Can the West Virginia Division of Justice and Community Services do the day-to-day staff work, like data collection, reporting, and monitoring, for the Community Corrections Subcommittee?

Plain-English summary

The Director of the Division of Justice and Community Services (DJCS) wanted formal confirmation that his agency could do the staff work for the Community Corrections Subcommittee, which is itself a subcommittee of the Governor's Committee on Crime, Delinquency and Correction. Specifically, he asked whether DJCS could do "information gathering, data compilation, report preparation, and general monitoring" for the Subcommittee.

The AG found this was not just permissible but already required by the West Virginia Code. Section 15-9A-2(a) created DJCS for three purposes, the first of which is to provide "executive and administrative support to the Governor's Committee on Crime Delinquency and Correction in the coordination of planning for the criminal justice system," and explicitly designates DJCS as the staffing agency for the full Governor's Committee "and all of its subcommittees." Section 15-9-1(g) names the DJCS Director as executive director of the Committee and its subcommittees. And § 15-9A-3(b) directly tells the DJCS Director to carry out the duties imposed on the Governor's Committee by W. Va. Code Chapter 62, Article 11C, which is the Community Corrections Act, the statute that creates and assigns work to the Subcommittee.

The AG also pointed out that DJCS has independent statutory authority under § 15-9A-3(c) to "collect, compile and analyze crime and justice data in the state, generating statistical and analytical products for criminal justice professionals and policy makers," which lines up directly with the staffing functions DJCS wanted to perform.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2015. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: What is the Community Corrections Subcommittee, and what does it do?
A: It is a subcommittee of the Governor's Committee on Crime, Delinquency and Correction, established under W. Va. Code § 62-11C-2. Its statutory duties under § 62-11C-3 included keeping records of community corrections programs, seeking and providing funding for approved programs, submitting annual reports to the Governor and legislative leadership, reviewing implementation of evidence-based practices and quality assurance, and proposing legislative rules.

Q: Why did the Director need an opinion in the first place?
A: The opinion does not say in detail, but the implication is that someone questioned whether DJCS, an executive-branch agency, had legal authority to act as the operational arm of a Subcommittee whose duties are spelled out in a different chapter of the Code. The AG's conclusion was that the statutory grant in Chapter 15 is broad enough to cover the work the Subcommittee needs done under Chapter 62.

Q: Can DJCS apply for grants on behalf of the Subcommittee?
A: Yes. Section 15-9A-2(a) expressly authorizes DJCS to apply for grants and other funding "consistent with . . . the purposes assigned to it or the subcommittees it staffs."

Q: Does this opinion settle whether other executive agencies can staff their parent committees' subcommittees?
A: No. It is grounded in the specific statutory language about DJCS and the Governor's Committee. The same logic could apply to other agencies if they have similarly explicit "designated staffing agency" language, but each situation has to be tested against its own enabling statute.

Background and statutory framework

The West Virginia Community Corrections Act, W. Va. Code § 62-11C-1 et seq., created the Community Corrections Subcommittee within the Governor's Committee on Crime, Delinquency and Correction to oversee community-based criminal justice programs (alternatives to incarceration, day-report centers, supervised probation enhancements, and similar services). The Subcommittee has substantive duties around funding, monitoring, and evidence-based practice review, but it does not have its own staff.

DJCS, in turn, was created by W. Va. Code § 15-9A-2(a) to do three things:

1. Provide executive and administrative support to the Governor's Committee on Crime, Delinquency and Correction.
2. Administer federal and state grant programs assigned to it by the Governor or Legislature.
3. Perform other duties as the Legislature may assign.

The same section names DJCS the "designated staffing agency" for the Governor's Committee "and all of its subcommittees," and § 15-9-1(g) names the DJCS Director the executive director of the Committee and its subcommittees. Section 15-9A-3(b) goes a step further and tells the Director to "carry out the specific duties imposed on the Governor's Committee on Crime, Delinquency and Corrections under the provisions of . . . article eleven-c, chapter sixty-two of this code," which is the Community Corrections Act. Section 15-9A-3(c) gives the Director independent authority to "collect, compile and analyze crime and justice data in the state."

Read together, these provisions tell DJCS that it must act as the operational and analytical arm of the Subcommittee. The AG opinion confirmed what the statutes already arguably said.

