require all law enforcement officers in WV be U.S. citizens

HB 4092 Text

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Introduced Version

House Bill 4092 History

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Key:
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= existing Code.
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WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE
2026
REGULAR SESSION
Introduced
House Bill 4092
By Delegates Horst, Brooks, Dean, B. Ward, Mallow, Hillenbrand, Crouse, and Mazzocchi
[Introduced January 14, 2026; referred to the Committee on the Judiciary]
A BILL to amend §30-29-5 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to requiring all law-enforcement officers to have proof of citizenship of the United States as a condition of certification; and providing an exception for those persons already employed.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 29. LAW-ENFORCEMENT TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION.

§30-29-5. Certification requirements and power to decertify or reinstate.

(a) Except as provided in subsections (b) and (e) of this section, a person may not be employed as a law-enforcement officer by any West Virginia law-enforcement agency or by any state institution of higher education or by a hospital or by the Public Service Commission of West Virginia on or after the effective date of this article
unless the person
has
proof of citizenship of the United States
, unless the person is certified, or is certifiable in the manner specified in subsection (c) of this section, by the subcommittee as having met the minimum entry level law-enforcement qualification and training program requirements promulgated pursuant to this article:
Provided
, That the provisions of this section do not apply to persons hired by the Public Service Commission as commercial vehicle enforcement officers and weight enforcement officers before July 1, 2007
:
Provided, however,
That if the person is already employed as a law-enforcement officer and has otherwise met the certification requirements of this article
that person
may be exempt for the requirement of citizenship of the United States.
(b) Except as provided in subsection (e) of this section, a person who is not certified, or certifiable in the manner specified in
subsection
(c) of this section, may be conditionally employed as a law-enforcement officer until certified:
Provided
, That within 90 calendar days of the commencement of employment or the effective date of this article, if the person is already employed on the effective date, he or she makes a written application to attend an approved law-enforcement training academy and that the person satisfactorily completes the approved law-enforcement training academy within 18 consecutive months of the commencement of his or her employment:
Provided, however
, That the subcommittee may grant an extension, one-time only, not to exceed six months, based upon a written request from the person justifying the need for such an extension:
Provided further
, That the subcommittee, in its sole discretion, may grant an additional extension upon demonstration of a hardship warranting it. The person’s employer shall provide notice, in writing, of the 90-day deadline to file a written application to the academy within 30 calendar days of that person’s commencement of employment. The employer shall provide full disclosure as to the consequences of failing to file a timely written application. The academy shall notify the applicant in writing of the receipt of the application and of the tentative date of the applicant’s enrollment. Any applicant who, as the result of extenuating circumstances acceptable to his or her employing law-enforcement official, is unable to attend the scheduled training program to which he or she was admitted may reapply and shall be admitted to the next regularly scheduled training program. One year after the effective date of this section, certification as a law-enforcement officer within this state of persons who are not certifiable as provided in subsection (c) of this section shall, in addition to graduation from an established academy in the state, be based on: Current employment as a sworn law-enforcement officer by any West Virginia law-enforcement agency or any state institution of higher education or the Public Service Commission; and the person’s successful completion of an approved entry level law-enforcement examination established by legislative rule of the subcommittee, which shall include, at a minimum, written testing requirements, medical standards, physical standards, and good moral character standards conducted in accordance with such rule. The production of a record of successful passage of the approved entry level law-enforcement examination shall indicate the applicant as qualified under the law-enforcement training and certification standards within this state. An applicant who satisfactorily completes the program and successfully passes the approved entry level law-enforcement examination shall, within 30 days of completion, make written application to the subcommittee requesting certification as having met the minimum entry level law-enforcement qualification and training program requirements. Upon determining that an applicant has met the requirements for certification as set forth in this section, the subcommittee shall forward to the applicant documentation of certification. An applicant who fails to complete the training program to which he or she is first admitted, or was admitted upon reapplication, or who fails to pass the approved entry level law-enforcement examination, may not be certified by the subcommittee: And
provided further
