COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 2738
(By Delegates Webster, Miley, Fleischauer and Longstreth)
(Originating in the House Committee on the Judiciary)
[February 25, 2009]
A BILL to amend and reenact §48-27-802 of the Code of West
Virginia, 1931, as amended, and to amend and reenact §51-1-21
of said code, all relating to registering protective orders
with the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §48-27-802 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
amended, be amended and reenacted, and that §51-1-21 of said Code
be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 48. DOMESTIC RELATIONS.
ARTICLE 27. PREVENTION AND TREATMENT OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.
§48-27-802. Maintenance of registry by State Police.
(a) The West Virginia State Police shall maintain a registry
in which it shall enter certified copies of protective orders
entered by courts from every county in this state pursuant to the
provisions of this article and of protection orders issued by
another a jurisdiction outside of this state pursuant to its law: Provided, That the provisions of this subsection are not effective
until a central automated state law-enforcement information system
is developed.
(b) Effective January 2, 2010, A petitioner who obtains a court
which enters a protective order pursuant to this article shall
immediately register such order in the domestic violence database
established pursuant to the provisions of section twenty-one,
article one, chapter fifty-one of this code. or A petitioner who
obtains a protection order from another a jurisdiction outside of
this State pursuant to its law may register that order in any county
within this state where the petitioner believes enforcement may be
necessary: with the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals for entry
in the domestic violence database established pursuant to the
provisions of section twenty-one, article one, chapter fifty-one of
this code.
(c) A West Virginia protective order may be registered by the
petitioner in a county other than the issuing county by obtaining
a copy of the order of the issuing court, certified by the clerk of
that court, and presenting that certified order to the local office
of the West Virginia State Police where the order is to be
registered.
(d) Upon receipt of a certified order for registration, the
local office of the West Virginia State Police shall provide
certified copies to any law-enforcement agency within its
jurisdiction, including any municipal police office and the office
of the sheriff.
(e) Nothing in this section precludes the enforcement of an
order in a county other than the county or jurisdiction in which the
order was issued if the petitioner has not registered the order in
the county in which an alleged violation of the order occurs.
(f) Failure to register an order as provided in this section
shall not affect its enforceability in any county or jurisdiction.
CHAPTER 51. COURTS AND THEIR OFFICERS.
ARTICLE 1. SUPREME COURT OF APPEALS.
§51-1-21. Authority to maintain domestic violence database.
(a) The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals is hereby
authorized to maintain a domestic violence database containing
certified copies of protective orders entered by the courts of this
state and granted pursuant to the provisions of article
twenty-seven, chapter forty-eight of this code. Further, the
domestic violence database shall also include, whenever possible
upon request, protective protection orders issued by other
jurisdictions a jurisdiction outside of this State pursuant to its
law.
(b) Only a petitioner who obtains a protective order pursuant
to article twenty-seven, chapter forty-eight of this code, or a
protective protection order from another a jurisdiction other than
this State pursuant to its law may register that order with the West
Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.
(c) Nothing in this section precludes the enforcement of an
order in a county other than the county or jurisdiction in which the order was issued if the petitioner has not registered the order with
the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. Failure to register an
order as provided in this section shall not affect its
enforceability in any county or jurisdiction.