The COVID Project
The record
- Jurisdiction
- West Virginia
- Level
- State
- Authority
- W. Va. Code §§ 15-5-2, 15-5-6(g)(6)-(7), 15-5-17, 15-5-18
- Issued
- 2023-02-23 Feb. 23, 2023
- Effective
- In force throughout 2020 Q2 to 2021 Q3; the Proclamation of Mar. 16, 2020 (Ex. WV-001) invoked the article for all fifty-five counties until Jan. 1, 2023 (Ex. WV-068) (read as 2020-03-16)
- End
- standing (read as 2021-09-30)
- In force
- Standing since Mar. 16, 2020 (a statutory duty; in force throughout the six quarters)
- Quarters
- 2020 Q22020 Q32020 Q42021 Q12021 Q22021 Q3
2020 Q22020 Q32020 Q42021 Q12021 Q22021 Q3
- Limitation types
- Stay-at-homeBusiness closureGathering capTravel and quarantineStanding dutyOperating condition
- Addressees
- persons generally; owners or persons in control of premises; every business within an area subject to a state of emergency
- Character
- statutory authority
- Collection
- Standing duties: West Virginia DUT-WV
Operative words
(g) Under a duly proclaimed state of emergency or state of preparedness, the Governor has the following additional powers...:... (6) To control ingress and egress into or out of a disaster area or other area subject to a state of emergency or state of preparedness, as well as the movement of persons and occupancy of premises within the area.
Penalty
Warrantless arrest under § 15-5-18 (Ex. DUT-WV-009); prosecution for obstruction under W. Va. Code § 61-5-17 as recited in EO 14-20 para. 4 (fine of $50 to $500 or jail up to one year; Exs. WV-012, DUT-WV-010); enforcement 'by State and local law enforcement and by state and local regulatory and/or licensing bodies' (EO 9-20 para. 7; Ex. WV-009)
What it required
Submission of every person and every premises in the State to the Governor's control of 'the movement of persons and occupancy of premises' during the proclaimed emergency (the statutory basis of the stay-at-home, closure, occupancy, gathering, telework and face-covering orders); § 15-5-2 defines 'disaster' to include 'epidemic'; § 15-5-17 makes it 'the duty of every organization for emergency services... to execute and enforce such orders, rules and regulations as may be made by the Governor under this article'; § 15-5-18 authorizes warrantless arrest for violating any such order 'which affect[s] the public generally.' Character as recorded: statutory_authority (enabling power; binds through the orders issued under it).
Retrieval noteSubsections (b) proviso and (h) to (l) of § 15-5-6 reflect the 2023 amendment and post-date the period: (k) now provides that 'Unless expressly authorized by an executive order of the Governor, a municipal, county, or state health officer, under color of a duly proclaimed state of emergency or state of preparedness, shall not take any enforcement action which is not authorized by statute,' and (l) confines challenges to an executive order to prohibition or mandamus in the Supreme Court of Appeals. H.B. 2003 (2021 Reg. Sess.), which would have limited the Governor's emergency powers, did not become law (bill history read). The COVID-19 Jobs Protection Act's findings recite the Proclamation 'finding that the COVID-19 pandemic constitutes a disaster under § 15-5-2 of this code' (Ex. DUT-WV-013, § 55-19-2(a)(3)).