Chapter 20, Chapter 20

This article may be cited as the "Nonprofit Adventure and Recreational Activity Responsibility Act".

The Legislature finds that West Virginia is blessed by geography and natural features that make it ideal for a host of adventure and recreational activities attractive to nonprofit youth organizations interested in training and inspiring thousands of young people from other parts…

In this article, unless a different meaning plainly is required: (1) "Adventure or recreational activity" means any program or activity sponsored by a nonprofit youth organization and conducted by the organization or its provider that involves inherent risks, including, but not l…

Every nonprofit youth organization or provider shall: (1) Make reasonable and prudent efforts to determine the ability of a participant to safely engage in the adventure or recreational activity; (2) Make known to any participant any dangerous traits or characteristics or any phy…

It is recognized that the adventure and recreational activities described in this article are hazardous to participants, regardless of all feasible safety measures which can be taken. Each participant in an adventure or recreational activity expressly assumes the risk of and lega…

(a) A nonprofit youth organization or provider shall be liable for injury, loss or damage caused by failure to follow the duties set forth in section four of this article where the violation of duty is causally related to the injury, loss or damage suffered. A nonprofit youth org…

Any participant shall be liable for injury, loss or damage resulting from violations of the duties set forth in section five of this article: Provided, That none of the provisions in this article shall modify or eliminate any other statutory or common law provisions which specifi…

The provisions of this article are in addition to provisions of articles three-a, three-b, four and fifteen of this chapter, and are to be construed in pari materia.

The Legislature further finds that, with the cooperation of private landowners, there is an opportunity to provide trail-oriented recreation facilities primarily on private property in the mountainous terrain of the Potomac Highlands and north central West Virginia and that the f…

The West Virginia Legislature finds that outdoor recreation is an increasingly vital part of the state’s economy and that outdoor recreation participants spend billions of dollars annually in the state and support a significant number of local jobs. The Legislature further finds …

The Legislature further finds that, with the cooperation of private landowners, there is an opportunity to provide trail-oriented recreation facilities primarily on private property in the Ohio River valley terrain of western counties in West Virginia and the northern panhandle o…

(a) There is hereby continued the Mountaineer Trail Network Recreation Authority consisting of representatives from the counties of Barbour, Doddridge, Grant, Harrison, Lewis, Marion, Mineral, Monongalia, Preston, Randolph, Ritchie, Taylor, Tucker, Upshur, and Wood organized purs…

(a) There is hereby created the Upper Ohio Valley Trail Network Recreation Authority consisting of representatives from all counties in the northern panhandle – Hancock, Brooke, Ohio, and Marshall – and Ohio River valley counties to include Wetzel, Tyler, Pleasants, Wood, Jackson…

Unless the context clearly requires a different meaning, the terms used in this article have the following meanings: (1) "Adjacent county" means a nonparticipating county that directly borders any participating county in a multicounty trail network authority; (2) "Authority" mean…

The permitted recreational purposes for the Mountaineer Trail Network Recreation Area include, but are not limited to, any one or any combination of the following recreational activities: Hunting, fishing, swimming, boating, camping, picnicking, hiking, bicycling, mountain bicycl…

(a) For the purposes of this article, three or more contiguous counties may, upon approval of the county commission of each county desiring to participate, form a multicounty trail network authority. An authority established pursuant to this section is a public corporation and a …

The permitted recreational purposes for the Upper Ohio Valley Trail Network Recreation Area include, but are not limited to, any one or any combination of the following recreational activities: Hunting, fishing, swimming, boating, camping, picnicking, hiking, bicycling, mountain …

(a) The governing body of the authority shall be a board constituted according to the provisions of §20-17-4 of this code. (b) All costs incidental to the administration of the authority, including office expenses, personal services expenses and current expenses, shall be paid in…

(a) The governing body of the authority shall be a board constituted according to the provisions of §20-17-4 of this code. (b) All costs incidental to the administration of the authority, including office expenses, personal services expenses and current expenses, shall be paid in…

(a) The board is the governing body of an authority and the board shall exercise all the powers given the authority in this article. The county commission of each participating county shall appoint two members to the board, as follows: (1) Each participating county shall appoint …

(a) An authority shall contract for and obtain an annual financial audit to be conducted by a private accounting firm in compliance with generally accepted government auditing standards. When complete, the audit shall be transmitted to the board, the president of the county commi…

Owners of land used by the authority shall have the full benefit of the limitations of liability provided in §20-17-8 of this code.

Owners of land used by the authority shall have the full benefit of the limitations of liability provided in §20-17-8 of this code.

