H. B. 2107
(By Delegate Staton)
[Introduced February 14, 2001; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.]
A BILL to amend article thirty, chapter sixteen of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
twenty-five; to amend and reenact section one, article one,
chapter thirty-nine of said code; and to further amend said
chapter by adding thereto a new article, designated article
four-a, all relating to the registration and recordation of
durable powers of attorney and medical powers of attorney;
making information regarding the durable powers of attorney
available to certain persons; requiring the secretary of
state to establish a process to register durable powers of
attorney and verify the identity of persons authorized to request information regarding the durable powers of
attorney; requiring the secretary of state to advise the
registrant of certain procedures pertaining to the durable
power of attorney; and providing that registration has no
impact on the validity or revocation of durable powers of
attorney.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article thirty, chapter sixteen of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section
twenty-five; that section one, article one, chapter thirty-nine
of said code be amended and reenacted; and that said chapter be
further amended by adding thereto a new article, designated
article four-a, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 16. PUBLIC HEALTH.
ARTICLE 30. WEST VIRGINIA HEALTH CARE DECISIONS ACT.
§16-30-25. Registration of medical powers of attorney.
A medical power of attorney may be registered with the
secretary of state's office pursuant to article four-a, chapter
thirty-nine of this code.
CHAPTER 39. RECORDS AND PAPERS.
ARTICLE 1. AUTHENTICATION AND RECORD OF WRITINGS.
§39-1-1. Power of attorney may be recorded.
A power of attorney may be admitted to record in any county
or may be registered with the secretary of state's office, or may
be registered with both the county clerk and secretary of state.
ARTICLE 4A. REGISTRATION OF DURABLE POWERS OF ATTORNEY.
§39-4A-1. Short title.
This article may be cited as the "Registration of Durable
Powers of Attorney Act."
§39-4A-2. Registry system for durable powers of attorney.
The secretary of state shall establish a registry system by
which any person who has executed a durable power of attorney,
including a medical power of attorney, may register information
regarding the durable power of attorney, making that information
available to any public guardian, health care provider, or other
person authorized by the registrant. Information that may be
received and released is limited to the registrant's name, social
security or driver's license or other identifying number
established by law, address, date and place of birth, the
intended place of deposit or safekeeping of durable power of
attorney, and the name and telephone number of the attorney and
any alternative attorney in fact. The secretary of state, at the
request of the registrant, may transmit the information received regarding the durable power of attorney to the registry system of
another jurisdiction as identified by the registrant. The
secretary of state may charge a fee to each registrant in an
amount that, when all fees charged to registrants are aggregated,
the aggregated fees do not exceed the actual cost of establishing
and maintaining the registry.
§39-4A-3. Identity verification.
The secretary of state shall establish procedures to verify
the identities of health care providers, the public guardian, and
other authorized persons requesting information pursuant to
section two of this article. No fee may be charged to any health
care provider, the public guardian, or other authorized person
requesting information pursuant to section two.
§39-4A-4. Specific procedures regarding medical power of
attorney.
(a) The secretary of state shall establish procedures to
advise each registrant of the following:
(1) A health care provider may not honor a durable power of
attorney for health care until it receives a copy from the
registrant.
(2) Each registrant must notify the registry upon revocation
of the durable power of attorney for health care.
(3) Each registrant must reregister upon execution of a
subsequent durable power of attorney for health care.
(b) Nothing in this section requires a health care provider
to request from the registry information about whether a patient
has executed a durable power of attorney for health care.
Nothing in this section affects the duty of a health care
provider to provide information to a patient regarding advanced
health care directives pursuant to any provision of federal law.
§39-4A-5. Revocation and invalidation.
Failure to register with the secretary of state does not
invalidate any durable power of attorney. Registration with the
secretary of state does not affect the ability of the registrant
to revoke that durable power of attorney or a later executed
power, nor does registration raise any presumption of validity or
superiority among any competing powers or revocations.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create a system of
registration for durable powers of attorney and medical powers of
attorney with the secretary of state's office.
§16-30-25 and §§39-4A-1 through 5 are new; therefore,
strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.