Senate Bill No. 584
(By Senators Plymale, Dittmar, Anderson, Holliday and Claypole)
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[Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary;
reported April 2, 1993.]
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A BILL to amend chapter sixty-one of the code of West Virginia,
one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding
thereto a new article, designated article eight-f, relating
to crime and punishment; sex offender registry act;
definitions; registration with division of public safety;
period of registration; sharing information with other law-
enforcement agencies; confidentiality; and penalties.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That chapter sixty-one of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by
adding thereto a new article, designated article eight-f, to read
as follows:
CHAPTER 61. CRIMES AND THEIR PUNISHMENT.
ARTICLE 8F. SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION ACT.
§61-8F-1. Short title.
This article may be cited as the "Sex Offender Registration
Act".
§61-8F-2. Registration.
Any person who has been convicted of two or more violations
of the provisions described in article eight-b of this chapter or
similar provisions in another jurisdiction shall, within thirty
days of his moving into any county in which he or she resides or
is temporarily domiciled for more than thirty days, register with
the division of public safety.
§61-8F-3. Change of address.
When any person required to register under this article
changes his or her residence or address, he or she shall inform
the division of public safety of his new address, in writing,
within ten days.
§61-8F-4. Duration.
Any person required to register, under this article, shall
be required to do so for a period of ten years after conviction
for the second offense defined herein if not imprisoned, and if
imprisoned, for a period of ten years after release from prison
by discharge or parole. A person is no longer required to
register at the expiration of ten years from the date of initial
registration, when that convicted person is not otherwise
required, during such period, to register.
§61-8F-5. Confidentiality.
The information and documentation required in connection
with the registration shall not be open to inspection by the
public, or by any person other than a regularly employed peace or
other law-enforcement officer acting in his or her capacity as a
law-enforcement officer.
§61-8F-6. Duties of institution officials.
Any person required to register under this article, before
parole or release, shall be informed of their duty to register by
the official in charge of the place of confinement.
§61-8F-7. Information may be shared with other law-enforcement
agencies.
The division of public safety may share information gathered
pursuant to this article with federal, state and local law-
enforcement agencies in this state and other states in the course
of their official duties.
§61-8F-8. Failure to register; penalty.
Any person required to register under this section who
knowingly and willfully violates any of the provisions thereof is
guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
fined not less than fifty dollars nor more than five hundred
dollars, or imprisoned in the county jail not more than one year,
or both fined and imprisoned.
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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require county
prosecuting attorneys and the attorney general to keep records of
child sexual data; to require persons convicted of felony sexual
offense charges and other crimes to have blood samples taken for
DNA identification purposes; to establish a centralized database
of DNA identification records for convicted criminals, etc. to be
controlled and supervised by the Division of Public Safety (State
Police); and providing a procedure for the registration of sex
offenders with the clerks of circuit courts in the state.)