Citations and references

Statutes:
- W. Va. Code § 15-9-1(g)
- W. Va. Code § 15-9A-2(a)
- W. Va. Code § 15-9A-3 (subsections (b) and (c))
- W. Va. Code § 62-11C-1 et seq. (Community Corrections Act)
- W. Va. Code § 62-11C-2 (Subcommittee membership)
- W. Va. Code § 62-11C-3 (Subcommittee duties)

Source

• Landing page: https://ago.wv.gov/media/17986/download?inline
• Original PDF: https://ago.wv.gov/media/17986/download?inline

Original opinion text

State of West Virginia
Office of the Attorney General
Patrick Morrisey, Attorney General
(304) 558-2021 / Fax (304) 558-0140

September 28, 2015

Mr. Richard A. Staton
Director
Division of Justice and Community Services
1204 Kanawha Blvd., E.
Charleston, WV 25301

Dear Director Staton:

You have asked for an Opinion of the Attorney General regarding whether the West Virginia Division of Justice and Community Services ("DJCS") may perform certain functions on behalf of the Community Corrections Subcommittee, a subcommittee of the Governor's Committee on Crime, Delinquency and Correction. This Opinion is being issued pursuant to West Virginia Code § 5-3-1, which provides that the Attorney General "shall give written opinions and advice upon questions of law . . . whenever required to do so, in writing, by . . . any other state officer, board or commission." To the extent this Opinion relies on facts, it is based solely upon the factual assertions set forth in your correspondence with the Attorney General's Office.

In your letter, you explain that DJCS wishes to carry out staffing functions to assist the Community Corrections Subcommittee in fulfilling its statutory duties. As you note, the Legislature established DJCS to provide executive and administrative support to the Governor's Committee on Crime, Delinquency and Correction. You ask whether DJCS may provide similar support, specifically, "information gathering, data compilation, report preparation, and general monitoring," to the Community Corrections Subcommittee.

Your letter raises the following legal question:

Does the West Virginia Division of Justice and Community Services have the authority to perform general staffing functions for the Community Corrections Subcommittee in fulfilling its statutory duties?

The duties and authority of the Community Corrections Subcommittee are set forth at West Virginia Code § 62-11C-1 et seq. West Virginia Code § 62-11C-2 reauthorized the Community Corrections Subcommittee, setting forth its membership and noting its function as a subcommittee of the Governor's Committee on Crime, Delinquency and Correction. The Subcommittee's duties include:

(1) Maintaining records of community correction programs;
(2) Seeking funding for approved community corrections programs;
(3) Providing funding for approved community corrections programs;
(4) Submitting an annual report to the Governor, the Speaker of the House of Delegates, the President of the Senate, and upon request, to any member of the Legislature on its activities;
(5) Reviewing the implementation of evidence-based practices and conducting regular assessments for quality assurance of all community-based criminal justice services and reviewing agency performance measures; and
(6) Proposing legislative rules in accordance with West Virginia Code § 62-11C-3(a).

W. Va. Code § 62-11C-3.

By statute, DJCS is not only authorized, but obligated, to provide staffing functions to the Community Corrections Subcommittee and all other subcommittees of the Governor's Committee on Crime, Delinquency and Correction. West Virginia Code § 15-9A-2(a) created DJCS for three purposes: (1) "provid[ing] executive and administrative support to the Governor's Committee on Crime Delinquency and Correction in the coordination of planning for the criminal justice system"; (2) "administer[ing] federal and state grant programs assigned to it by the actions of the Governor or Legislature"; and (3) "perform[ing] such other duties as the Legislature may from time to time assign." W. Va. Code § 15-9A-2(a). As such, DJCS is "the designated staffing agency for the Governor's Committee on Crime, Delinquency and Correction, and all of its subcommittees." Id. (emphasis added). Thus, the Director of DJCS is statutorily designated as "the Executive Director of the Governor's Committee on Crime, Delinquency and Correction and of its subcommittees," and DJCS is tasked with "provid[ing] staff support." Id. § 15-9-1(g) (emphasis added). DJCS is also expressly authorized to apply for grants and other funding "consistent with . . . the purposes assigned to it or the subcommittees it staffs." Id. § 15-9A-2(a) (emphasis added).

In fact, one statutory provision specifically charges the Director of DJCS with carrying out the statutory duties of the Community Corrections Subcommittee. Under West Virginia Code § 15-9A-3, the Director has "executive and administrative responsibility" to "[c]arry out the specific duties imposed on the Governor's Committee on Crime, Delinquency and Corrections under the provisions of . . . article eleven-c, chapter sixty-two of this code." W. Va. Code § 15-9A-3(b). That part of the Code is the West Virginia Community Corrections Act, which sets forth the duties of the Community Corrections Subcommittee. Notably, to fulfill his or her responsibilities, the Director has the authority to "[c]ollect, compile and analyze crime and justice data in the state, generating statistical and analytical products for criminal justice professionals and policy makers." Id. § 15-9A-3(c).

Sincerely,

Patrick Morrisey
Attorney General

Elbert Lin
Solicitor General

Erica N. Peterson
Assistant Attorney General