H. B. 3217


(By Delegates Mahan and DeLong)


[Introduced February 22, 2007; referred to the

Committee on Judiciary.]




A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated §61-8C-6, relating to designating the state police as administrator of enforcement of this article for purposes of issuing administrative subpoenas in suspected cases of child pornography; referencing applicable federal law regarding administrative subpoenas in child pornography cases; requiring disclosure by internet service providers of certain subscriber information; offenses; penalties; fees.

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 §61-8C-6, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 8C. FILMING OF SEXUALLY EXPLICIT CONDUCT OF MINORS.
§61-8C-6. State Police authority to issue administrative authority
to issue administrative subpoenas to internet service providers in suspected cases of child pornography and soliciting a minor using a computer; required disclosures by providers of internet services; definitions; offenses; penalties.

(a) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, the West Virginia State Police are hereby designated to be the state law enforcement agency charged with administering the issuance of administrative subpoenas in investigations pursuant to the provisions of section fourteen-b, article three-c, the provisions of section five, article eight-a, the provisions of article eight-c of this chapter and state and local law enforcement investigations of alleged violations of the provisions of Title 18 U.S.C. §§2251, 2252, 2252A and 2260 as such relate to internet service providers;
(b) A provider of internet service who violates the provisions of Title 18 U.S.C. §2703 as that provision read as of January 1, 2007, when compliance with an administrative subpoena issued by the West Virginia State Police pursuant to the provisions of this section, is sought, is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine of not less than $50.00 or more than $500.00 for each violation;
(c) In investigating possible violations of the provisions of this article, section five, article eight-a of this chapter or Title 18 U.S.C. §§2251, 2252, 2252A or 2260, an authorized member of the state police may, if there is reasonable cause to believe that an individual subscriber or customer of a provider of internet service has committed such an offense through the use of the services of the provider of the internet service, issue a subpoena to carry out the procedure set forth in Title 18 U.S.C. §2703 to compel the provider of internet service to provide information concerning the individual subscriber or customer that the provider of internet service is required to disclose pursuant to Title 18 U.S.C. §2703.
(d) If a person who has been issued a subpoena pursuant to this section charges a fee for providing the information, the fee may not exceed the actual cost for providing the information.
(e) If a person who has been issued a subpoena pursuant to this section refuses to produce any information that the subpoena requires, the person who issued the subpoena may apply to the circuit court of the county in which the offense is believed to have occurred for the enforcement of the subpoena in the manner provided by law for the enforcement of a subpoena in a civil action.
(f) As used in this section, provider of internet service means any provider who provides subscribers with access to the internet or an electronic mail address, or both, but does not include a public library when it is engaged in providing access to the internet.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill establishes the West Virginia State Police as the entity which is authorized to issue administrative subpoenas to internet service providers in cases of suspected child pornography; to define offenses and set forth penalties and fees.

This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.