with the provisions of this article.
(6) The hospital shall record the patient's designation of a lay caregiver, the relationship of the lay caregiver to the patient, and the name and contact information of the patient's designated lay caregiver in the patient's medical record.
(b) A patient may elect to change his or her designated lay caregiver in the event that the originally designated lay caregiver becomes unavailable, unwilling or unable to care for the patient.
(c) Designation of a lay caregiver by a patient or a patient's legal guardian pursuant to the provisions of this article does not obligate any individual to perform any aftercare tasks for the patient.
(d) This article does not require a patient or a patient's legal guardian to designate any individual as a lay caregiver as defined by this article.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 16. Public Health › Article 5X. Caregiver Advise, Record and Enable Act › §16-5X-3. Notification

If a patient has designated a lay caregiver, a hospital shall notify the patient's designated lay caregiver of the patient's discharge to the patient's residence as soon as possible. If the hospital is unable to contact the designated lay caregiver, the lack of contact may not interfere with, delay or otherwise affect the medical care provided to the patient, or an appropriate discharge of the patient. The hospital shall promptly document that in the patient's medical record, and the hospital is considered to have complied with the provisions of this section.