Chapter 5, Chapter 5

Whenever the board determines that (1) any person has knowingly made any false statement or falsified or permitted to be falsified any record or records of the retirement system in an attempt to defraud the system, or (2) any person who resumes employment with a governmental enti…

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 such termination or discontinuance, to the extent then funded, are not forfeited.

The first terms of office for the trustees provided for in subdivisions (d) and (e) of section five of this article shall expire June 30, 1965, June 30, 1964 and June 30, 1963, respectively, as the Governor shall designate at the time of the appointments. Thereafter, the terms of…

The supervisory board shall refund to a participant or beneficiary terminated from benefits by section five of this article the contributions of the participant in the same manner and with the same interest as provided to those participants or beneficiaries otherwise eligible to …

The deferred compensation plan or plans established pursuant to this article shall exist and serve in addition to other retirement, pension or benefit systems established by the state employer and any public employer. The deferred compensation plan or plans established by this ar…

(a) Any recipient of monthly retirement benefits from any public retirement plan in this state may authorize that a deduction from his or her monthly benefits be made for the payment of membership dues or fees to a retiree association. The deductions shall be authorized on a form…

(a) Any eligible retired public safety officer who is a participant or member under any eligible retirement plan administered by the board may voluntarily elect to have amounts from an eligible retirement plan distributed to the eligible retired public safety officer in order to …

(a) Effective for plan years beginning after December 31, 1995, and prior to January 1, 2002, the annual compensation of a participant taken into account in determining benefits or contributions under any of the public retirement plans administered by the board and which are qual…

Nothing in this article prohibits a participant or former participant made ineligible for benefits by virtue of conviction of a crime under this article and who has paid the full penalty imposed by law for the crime from accepting a position as an officer or employee of the same …

Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, any compensation deferred under this article shall be considered part of an employee's compensation for purposes of any other employee retirement, pension or benefit program. No deferral of compensation under any deferre…

In the event any trustee, provided for in subdivisions (d) and (e) of section five of this article leaves the employ of a participating public employer, or fails to attend three consecutive meetings of the board of trustees, unless in each case excused for cause by the remaining …

Notwithstanding any other provision of this article or any other provision of law to the contrary, any compensation deferred under any deferred compensation plan shall not be subject to any federal, state or municipal income tax nor shall any amount of compensation deferred be in…

The trustees shall serve as trustees without compensation for their service as such: Provided, That each trustee shall be reimbursed, upon approval of the board of trustees, for any necessary expenses incurred by him in carrying out his duties of trustee. No trustee shall suffer …

(a) The State of West Virginia or any of its political subdivisions shall have the right of setoff against any unpaid benefits which have accrued or may thereafter accrue under the plan, including any contributions by the participant or former participant for any claim caused by …

(a) The board of trustees shall elect from its own number a chairman and a vice chairman. (b) The board of trustees shall appoint an executive secretary of the retirement system. The executive secretary shall be the chief administrative officer of the system; and shall not be a m…

The state employer and the public employers shall not incur any liability for losses suffered or change in value of an investment product. The financial liability of the state employer or public employer under any deferred compensation plan shall be limited in each instance to am…

If any provision of this article is determined to deprive a person of any property right which is vested and is indefeasible as of the effective date of this article, the provisions of this article shall nonetheless be effective as to any benefits or a part of any benefit under a…

For all of the public retirement plans administered by the board, the board shall make monthly annuity payments on the twenty-fifth day of each month, except the month of December, when the board shall make the payments on December 18, . If the date of payment falls on a holiday,…

The short title by which this article may be referred to is "Public Employees' and Teachers' Reciprocal Service Credit Act."

The following words and phrases as used in this article, unless a different meaning is clearly indicated by the context, shall have the following meanings: (a) "Accumulated contributions" means the sum of the amounts deducted from the compensation of a member and credited to his …

(a) Transfer from public service system to teacher service system. -- Notwithstanding the provisions of law governing the West Virginia Public Employees Retirement System, in the event a member leaves a position covered by the public system and becomes employed in a position cove…

In the event a member leaves a position covered by the public system and within five years thereafter becomes employed in a position covered by the teacher system, or a member leaves the position covered by the teacher system and within five years thereafter becomes employed in a…

(a) In the event a member of the public system has served in a position prior to the date the teachers' system was created, which position would be covered under the teachers' system as of the date of retirement had the teachers' system been in existence at said time, the board o…

In the event a member, who has reciprocal service credit in force, retires under the public system on account of disability his annuity to be paid by the teacher system shall be subject to approval of his disability retirement by the retirement board of the teacher system. In the…

The Legislature hereby finds and declares that: (a) There is a need for West Virginia to adequately identify the deaf or hard of hearing population and provide efficient and effective services to such population; (b) Deaf or hard of hearing people need to be more involved in the …

This article shall be known and may be cited as the "West Virginia Interpreter for the Deaf Act."

