H. B. 3281
(By Delegates Amores and Craig)
[Introduced March 25, 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 §3-9-25, relating to
the making it a crime to alter, destroy, or tamper with
computer equipment containing voter registration information;
and disclosure of confidential voter registration information.
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 §3-9-25, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 9. OFFENSES AND PENALTIES.
§3-9-25. Alteration, destruction, etc., of computer equipment
containing voter registration information; disclosure of
confidential voter registration information.
(a) Any person who knowingly, willfully and without
authorization, directly or indirectly, tampers with, deletes,
alters, damages or destroys or attempts to tamper with, delete,
alter, damage or destroy any computer or computer network that contains voter registration files, records or data or who knowingly
introduces, directly or indirectly, a computer contaminant into any
computer, computer program or computer network that contains voter
registration files, records or data, is guilty of a misdemeanor
and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than one
thousand dollars or confined in the county or regional jail not
more than six months, or both.
(b) Any person who knowingly, willfully and without
authorization accesses or causes to be accessed any computer or
computer network that contains voter registration files, record or
data and thereby obtains voter registration information filed by
any person with the state or any county or municipality which is
required by law to be kept confidential shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more
than five hundred dollars or confined in the county jail not more
than six months, or both.
Judiciary Committee Tittle Amendment Pending
H. B. 3281 -- "A Bill to amend the code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated §3-9-
25, relating to the crime of altering, destroying, or tampering
with computer equipment containing voter registration information;
accessing or attempting to access confidential voter registration
information and defenses."
Judiciary Committee Amendment Pending
On page one, following the enacting section, by striking out the
remainder of the bill and inserting in lieu thereof the following
language:
ARTICLE 9. OFFENSES AND PENALTIES.
§3-9-25. Alteration, destruction, etc., of computer equipment
containing voter registration information; disclosure of
confidential voter registration information.
(a) Any person who knowingly, willfully and without
authorization from the Secretary of State or a county clerk,
directly or indirectly, tampers with, deletes, alters, damages or
destroys or attempts to tamper with, delete, alter, damage or
destroy any computer or computer network that contains voter
registration files, records or data or who knowingly introduces,
directly or indirectly, a computer contaminant into any computer,
computer program or computer network that contains voter
registration files, records or data, is guilty of a misdemeanor
and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than one
thousand dollars or confined in a regional jail for not more than
six months, or both.
(b) Any person who knowingly, directly or indirectly,
accesses, attempts to access, or causes to be accessed any voter
registration files, records or data stored on or in a computer
owned by the Secretary of State, a county commission or municipality, without authorization shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more
than five thousand dollars or confined in a regional jail not more
than six months, or both.
(c) In any criminal prosecution under subsection (b) against
an employee of the Secretary of State, a county commission or a
municipality, it shall not be a defense (1) that the defendant had
reasonable grounds to believe that he or she had authorization to
access the data merely because of his or her employment, or (2)
that the defendant could not have reasonably known he or she did
not have authorization to access the data.