H. B. 2459

          (By Delegates Howell, Ferns, Storch, Canterbury, A. Evans, Azinger, Border and Raines)

          [Introduced February 14, 2013; referred to the
          Committee on the Judiciary.]


A BILL to amend and reenact §61-6-19 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to amend said code by adding thereto a new section, designated §61-7-4a, all relating to permitting certain holders of concealed weapons permits to carry weapons of the grounds and buildings on the State Capitol Complex; setting forth the requirements; and providing an exception.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
     That §61-6-19 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted; and that said code be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated §61-7-4a, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 6. CRIMES AGAINST THE PEACE.
§61-6-19. Willful disruption of governmental processes; offenses occurring at State Capitol Complex; penalties.
  (a) If any person willfully interrupts or molests the orderly and peaceful process of any department, division, agency or branch of state government or of its political subdivisions, he or she is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $100 or imprisoned in the county or regional confined in jail not more than six months, or both fined and imprisoned confined: Provided, That any assembly in a peaceable, lawful and orderly manner for a redress of grievances shall is not be a violation of this section.
  (b) It is unlawful for any person to bring upon the State Capitol Complex any weapon as defined by the provisions of section two, article seven of this chapter. However, a person who has been issued an endorsement to a state license to carry a concealed deadly weapon pursuant to sections four-a and four, respectively, article seven of this chapter may carry that deadly weapon upon the grounds of the State Capitol Complex and within its buildings except for the rooms, offices, marked hallways and floors occupied by the Supreme Court of Appeals and its employees.
  (c) It is unlawful for any person to willfully deface any trees, wall, floor, stairs, ceiling, column, statue, monument, structure, surface, artwork or adornment in the State Capitol Complex. It is unlawful for any person or persons to willfully block or otherwise willfully obstruct any public access, stair or elevator in the state Capitol Complex after being asked by a law- enforcement officer acting in his or her official capacity to desist: Provided, That in order to preserve the Constitutional right of the people to assemble, it is not willful blocking or willful obstruction for persons gathered in a group or crowd, if the persons move to the side or part to allow other persons to pass by the group or crowd to gain ingress or egress: Provided, however, That this subsection shall does not apply to a law- enforcement officer acting in his or her official capacity.
  (d) Any person who violates any provision of this subsection (b) or (c) of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $100 or confined in the county or regional jail not more than six months, or both fined and confined.
ARTICLE 7. DANGEROUS WEAPONS.
§61-7-4a. License to carry deadly weapons within the State Capitol __Complex; exception.
_(a) A person who has been issued a state license to carry a concealed deadly weapon pursuant to section four of this article may apply for an endorsement to that license that would permit that person to carry deadly weapons on the grounds of the State Capitol Complex and within its buildings. An endorsement to a concealed weapons permit may only be issued for pistols or revolvers. However, this endorsement does not apply to the offices, rooms, hallways or floors of the Supreme Court of Appeals and its employees.
_(b) Any person desiring to obtain an endorsement identified in subsection (a) of this section to carry a concealed deadly weapon on the grounds of the State Capitol Complex shall apply to the Capitol Police, and shall pay to the Capitol Police, at the time of application, a fee of $50, of which $15 of that amount will be deposited in the Courthouse Facilities Improvement Fund created by section six, article twenty-six, chapter twenty-nine of this code. Each applicant shall file with the Capitol Police a complete application, as prepared by the Capitol Police and the Superintendent of the West Virginia State Police, in writing, duly verified, which sets forth the following endorsement requirements:
_(1) The applicant's full name, date of birth, Social Security number, a description of the applicant's physical features, the applicant's place of birth, the applicant's country of citizenship and, if the applicant is not a United States citizen, any alien or admission number issued by the United States Bureau of Immigration and Customs enforcement, and any basis, if applicable, for an exception to the prohibitions of 18 U. S. C. §922(g)(5)(B);
_(2) That, on the date the application is made, the applicant demonstrates that he or she is a bona fide resident of this state, produces a valid and current state license to carry a concealed deadly weapon issued pursuant to section four of this article and produces a valid driver's license or other state-issued photo identification showing the residence;
_(3) That the applicant is not addicted to alcohol, a controlled substance or a drug and is not an unlawful user thereof as evidenced by either of the following within the three years immediately prior to the application:
