A Senate committee on (date not specified) voted to approve a committee substitute for Senate Bill 4 50 that would allow county boards of education to contract with independent contractors called "West Virginia guardians" — retired law enforcement officers hired to provide public safety and security on public school grounds. The committee agreed to report the substitute to the full Senate with a recommendation that it pass and to first refer the bill to the Committee on Finance.

The committee substitute spells out qualifications and limits for guardians. Hank, counsel to the committee, said the substitute "provides that the West Virginia guardian is not law enforcement and has no authority to arrest." The substitute would allow a guardian to carry weapons only after meeting specified requirements, including applying for a permit from the county sheriff and paying a $50 fee.

The substitute requires applicants to show U.S. citizenship in West Virginia, a high school diploma or equivalent, compliance with statutory requirements for a concealed-carry permit, completion of specified training courses and examinations, and proof the applicant is a retired law enforcement officer. Counsel also summarized multiple disqualifiers the substitute includes, notably credible evidence of illegal drug use in the prior five years and disqualifying criminal offenses such as domestic violence, driving under the influence, child abuse, or unlawful manufacture/delivery/possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance. The substitute further allows county boards to add exclusionary convictions.

The substitute addresses program funding and administrative details: permit fees paid to sheriffs are deposited into a guardian program fund, which sheriffs may use to pay costs associated with issuing permits; any surplus at fiscal year-end may be expended for other law-enforcement operating needs of the sheriff’s office. The counsel said the substitute "provides that participation by a county board is voluntary, subject to availability of county funds, and nothing in this section places an obligation on the State to appropriate any money." The substitute also states a West Virginia guardian would not be eligible for participation in any state-sponsored benefit plan.

Committee members asked procedural and policy questions but no roll-call breakdown was recorded in the transcript. The vice chair moved to report the committee substitute to the full Senate with the recommendation that it pass and for the bill to be referred first to the Committee on Finance; the chair announced the motion adopted by voice vote.

The bill now goes to the full Senate and—per the committee motion—will be referred to the Committee on Finance for consideration of fiscal impacts before further action.