ENROLLED

Senate Bill No. 663

(By Senator Mitchell)

____________

[Passed March 12, 1999; in effect ninety days from passage.]

_____________




AN ACT to amend and reenact section six, article two-a, chapter thirty-one-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to exempting grand jury subpoenas served upon financial institutions from statutory provisions requiring notice to the customer or a judicial waiver.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section six, article two-a, chapter thirty-one-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2A. MAXWELL GOVERNMENTAL ACCESS TO FINANCIAL RECORDS ACT.
§31A-2A-6. Subpoena issued by grand jury.
(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of section five of this article, a financial institution may disclose or produce financial records upon being served with a subpoena issued under authority of a grand jury without notice or service upon the customer.
(b) Financial records obtained pursuant to a subpoena issued under the authority of a grand jury:
(1) Shall be returned and actually presented to the grand jury;
(2) Shall be used only: (A) For the purpose of considering whether to issue an indictment or presentment by that grand jury; (B) for the purpose of prosecuting a crime for which that indictment or presentment is issued; or (C) for any other purpose authorized by the West Virginia rules of criminal procedure; and
(3) Shall be destroyed or returned to the financial institution if not used for one of the purposes specified in subdivision (2) of this subsection.
(b)(c) Financial records obtained pursuant to a subpoena issued under the authority of a grand jury and any descriptions of the contents of such financial records must be maintained in sealed records of the grand jury unless such financial records or descriptions thereof have been used in the prosecution of a crime for which the grand jury issued an indictment or presentment or for any other purpose authorized by the West Virginia rules of criminal procedure.
__________


(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to exempt grand jury subpoenas from statutory provisions requiring notice to customers prior to execution of the subpoenas upon a financial institution.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.)