Chapter 16, Chapter 16

If the retirement system is terminated or contributions are completely discontinued, the rights of all members to benefits accrued or contributions made to the date of the termination or discontinuance, to the extent then funded, are not forfeited.

(a) On or before the tenth day of each month, the county clerk of each county shall forward to the state Registrar a report of all marriage records made by him or her during the previous month, on a form prescribed or furnished by the state Registrar. (b) The State Registrar shal…

(a) Subject to the provisions of subsection (b) of this section, 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. If there has been a bona …

(a) On and after July 1, 2006, a record of each divorce or annulment ordered by any court of competent jurisdiction in this state shall be filed by the clerk of the court with the section of vital statistics, and shall be registered if it has been completed and filed in accordanc…

If any part of this article is declared unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions of this article in it entirety.

The provisions of this article apply to all certificates of birth, death, marriage and divorce or annulment, reports of fetal death and induced terminations of pregnancy previously received by the section of vital statistics and in the custody of the state Registrar or any other …

(a) For acts which occur on or after the effective date of this section, a person shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned in a state correctional facility not more than five years, or both fined and imprisoned, …

For purposes of this article, the commissioner shall have the powers and duties set forth in section six, article five-p of this chapter. In addition, the commissioner shall ensure the bureau fulfills the requirements of section twelve, article five-p of this chapter, relating to…

(a) (1) Submission of an application to the Catastrophic Illness Commission for medical assistance is, as a matter of law, an assignment of the right of the applicant, or legal representative thereof, to recovery from personal insurance or other sources, including, but not limite…

(a) There is hereby established the Bureau of Senior Services. As of the effective date of this article, all references to the commission on aging shall be construed to mean the Bureau of Senior Services. (b) The bureau shall be under the supervision of a commissioner of the Bure…

There is hereby created within the state commission on aging, as set forth in article fourteen, chapter twenty-nine of this code, the West Virginia long-term care ombudsman program, pursuant to the Older Americans Act of 1965, as amended.

(a) The Governor's Early Intervention Interagency Coordinating Council is continued. The council is composed of at least fifteen members appointed by the Governor with additional ex officio members representing specific agencies serving infants and toddlers with developmental del…

In order to carry out the duties described in this article, the advisory council has the following powers: (1) To pursue and accept gifts, grants, and bequests of funds from individuals, foundations, corporations, federal government, government agencies, and other organizations o…

The director shall furnish, within the limits of available funds, free tissue diagnostic service to all needy patients. In providing this service the director may use either the state- owned laboratory in the department of health, or privately owned laboratories approved by the d…

In addition to promulgating rules specified in section three of this article, the director of the department of health, with the advice of the advisory board created in section five of this article, has the power to: (a) Adopt rules for clinical laboratory licensure; (b) Establis…

(a) This article does not prevent the governing body of a hospital from holding an executive session during a regular, special or emergency meeting, after the presiding officer has identified the authorization under this article for the holding of the executive session and has pr…

(a) As soon as possible and, in any event, upon issuance of a discharge order by the patient's attending physician, the hospital shall consult with the designated lay caregiver along with the patient regarding the lay caregiver's capabilities and limitations and issue a discharge…

The Commissioner of the Bureau for Public Health shall appoint the state Registrar of Vital Statistics, hereinafter referred to as the "State Registrar."

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 certai…

(a) To fulfill the purposes of this article, the following information shall be reported, within 24 hours after the provider responds to the incident and via an appropriate information technology platform, to the Office of Drug Control Policy: (1) The date and time of the overdos…

The bureau shall be the designated state agency to: (a) Develop and administer the state plan as required by the federal administration on aging; (b) Be the primary agency responsible for the planning, policy development, administration, coordination, priority setting and evaluat…

The Commissioner of the Bureau of Senior Services shall receive an annual salary as provided in section two-a, article seven, chapter six of this code and the necessary traveling expenses incident to the performance of his or her duties. Requisition for traveling expenses shall b…

(a) The department may enter into contracts with public or private providers of early intervention services who meet state early intervention standards. (b) Within available resources, as determined by the department, appropriate early intervention services shall be made availabl…

Each governing body shall provide for the preparation of written minutes of all of its meetings. Subject to the exceptions set forth in section four of this article, minutes of all meetings except minutes of executive sessions, if any are taken, shall be available to the public w…

The secretary at his or her discretion may provide the advisory council with administrative support reasonably necessary for the advisory council to carry out its duties. In addition, the secretary may make and sign any agreements and may do and perform any acts that are necessar…

The Bureau of Public Health may prescribe rules and regulations specifying to what extent and on what terms and conditions needy cancer patients may receive financial aid for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer in any approved hospital in this state. The director is authorized …

