NOTE: West Virginia Code 61-12-3 was amended by two bills passed during the 2022 Regular Session of the Legislature. When two acts of the Legislature amend the same section of the Code without express recognition in the bill of the action of the other bill, the Legislative Manager makes no determination as to the appropriate, legal effect of the two acts. Therefore, BOTH versions of this section are set out below.
The latter act, House Bill 4340 (passed on March 12, 2022), amended West Virginia Code 61-12-3 to read as follows:
(a) The Office of Chief Medical Examiner is continued within the Bureau of Public Health in the Department of Health and Human Resources. The office shall be directed by a Chief Medical Examiner, who may employ pathologists, toxicologists, other forensic specialists, laboratory technicians, and other staff members as needed to fulfill the responsibilities set forth in this article.
(b) All persons employed by the Chief Medical Examiner shall be responsible to him or her and may be discharged for any reasonable cause. The Chief Medical Examiner shall specify the qualifications required for each position in the Office of Chief Medical Examiner
(c) The chief medical examiner shall be a physician licensed to practice medicine or osteopathic medicine in the State of West Virginia, who is a diplomat of the American Board of Pathology in forensic pathology, or equivalent, and who has experience in forensic medicine. The Chief Medical Examiner shall be appointed by the Commissioner for the Bureau of Public Health to serve a five-year term unless sooner removed, but only for cause, by the Governor or by the commissioner.
(d) The Chief Medical Examiner shall be responsible to the commissioner in all matters except that the chief medical examiner shall operate with independent authority for the purposes of:
(1) The performance of death investigations conducted pursuant to section eight of this article;