Senate 858

WEST virginia legislature

2026 regular session

Introduced

Senate Bill 858

By Senator Morris

[Introduced February 9, 2026; referred
to the Committee on the Judiciary; and then to the Committee on Finance]

A BILL to amend and reenact §15-14-7 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to revising the statute authorizing the West Virginia Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management to run background checks on persons applying to be a Statewide Interoperable Radio Network radio programmer and on persons seeking approval to work in Statewide Interoperable Radio Network facilities; and explaining the requirements of submitting to the background checks.  

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 14. THE STATEWIDE INTEROPERABLE RADIO NETWORK.

§15-14-7. Maintenance and Operations of the Statewide Interoperable Network; personnel; assets; agreements.

(a) The director may employ such technical, clerical, legal counsel, stenographic and other personnel, fix their compensation and make expenditures within the appropriation to the agency or from other funds made available for the purpose of providing interoperable communications services to carry out the purpose of this article.

(b) All equipment, structures, property, and personnel along with their equipment and vehicles, owned, managed, directed, controlled, and governed by the Department of Health associated with the statewide interoperable radio and/or microwave network and medical command radio system, are transferred to, incorporated in and administered as a part of the WVDHSEM: Provided, That medical command radio system communication equipment, not including the microwave and SIRN equipment, and personnel located in the medical coordination center at Flatwoods, West Virginia shall continue to be managed, directed, controlled, and governed by the Department of Health and are not included in the transfer authorized by this subsection.

(c) The director may acquire in the name of the state by purchase, lease or gift, real property and rights or easements necessary or convenient to construct thereon the necessary building or buildings for housing Radio Network employees, equipment or infrastructure.

(d) The director or his or her designee may enter into cooperative agreements, land and tower leases, memorandums of understanding/agreement, training contracts or service contracts with political subdivisions of the state, other states, federal agencies, and with public or private agencies for use by the radio network.

(e) The WVDHSEM is exempt from the requirements and associated fees of any local ordinances of any political subdivision of the state relating to the construction of towers or other infrastructure for use by the Radio Network to enhance interoperable communications.

(f) The WVDHSEM shall support a unified approach to interoperable communications across state, county, and municipal government, to include:

(1) Providing ongoing assistance and support to the state’s Medical Command System; and

(2) Providing ongoing assistance and support to state agencies in the development of interoperable and emergency communications plans or projects.

(g) Persons applying to be a Statewide Interoperable Radio Network ("SIRN") Radio Programmer and persons seeking approval to work in SIRN network facilities must submit to a state and national criminal history check to protect the security and integrity of the SIRN radios and network infrastructure as the SIRN is critical to all first responders and other government agencies utilizing SIRN for not only radio communications, but also other network traffic traversing the SIRN microwave network.

(1) The criminal history record check shall be based on fingerprints submitted to the West Virginia State Police or its assigned agent for forwarding to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

(2) The applicant shall meet all requirements necessary to accomplish the state and national criminal history record check.

(3) The results of the state and national criminal history record check may not be released to or by a private entity except:

(A) To the individual who is the subject of the criminal history record check;

(B) With the written authorization of the individual who is the subject of the criminal history record check; or

(C) Pursuant to a court order.

(4) The criminal history record check and related records are not public records for the purposes of W. Va. Code §29B-1-1 et seq.

(5) The applicant shall pay the actual costs of the fingerprinting and criminal history record check.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to revise the statute to authorize the West Virginia Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management ("WVDHSEM") to run background checks on persons applying to be a Statewide Interoperable Radio Network ("SIRN") Radio Programmer and on persons seeking approval to work in SIRN network facilities and to explain the requirements of submitting to the background checks.  

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