An authority, as a public corporation and joint development entity, may exercise all powers necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes of this article, including, but not limited to, the power: (1) To acquire, own, hold, and dispose of property, real and personal, tangibl…

(a) An authority may require recreational users to wear protective helmets or use safety equipment that the authority determines to be appropriate for the recreational activity in which the user is engaged. (b) Each trail user operating a bicycle or mountain bicycle shall obey al…

(a) An owner of land used by an authority owes no duty of care to keep his or her land safe for entry or use by others for recreational purposes, or to give any warning of a dangerous or hazardous condition, use, structure, activity, or wild animal on such land to persons enterin…

(a) Purchasing and bidding procedures; criminal penalties. — (1) Whenever an authority proposes to purchase or contract for commodities or services reasonably anticipated to equal or exceed $25,000 in cost, the purchase or contract shall be based on competitive bidding. Where the…

This article is known and may be cited as the “West Virginia Natural Resources Police Officers Retirement System Act.”

(a) The Consolidated Public Retirement Board shall, within 90 days of the effective date transfer assets from the Public Employees Retirement System trust fund into the West Virginia Natural Resources Police Officers Retirement trust fund. (b) The amount of assets to be transferr…

(a) The Division of Natural Resources shall prepare a written notice no later than August 1, 2020, to be delivered to each Natural Resources Police Officer actively employed by the division: Provided, That the division shall also deliver this notice on the first day of employment…

A member may retire and commence to receive retirement income payments on the first day of the calendar month following the board’s receipt of the member’s voluntary written application for retirement or the required beginning date, if earlier. Before receiving retirement income …

Notwithstanding any other provision of this article or state law, the board shall administer the retirement system in compliance with the limitations of Section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code and regulations under that section, to the extent applicable to governmental plans (he…

The requirements of this section apply to any distribution of a member’s or beneficiary’s interest and take precedence over any inconsistent provisions of this plan. This section applies to plan years beginning after December 31, 1986. Notwithstanding anything in the plan to the …

Except where otherwise stated, this section applies to distributions made on or after January 1, 1993. Notwithstanding any provision of this article to the contrary that would otherwise limit a distributee’s election under this plan, a distributee may elect, at the time and in th…

(a) This section applies to rollovers and transfers as specified in this section made on or after January 1, 2002. Notwithstanding any provision of this article to the contrary that would otherwise prohibit or limit rollovers and plan transfers to this system, the retirement syst…

(a) Any member, who was a member of the Public Employee Retirement System prior to July 1, 2015, and who elected to become a member of this plan pursuant to §20-18-6 of this code and who has accrued annual leave or sick leave days with the division may elect to use the days at th…

This section provides for a member’s accrued benefit payable starting at the member’s annuity starting date which follows the completion of a written application for the commencement of benefits. The member shall receive the accrued retirement benefit in the normal form or in an …

(a) Prior to the effective date of retirement, but not thereafter, except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, 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: (1) Joi…

As used in this article, unless a federal law or regulation or the context clearly requires a different meaning: (a) "Accrued benefit" means on behalf of any member two and one-quarter percent of the member’s final average salary multiplied by the member’s years of credited servi…

(a) Any member who terminates covered employment and is not 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…

(a) Any member who after the effective date of this article and during covered employment: (1) Has been or becomes either totally or partially disabled by injury, illness, or disease; and (2) the disability is a result of an occupational risk or hazard inherent in or peculiar to …

(a) Any member with 10 or more years of contributing service and who after the effective date of this article and during covered employment: (1) Has been or becomes totally or partially disabled from any cause other than those set forth in §20-18-21 of this code and not due to vi…

(a) The board may require any member who has applied for or any retirant who 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 and may cause all costs…

Any Natural Resources Police Officer who became totally disabled as a result of illness or injury incurred in the line of duty prior to the effective date of this article may not be a member of the Natural Resources Police Officer Retirement System.

(a) The surviving spouse of any member who 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 a Natur…

(a) In any case where a member who has been a contributing member for at least 10 years dies prior to retirement from any cause other than those specified in §20-18-25 of this code, and not due to vicious habits, intemperance, or willful misconduct on his or her part, the fund sh…

(a) In addition to the spouse death benefits in §20-18-25 and §20-18-26 of this code, 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 while receiving death benefits provided …

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 benefi…

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 b…

Any term used in this article has the same meaning as when used in a comparable context in the laws of the United States, unless a different meaning is clearly required. Any reference in this article to the Internal Revenue Code means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as it has …