, That an applicant who has completed the minimum training and examination required by the subcommittee may be certified as a law-enforcement officer, notwithstanding the applicant’s failure to complete additional training hours required in the training program to which he or she originally applied. If more than 24 months but less than 60 months have passed since the applicant for certification has successfully completed the approved entry level law-enforcement examination, the person may be certified but must complete the additional training set forth in legislative rules promulgated by the subcommittee addressing the recertification requirements of certified officers. If more than 60 months have passed since the applicant for certification has successfully completed the approved entry level law-enforcement examination, the person must then attend a subcommittee-approved training program and successfully complete a separate subcommittee entry level law-enforcement examination.
(c) Any person who begins employment on or after the effective date of this article as a law-enforcement officer is certifiable as having met the minimum entry level law-enforcement training program requirements and is exempt from attending a law-enforcement training academy if the person has satisfactorily completed a course of instruction in law enforcement equivalent to or exceeding the minimum applicable law-enforcement training curricula promulgated by the subcommittee. To receive certification, the person shall make written application within 90 calendar days following the commencement of employment to the subcommittee requesting certification. The application shall include a notarized statement of the applicant’s satisfactory completion of the course of instruction in law enforcement, a notarized transcript of the applicant’s relevant scholastic records, and a notarized copy of the curriculum of the completed course of instruction. The subcommittee shall review the application and, if it finds the applicant has met the requirements for certification, shall forward to the applicant documentation of certification. The subcommittee may set the standards for required records to be provided by or on behalf of the applicant officer to verify his or her training, status, or certification as a law-enforcement officer. The subcommittee may allow an applicant officer to participate in the approved equivalent certification program to gain certification as a law-enforcement officer in this state.
(d) Except as provided in subdivisions (1) through (3), inclusive, of this subsection, any person who is employed as a law-enforcement officer on or after the effective date of this article and fails to be certified shall be automatically terminated and no further emoluments shall be paid to such officer by his or her employer. Any person terminated shall be entitled to reapply, as a private citizen, to the subcommittee for training and certification, and upon being certified may again be employed as a law-enforcement officer in this state:
Provided
, That if a person is terminated under this subsection because an application was not timely filed to the academy, and the person’s employer failed to provide notice or disclosure to that person as set forth in subsection (b) of this section, the employer shall pay the full cost of attending the academy if the person’s application to the subcommittee as a private citizen is subsequently approved.
(1) Any person who is employed as a law-enforcement officer on or after the effective date of this article and fails to be certified as a result of hardship and/or circumstance beyond his or her control may apply to the director of a training academy for reentry to the next available academy.
(2) Any person who is employed as a law-enforcement officer on or after the effective date of this article and fails to be certified as a result of voluntary separation from an academy program shall be automatically terminated and no further emoluments may be paid to such officer by his or her employer. Any person terminated as a result of voluntary separation from an academy program may not be conditionally employed as a law-enforcement officer for a period of two years from the date of voluntary separation.
(3) Any person who is employed as a law-enforcement officer on or after the effective date of this article and fails to be certified as a result of dismissal from an academy program shall be automatically terminated and no further emoluments may be paid to such officer by his or her employer. Any person terminated as a result of dismissal from an academy program may not be conditionally employed as a law-enforcement officer for a period of five years from the date of dismissal and receiving approval from the subcommittee.
(e) Nothing in this article may be construed as prohibiting any governing body, Civil Service Commission, or chief executive of any West Virginia law-enforcement agency from requiring their law-enforcement officers to meet qualifications and satisfactorily complete a course of law-enforcement instruction which exceeds the minimum entry level law-enforcement qualification and training curricula promulgated by the subcommittee.
(f) The subcommittee, or its designee, may decertify or reactivate a law-enforcement officer pursuant to the procedure contained in this article and legislative rules promulgated by the subcommittee.
(g) Any person aggrieved by a decision of the subcommittee made pursuant to this article may contest the decision in accordance with the provisions of §29A-5-1
et seq
. of this code.
(h) The subcommittee may issue subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses and the production of necessary evidence or documents in any proceeding, review, or investigation relating to certification or hearing before the subcommittee.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require that all law-enforcement officers have proof of citizenship of the United States as a condition of certification; and providing an exception for those persons already employed
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.

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