SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 7
(By Senators Wooton, Craigo, Jackson,
Mitchell, Prezioso, Walker, McKenzie, Unger, Dawson, Ball,
Ross, Snyder, Hunter, McCabe, Kessler and Edgell)
Requesting the Joint Committee on Government and Finance conduct
a study of the need for a consistent and comprehensive
juvenile criminal history record system.
Whereas, It is the responsibility of the State of West
Virginia to provide for a comprehensive system of care, treatment
and rehabilitation of its juveniles who are charged with or
adjudicated of crimes and misdemeanors; and
Whereas, The records of juveniles, including fingerprints,
come into the custody of numerous departments, divisions and
institutions within the state during and after the course of
criminal proceedings; and
Whereas, The laws of the State of West Virginia do not
consistently and precisely define what constitutes juvenile
criminal history records and the purposes for which various
records may be used; and
Whereas, The Legislature needs accurate information
regarding the need for database systems to store and retrieve
juvenile criminal history records and the storage capacity of the
various entities which are charged with safeguarding juvenile
criminal history records; therefore, be it
Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Joint Committee on Government and Finance is hereby
requested to study the need for a juvenile criminal history
record system with specific emphasis on the following areas of
inquiry:
(a) The purposes for which juvenile criminal history
records, including fingerprints, should be available;
(b) How state laws correspond to current database system
capabilities and storage space capacity; and
(c) Whether current law adequately protects the rights of
juveniles in the permitted use of juvenile criminal history
records; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Joint Committee on Government and
Finance report to the regular session of the Legislature, 2001,
on its findings, conclusions and recommendations, together with
drafts of any legislation necessary to effectuate its recommendations; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the expenses necessary to conduct
this study, to prepare a report and to draft necessary
legislation be paid from legislative appropriations to the Joint
Committee on Government and Finance.
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(NOTE: This resolution is recommended for passage in the
2000 Regular Session of the Legislature by the Legislative Task
Force on Juvenile Foster Care, Detention and Placement.)