(a) The state commission on aging shall employ a state long-term care ombudsman to effect the purposes of this article. The state long-term care ombudsman shall have at least a master's degree in gerontology, social work, health or a related field and shall have demonstrated expe…

(a) This article may not be construed to interfere with the rights of a person legally authorized to make health care decisions as provided in article thirty, chapter sixteen of this code. (b) Nothing in this act shall be construed to create a private right of action against a ho…

(a) The State Registrar shall: (1) Administer and enforce the provisions of this article and the rules promulgated pursuant to this article, and issue instructions for the efficient administration of the system of vital statistics; (2) Direct and supervise the system of vital sta…

(a) The provisions of this article shall be liberally construed so as to provide a general retirement system for emergency medical services officers, county firefighters, or 911 personnel eligible to retire under the provisions of this plan. Nothing in this article may be constru…

The director may propose rules for promulgation in accordance with article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to implement the provisions of this section. The Legislature finds that for the purposes of §29A-3-15 of this code, an emergency exists requiring the promulgation …

The area agencies on aging designated by the bureau shall be charged with the following: (a) Prepare and develop an area plan in a format provided by the bureau and as required by the federal administration on aging; (b) Enter into agreements and contracts with local service prov…

The commissioner shall be the executive and administrative head of the bureau and shall have the power and duty to: (a) Exercise general supervision of the bureau; (b) Propose legislative rules for the effective and expeditious performance and discharge of the duties and responsi…

(a) The state commission on aging shall designate and maintain regional long-term care ombudsman programs encompassing all planning and development areas of the state under the direction of the state long-term care ombudsman. Any regional long-term care ombudsman program so desig…

(a) There is created in the state Treasury a fund to be known as the "West Virginia Birth-to-Three Fund" that shall be an interest-bearing account established and maintained to pay costs, fees and expenses incurred, or to be incurred, for early intervention services for children …

If a license is withheld, suspended or revoked, the laboratory is entitled to a hearing before representatives of the department of health within sixty days of the withholding, suspension or revocation decision. Such laboratory may be represented at the hearing by counsel and may…

The circuit court in the county where a hospital is located has jurisdiction to enforce this article upon civil action commenced by any citizen of this state within one hundred twenty days after the action complained of was taken or the decision complained of was made. Where the …

There is hereby created a special revenue account in the State Treasury to be known as the Rare Disease Advisory Council Information Fund into which gifts, grants, and bequests may be received for the use of the advisory council to carry out its duties as specified in §16-5CC-3 o…

Subject to the rules promulgated by the department, the commissioner may establish, eliminate, consolidate, subdivide or alter the boundaries of, registration districts throughout the state.

State or federal dollars may not be used for payment to any lay caregiver as defined in this article after discharge from a hospital. No state or federal program funding shall be impacted by this article.

(a) Any emergency medical services officer, county firefighter, or 911 personnel hired on or after the effective date the participating public employer elected to become a participating public employer shall be a member of this retirement plan as a condition of employment and upo…

(a) The Director of the Office of Drug Control Policy shall establish a Community Overdose Response Demonstration Pilot Project, to be continued for a period of four years, to develop model government programs to promote public health and general welfare through a comprehensive c…

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article to the contrary, a person employed as a county firefighter may be a member of this retirement plan subject to the provisions of this section. Full-time employment as a county firefighter satisfies the definition of “covered …

(a) The Consolidated Public Retirement Board shall, within one hundred eighty days of January 1, 2023, transfer assets from the Public Employees Retirement System Trust Fund into the West Virginia Emergency Medical Services Trust Fund. (b) The amount of assets to be transferred f…

(a) In accordance with the provisions of this article, the board shall administer the voluntary transfer of 911 personnel who are members of the Public Employees Retirement System to the Emergency Medical Services Retirement System. (b) 911 personnel, employed by a participating …

(a) If at least 75 percent of those actively contributing members of the Public Employees Retirement System currently employed as 911 personnel eligible to vote affirmatively elect to transfer to the Emergency Medical Services Retirement System within the period provided in §16-5…

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article to the contrary, any home confinement officer hired on or after July 1, 2025, shall be a member of this retirement plan as a condition of employment and upon membership does not qualify for membership in any other retirement…

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article to the contrary, any county commission emergency medical services officer participating in the Public Employees Retirement System who was hired by a county commission prior to the election of the county commission becoming a…

(a) Service providers who offer "Older West Virginians Act" and related services funded through the federal administration on aging shall: (1) Determine the needs of seniors in the particular geographic area covered by gaining input from the seniors themselves, their families and…

(a) Effective July 1, 2023, a child or children adopted on and after that date whose adoptive parent or parents are residents of West Virginia shall be eligible for any early intervention services provided for families which may be offered by the Department of Health and Human Re…