The commission, with the approval of the Governor, may agree to accept and contract as agent of the state any gift, grant, devise or bequest, including federal grants, for any of the purposes of this article. Any moneys so received may be expended by the commission to effectuate …

The members of the commission, other than its ex officio members, are entitled to reimbursement for their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of official duties.

As used in this article: (a) "Deaf person" means one whose sense of hearing is nonfunctional for the ordinary purposes of life; (b) "Qualified interpreter" means an interpreter certified by the national association of the deaf (NAD) or registry of interpreters for the deaf (RID),…

As used in this article: (a) "Deaf" means severe to profound impairment of the sense of hearing whereby the understanding of speech is unattainable through the ear alone with or without amplification, and visual communication is used as the primary mode of communication. (b) "Har…

(a) The West Virginia Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing is continued within the Department of Health consisting of 17 persons, eight of whom shall serve ex officio. The remaining members are appointed by the Governor by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The…

(a) In any case before any court or the grand jury, wherein any deaf person is a complainant, defendant or witness, a qualified interpreter to interpret the proceedings to the deaf person and interpret his or her testimony or statements and to assist in preparation with counsel s…

(a) In the event a person who is deaf is arrested and taken into custody for any alleged violation of a criminal law of this state, the arresting officer or his or her superiors shall procure a qualified interpreter in order to interrogate properly such deaf person and to interpr…

Members of the commission who do not serve ex officio shall be appointed for the following terms: Three members shall be appointed for a term of three years; three for a term of two years; and three for a term of one year. When a vacancy occurs, an appointment shall be made for t…

(a) In any proceeding before any department, board, commission, agency or licensing authority of the state, in any political subdivision or municipality, wherein any deaf person is a defendant, the department, board, commission, agency, licensing authority, political subdivision …

(a) The commission shall maintain a clearinghouse of information, the purpose of which is to aid deaf or hard of hearing persons and others in obtaining appropriate services or information about such services, including, but not limited to, education, communication (including int…

Every deaf person whose appearance in any proceeding entitles him or her to an interpreter shall notify the appointing authority of his or her desire for an interpreter at least forty-eight hours prior to any appearance and may request at the time the services of an interpreter: …

The commission may establish one or more training sessions or workshops for the teaching of interpretive skills, in-service training and counseling for the deaf and hard of hearing. Seminars and training sessions may be conducted and are encouraged to work with the existing facil…

To effectuate the purposes of this article, the commission may request from any department, board, bureau, commission or other agency of the state, and the same are authorized to provide such assistance, services and data as will enable the commission to properly carry out its po…

It shall be the responsibility of the appointing authority to channel requests for qualified interpreters through the West Virginia commission for the deaf and hard-of-hearing except as provided under the provisions of section seven, article five, chapter fifty-seven of this code…

Before a qualified interpreter may participate in any proceedings under the provisions of this article, the interpreter shall make an oath or affirmation that he or she will make a true interpretation in an understandable manner to the deaf person for whom he or she is appointed …

There shall be within the commission an executive director who shall be appointed by the commission and whose compensation shall be fixed by the commission within the budgetary appropriation thereof. The executive director shall be in the exempt class of civil service and may not…

The commission shall make an annual report to the Governor and the Legislature which shall include its recommendations and programs.

Notwithstanding the provisions of section seven, article five, chapter fifty-seven with respect to fees, an interpreter appointed under the provisions of this article shall be entitled to a reasonable fee to be established by the West Virginia commission for the deaf and hard-of-…

This article shall be known as the "White Cane Law."

It is the policy of this state to encourage and enable persons who are blind or otherwise visually impaired or who have a disability to participate fully in the social and economic life of the state and to engage in remunerative employment.

For the purpose of this article: (a) A "person who is blind" means a person whose central visual acuity does not exceed twenty/two hundred in the better eye with correcting lenses, or whose visual acuity is greater than twenty/two hundred but is occasioned by a limitation in the …

(a) A person who is blind or is a person with a disability shall have the same rights as other persons to the full and free use of the highways, roads, streets, sidewalks, walkways, public buildings, public facilities and other public places. (b) Any person who is blind and any p…

(a) A person who is blind or who has a disability shall exercise that degree of care for his or her own safety in any of the places, accommodations or conveyances specified in section four of this article which an ordinarily prudent person would exercise under similar circumstanc…

Each year the Governor shall take suitable public notice of October 15, as white cane day. The Governor shall issue a proclamation that: (a) Comments upon the significance of the white cane; (b) Calls upon the citizens of the state to observe the provisions of the white cane law …