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.)