H. B. 3180
(By Delegate Hatfield (By Request))
[Introduced March 23, 2005; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §59-3-6a, relating to
newspapers; and requiring affidavit for publication of death
notice or obituary.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §59-3-6a, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 3. NEWSPAPERS AND LEGAL ADVERTISEMENTS.
§59-3-6a. Obituaries and death notices; affidavit required for
publication.
Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, no
qualified newspaper may publish any obituary or death notice
without first obtaining an affidavit from the deceased's next of
kin, or other appropriate person, attesting to the facts to be so
published. The newspaper shall keep such affidavit on file for at
least one year from the date of publication.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require newspapers to
obtain an affidavit from the next of kin before publishing an
obituary or death notice.
§59-3-6a is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring
have been omitted.