COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 453
(By Senators Hunter, Rowe, McCabe, Unger, Oliverio, Minard,
Caldwell, Kessler, Bowman, Fanning, Bailey, Love, Facemyer, Ross,
Weeks, Smith, Sharpe, Dempsey, Minear, Sprouse, Edgell, Plymale,
Prezioso, Helmick, Chafin, White, Jenkins and Tomblin, Mr.
President)
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[Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary;
reported February 25, 2003.]
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A BILL to amend chapter forty-eight of the code of West Virginia,
one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding
thereto a new article, designated article twenty-seven-a,
relating to establishing the domestic violence fatality review
team.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That chapter forty-eight of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by adding
thereto a new article, designated article twenty-seven-a, to read
as follows:
ARTICLE 27A. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE FATALITY REVIEW TEAM.
§48-27A-1. Domestic violence fatality review team.
(a) The domestic violence fatality review team is hereby
established under the office of the chief medical examiner. The
domestic violence fatality review team is a multidisciplinary team
created to review the deaths resulting from suspected domestic
violence as defined by the provisions of section two hundred four,
article twenty-seven of this chapter.
(b) The domestic violence fatality review team is to consist
of the following members, but not limited to, appointed by the
governor to serve three-year terms:
(1) The chief medical examiner, who is to serve as the
chairperson of the domestic violence fatality review team;
(2) Four prosecuting attorneys or their designees;
(3) The state superintendent of the West Virginia state police
or his or her designee;
(4) One county law-enforcement official;
(5) One local municipality police officer;
(6) One physician, resident or nurse practitioner specializing
in the practice of family medicine or emergency medicine;
(7) One physician, resident or nurse practitioner specializing
in the practice of obstetrics and gynecology;
(8) One adult protective service worker currently employed in
investigating reports of adult abuse or neglect;
(9) One social worker who may be employed in medical social
work;
(10) The commissioner of the office of behavioral health services or his or her designee;
(11) The director of the office of social services of the
department of health and human resources or his or her designee;
(12) One domestic violence advocate from a licensed domestic
violence program;
(13) A representative of the West Virginia coalition against
domestic violence;
(14) Director of the state division of corrections or his or
her designee; and
(15) Director of epidemiology and health promotion or his or
her designee.
(c) Members of the domestic violence fatality review team
shall, unless sooner removed, continue to serve until their
respective terms expire and until their successors have been
appointed and have qualified.
(d) Each appointment of a prosecuting attorney, whether for a
full term or to fill a vacancy, is to be made by the governor from
among three nominees selected by the West Virginia prosecuting
attorneys institute. Each appointment of a county or local
municipality law-enforcement officer, whether for a full term or to
fill a vacancy, is to be made by the governor from among three
nominees selected by the state fraternal order of police or the
West Virginia deputy sheriff's association or the West Virginia
chiefs of police association. Each appointment of a physician,
resident or nurse practitioner, whether for a full term or to fill
a vacancy, is to be made by the governor from among three nominees selected by the West Virginia state medical association. Each
appointment of an adult protective services worker and a social
worker, whether for a full term or to fill a vacancy, is to be made
by the governor from among three nominees selected by the West
Virginia social work licensing board. Each appointment of a
domestic violence advocate is to be made by the governor from among
three nominees selected by the West Virginia coalition against
domestic violence. When an appointment is for a full term, the
nomination is to be submitted to the governor not later than eight
months prior to the date on which the appointment is to become
effective. In the case of an appointment to fill a vacancy, the
nominations are to be submitted to the governor within thirty days
after the request for the nomination has been made by the governor
to the chairperson or president of the organization. When an
association fails to submit to the governor nominations for the
appointment in accordance with the requirements of this section,
the governor may make the appointment from any nomination provided
by the chief medical examiner.
(e) Each member of the domestic violence fatality review team
shall serve without additional compensation and may not be
reimbursed for any expenses incurred in the discharge of his or her
duties under the provisions of this article.
(f) The domestic violence fatality review team shall, pursuant
to the provisions of chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, promulgate
rules applicable to the following:
(1) The standard procedures for the establishment, formation and conduct of the domestic violence fatality review team; and
(2) Recommend protocols for the systematic review of domestic
violence fatalities where other than natural causes are suspected.
(g) The domestic violence fatality review team shall:
(1) Review all deaths of victims or suspected victims of
domestic violence, including suicides, eighteen years and older,
who are residents of this state, in order to identify trends,
patterns and risk factors;
(2) Provide statistical analysis regarding the causes of
domestic violence fatalities in West Virginia;
(3) Promote public awareness of the incidence and causes of
domestic violence fatalities, including recommendations for their
reduction; and
(4) Provide training for state agencies.
(h) The domestic violence fatality review team shall submit an
annual report to the governor and to the Legislature concerning its
activities and the incidents of domestic violence fatalities within
the state. The report is due annually in the first day of March.
The report is to include statistics setting forth the number of
domestic violence fatalities, identifiable trends in domestic
violence fatalities in the state, including possible causes, if
any, and recommendations to reduce the number of preventable
domestic violence fatalities in the state.
(i) The domestic violence fatality review team, in the
exercise of its duties as defined in this section, may not:
(1) Call witnesses or take testimony from individuals involved in the investigation of a domestic violence fatality;
(2) Contact a family member of the deceased; any member of the
team when involved in the investigation of a death in the course of
performing his or her duties outside of the team must so notify the
team and will be recused from any analysis or other participation
or discussion of that death by the domestic violence fatality
review team; and
(3) Enforce any public health standard or criminal law or
otherwise participate in any legal proceeding, except if a member
of the team is involved in the investigation of the death or
resulting prosecution and must participate in a legal proceeding in
the course of performing his or her duties outside of the team.
(j) Proceedings, records and opinions of the domestic violence
fatality review team are confidential and are not subject to
discovery, subpoena or introduction into evidence in any civil or
criminal proceeding. Nothing in this subsection is to be construed
to limit or restrict the right to discover or use in any civil or
criminal proceeding anything that is available from another source
and entirely independent of the proceedings of the domestic
violence fatality review team.
(k) Members of the domestic violence fatality review team may
not be questioned in any civil or criminal proceeding regarding
information presented in or opinions formed as a result of a
meeting of the team. Nothing in this subsection may be construed
to prevent a member of the domestic violence fatality review team
from testifying to information obtained independently of the team or which is public information.
§48-27A-2. Other agencies of government required to cooperate.
State, county and local agencies, hospitals and other health
agencies shall provide the domestic violence fatality review team
with any information requested in writing by the team as allowable
by law or upon receipt of a certified copy of the circuit court's
order directing said agencies to release information in its
possession relating to the deceased. The team shall assure that
all information received and developed in connection with the
provisions of this article remain confidential.
§48-27A-3. Law enforcement; prosecution; interference with
performance of duties.
The domestic violence fatality review team may not take any
action which, in the determination of the prosecuting attorney or
his or her assistant, impairs the ability of the prosecuting
attorney, his or her assistant or any law-enforcement officer to
perform his or her statutory duties.
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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to establish the domestic
violence fatality review team.
This article is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.)