ENROLLED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 130
(Senators Bowman, Ross, Buckalew, Anderson,
Dittmar, Yoder, Whitlow, Helmick, Sharpe, Blatnik,
Kimble, Schoonover, Love, Minear and Walker, original sponsors)
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[Passed March 9, 1996; in effect ninety days from passage.]
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AN ACT to amend and reenact sections two, three, four, five, six,
seven and eight, article eight-f, chapter sixty-one of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one,
as amended; to further amend said article by adding thereto a
new section, designated section nine; and to amend and reenact
section eight, article eleven-a of said chapter, all relating
to requiring sex offender registration and notification;
expanding crimes for which persons are required to register;
expanding information included in registration; designating
state police as agency to register such persons; requiring state police to maintain central register; distributing
information provided at registration; permitting state police
to furnish information to other law-enforcement and
governmental agencies; providing for limited immunity for
distribution of information; removing requirement that offense
be second offense; listing duties of officials to obtain
written acknowledgment of duty to register; release of
information when person moves out-of-state; failure to
register; penalties for failure to register; registration of
out-of-state offenders; and expansion of victim notification.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections two, three, four, five, six, seven and eight,
article eight-f, chapter sixty-one of the code of West Virginia,
one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and
reenacted; that said article be further amended by adding thereto
a new section, designated section nine; and that section eight,
article eleven-a of said chapter be amended and reenacted, all to
read as follows:
ARTICLE 8F. SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION ACT.
*§61-8F-2. Registration.
(a) Any person who has been convicted of a violation of the provisions of article eight-b, eight-c or eight-d of this chapter,
or of section fourteen, article two, or of section thirteen,
article eight of this chapter, or of a similar provision in another
jurisdiction shall be required to be registered as set forth in
this article. Any person who has been convicted of an attempt to
commit any of the offenses set forth in this section shall also be
required to register as set forth in this article.
(b) On the date that any person convicted of the crimes listed
herein is released, is granted probation, is granted a suspended
sentence, is released on parole or probation, or is ordered to be
placed on home detention, the commissioner of corrections, regional
jail supervisor or city or sheriff operating a jail which releases
such person and any parole or probation officer who releases such
person or supervises such person following the release shall obtain
all information required by this subsection prior to the release of
the person and shall send written notice of the release of the
person to the state police. The notice shall include:
(1) The full name of the person;
(2) The address where the person shall reside;
(3) The person's social security number;
(4) A recent photograph of the person; and
(5) A brief description of the crime for which the person was
convicted.
(c) At the time the person is convicted of the crimes set
forth in subsection (a) of this section, the person shall sign in
open court, a statement acknowledging that he or she understands
the requirements imposed by this article. The court shall inform
the person so convicted of the requirements to register imposed by
this article and shall further satisfy itself by interrogation of
the defendant or his or her counsel that the defendant has received
notice of the provisions of this article and that the defendant
understands such provisions. Such statement, when signed and
witnessed shall constitute prima facie evidence that the person had
knowledge of the requirements of this article.
(d) When a person required to register under this article is
released following incarceration, the commissioner of corrections,
the regional jail supervisor or the city or sheriff or any other
person supervising the operation of the place of confinement shall
inform the state police of such release and provide such further
information as is required by this article.
(e) The state police shall maintain a central registry of all
persons who register under this article and shall release information only as provided in this article.
§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
West Virginia state police of his or her 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 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. A person whose conviction is overturned for
the offense which required them to register under this article
shall be permitted to petition the court for removal of their name
from the registry.
§61-8F-5. Distribution of information.
(a) Within five working days after receiving any notification
as described in this article, the state police shall distribute a copy of the notification statement to:
(1) The supervisor of each county and municipal law-
enforcement office in the city and county where the person will
reside;
(2) The county superintendent of schools where the person will
reside;
(3) The child protective services office charged with
investigating allegations of child abuse or neglect in the county
where the person will reside; and
(4) All community organizations or religious organizations
which regularly provide services to youths in the county where the
person will reside.
(b) The information and documentation required in connection
with the registration may be provided to any other person upon
application to the circuit court in the county where an applicant
seeking the information resides, when that court finds that the
information is sufficiently relevant to public safety to outweigh
the importance of maintaining confidentiality of this article.
When the court orders the release of that information, the court
shall further order to what extent the applicant may provide for
the release of the information to third parties.
(c) The state police may furnish information and documentation
required in connection with the registration to authorized law-
enforcement and governmental agencies of the United States and its
territories, of foreign countries duly authorized to receive the
same, of other states within the United States and of the state of
West Virginia upon proper request stating that the records will be
used solely for law-enforcement related purposes.
(d) An elected public official, public employee or public
agency is immune from civil liability for damages arising out of
any action relating to the provisions of this section except when
the official, employee or agency acted with gross negligence or in
bad faith.
§61-8F-6. Duties of institution officials.
In addition to the duties imposed by sections two and four of
this article, 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.
Further, the official shall obtain a statement signed by the person
acknowledging that the person has been informed of their duty to
register.
§61-8F-7. Information shall be released when person moves out of state.
When a person who is required to register pursuant to the
provisions of this article notifies any law-enforcement official or
corrections official, that he or she is moving to another state,
the official shall notify law-enforcement officials where the
person indicates he or she shall reside of the information provided
by the person under the provisions of this article.
§61-8F-8. Failure to register; penalty.
Any person required to register under this article who
knowingly fails to register or knowingly fails to provide a change
of address as required by this section, is guilty of a misdemeanor
and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than two
hundred fifty dollars nor more than ten thousand dollars, or
imprisoned in the county jail not more than one year, or both fined
and imprisoned: Provided, That each time such person changes
residence and fails to register, such failure shall constitute a
separate offense.
§61-8F-9. Registration of out-of-state offenders.
When any probation or parole officer accepts supervision of
and has legal authority over any person required to register under this article from another state under the terms and conditions of
the uniform act for out-of-state parolee supervision established
under article six, chapter twenty-eight of this code, such officer
shall give the person written notice of the registration
requirements of this section and obtain a signed statement from the
person required to register acknowledging the receipt of the
notice.
ARTICLE 11A. VICTIM PROTECTION ACT OF 1984.
§61-11A-8. Victim notification of defendant's release.
(a) At the time a complaint is sworn out and again at the time
when any person is convicted for a charge of murder, aggravated
robbery, sexual assault in the first degree, kidnapping, arson,
sexual offenses against minors or any violent crime against a
spouse, former spouse, child or stepchild, the prosecuting attorney
shall provide written notice to the victim or victim's family
member that he or she may be notified prior to and upon the release
of the defendant from confinement in any correctional facility,
work release, home confinement, probation, parole, or upon the
escape of the defendant from any correctional facility. The notice
shall include instructions on how to request the notification.
(b) The commissioner of corrections, regional jail supervisors, city or sheriff operating a jail which releases any
person shall, from which they have received a written request for
notification, provide written notice to the last known address or
addresses provided by the victim, or in the case of a minor child,
to the custodial parent of the child, upon release of the
defendant. Additionally, notice provided in the case of escape
shall be by telephone.