_(A) Residential or court-ordered treatment for alcoholism or alcohol detoxification or drug treatment; or
_(B) Two or more convictions for driving while under the influence or driving while impaired;
_(4) That the applicant has not been convicted of a felony or of an act of a misdemeanor crime of violence involving the misuse of a deadly weapon within the five years immediately preceding the application;
_(5) That the applicant has not been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence as defined in 18 U.S.C. §921(a)(33), or a misdemeanor offense of assault or battery either under section twenty-eight, article two of this chapter or subsection (b) or (c), section nine, article two of this chapter in which the victim was a current or former spouse, current or former sexual or intimate partner, person with whom the defendant cohabits or has cohabited, a parent or guardian, the defendant's child or ward or a member of the defendant's household at the time of the offense, or a misdemeanor offense with similar essential elements in a jurisdiction other than this state;
_(6) That the applicant is not under indictment for a felony offense or is not currently serving a sentence of confinement, parole, probation or other court-ordered supervision imposed by a court of any jurisdiction or is the subject of an emergency or temporary domestic violence protective order or is the subject of a final domestic violence protective order entered by a court of any jurisdiction;
_(7) That the applicant has not been adjudicated to be mentally incompetent. If the applicant has been adjudicated mentally incompetent the applicant must provide a court order reflecting that the applicant is no longer under such disability; and
_(8) That the applicant authorizes the Capitol Police, or his or her designee, to conduct an investigation relative to the information contained in the application.
_(c) For both initial and renewal applications for an endorsement, the Capitol Police shall conduct an investigation including a nationwide criminal background check consisting of checking the National Instant Criminal Background Check System and the West Virginia criminal history record responses in order to verify that the information required by this section and section seven of this article is true and correct.
_(d) All applications for an endorsement to a state license to carry a concealed deadly weapon must be notarized by a notary public duly licensed under article four, chapter twenty-nine of this code. Falsification of any portion of the application constitutes false swearing and is punishable under section two, article five, chapter sixty-one of this code.
_(e) In addition to the sheriff who signs and attaches his or her seal to all license cards, the Capitol Police shall also sign and attach its seal to card that contains an endorsement. Each new endorsement licensee shall be issued a new card with the endorsement that permits the holder to carry a concealed deadly weapon on the grounds of the State Capitol Complex and within its buildings except for the offices, rooms, hallways or floors of the Supreme Court of Appeals and its employees, in size similar to other state identification cards and licenses, suitable for carrying in a wallet, and the license card is considered an endorsed license for the purposes of this section.
_(f) The Capitol Police and the Superintendent of the West Virginia State Police shall prepare uniform applications for endorsement license cards showing that the endorsement has been granted and shall do any other act required to be done to protect the grounds of the State Capitol Complex and the enforcement of this section.
_(g) If and when an endorsement has been granted, the Capitol Police shall furnish the Superintendent of the West Virginia State Police and the appropriate county sheriff a certified copy of the approved application. The Superintendent of the West Virginia State Police and Capitol Police shall maintain a registry of all persons who have been issued endorsements to concealed weapons licenses.
_(h) The Capitol Police shall deny any application or revoke any existing endorsement upon determination that any of the endorsement application requirements established in this section have been violated.
_(i) A person who is engaged in the receipt, review or in the issuance or revocation of an endorsement to a concealed weapon license does not incur any civil liability as the result of the lawful performance of his or her duties under this article.
_(j) Except as restricted or prohibited by this article or as otherwise prohibited by law, the issuance of an endorsement to a concealed weapon permit issued in accordance with this section authorizes the holder of the permit to carry a concealed pistol or revolver on the grounds and in the buildings of the State Capitol Complex on the grounds of the state Capitol Complex and within its buildings with the exception that it does not apply to the offices, rooms, hallways and floors of the Supreme Court of Appeals and its employees.



 NOTE: The purpose of this section is to permitting certain holders of licenses to carry a concealed deadly weapon on the grounds of the State Capitol Complex and its buildings. The bill sets forth the requirements. The bill also prohibits those holders to carry concealed deadly weapons within the Supreme Court's offices and rooms.


 Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.


 §61-7-4a is new; therefore, it has been completely underscored.