COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE

FOR

H. B. 2787

(By Delegates Hamilton, Barill, Cadle, Ireland, Ellem,

D. Poling, Perry, Canterbury, Longstreth, A. Evans and Rowan)

(Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary)

(March 29, 2012)

A BILL to amend and reenact §61-7-6 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to exemptions and exceptions granted to statutory conceal and carry requirements; imposing certain training and certification requirements for judges, prosecuting attorneys and investigators employed by a prosecuting attorney; exempting such persons from the payment of conceal and carry permit application fees; expanding the list of judicial officers included in those exempted from the payment of fees; requiring enhanced handgun training for judicial officers and prosecutors before they can be authorized to carry a handgun in the performance of his or her duties, or to carry a handgun in buildings which house a courtroom.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

    That §61-7-6 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:

ARTICLE 7. DANGEROUS WEAPONS.

§61-7-6. Exceptions as to prohibitions against carrying concealed deadly weapons.

    (a) The licensure provisions set forth in this article do not apply to:

    (1) Any person carrying a deadly weapon upon his or her own premises; nor shall anything herein prevent a person from carrying any firearm, unloaded, from the place of purchase to his or her home, residence or place of business or to a place of repair and back to his or her home, residence or place of business, nor shall anything herein prohibit a person from possessing a firearm while hunting in a lawful manner or while traveling from his or her home, residence or place of business to a hunting site and returning to his or her home, residence or place of business;

    (2) Any person who is a member of a properly organized target-shooting club authorized by law to obtain firearms by purchase or requisition from this state or from the United States for the purpose of target practice from carrying any pistol, as defined in this article, unloaded, from his or her home, residence or place of business to a place of target practice and from any place of target practice back to his or her home, residence or place of business, for using any such weapon at a place of target practice in training and improving his or her skill in the use of the weapons;

    (3) Any law-enforcement officer or law-enforcement official as defined in section one, article twenty-nine of chapter thirty;

    (4) Any employee of the West Virginia Division of Corrections duly appointed pursuant to the provisions of section five, article five of chapter twenty-eight of this code while the employee is on duty;

    (5) Any member of the Armed Forces of the United States or the militia of this state while the member is on duty;

    (6) Any circuit judge, including any retired circuit judge designated senior status by the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, family court judge, magistrate, prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney or a duly appointed investigator employed by a prosecuting attorney;

    (7)(6) Any resident of another state who holds a valid license to carry a concealed weapon by a state or a political subdivision which has entered into a reciprocity agreement with this state, subject to the provisions and limitations set forth in section six-a of this article;

    (8)(7) Any federal law-enforcement officer or federal police officer authorized to carry a weapon in the performance of the officer’s duty; and

    (9)(8) Any Hatfield-McCoy regional recreation authority ranger while the ranger is on duty.

    (b)(1) Any justice of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals; any circuit judge; any retired justice or retired circuit judge designated senior status by the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia; any family court judge; any magistrate; and any prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney or a duly appointed investigator employed by a prosecuting attorney is hereby allowed to carry a concealed weapon in this state, without paying an application fee for a conceal and carry permit: Provided That, he or she must successfully completed a training course in the safe handling and firing of a handgun which satisfies the requirements of subsection (d), section (4) of this article, and is not otherwise prohibited from possessing or receiving a firearm pursuant to section seven of this article or any provision under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) or (n).

    (2) No individual set forth in paragraph (1) of this subsection may be authorized by the Chief Judge or other authority to carry a firearm into a building housing any court in this state unless he or she has successfully completed and maintains firearms training and certification from a program what is equivalent to the firearms training and certification that is required of members of the state police.