ENROLLED
Senate Bill No. 396
(By Senators Fanning, Bowman and Barnes)
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[Passed March 10, 2007;
in effect ninety days from passage.]
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AN ACT to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §20-2-29, relating to
authorizing the Director of the Division of Natural Resources
to exempt site-specific data on certain rare plant or animal
species and their habitats from disclosure under the Freedom
of Information Act; providing exceptions thereto; and placing
limitations on the use of released 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 §20-2-29, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 2. WILDLIFE RESOURCES.
§20-2-29. Conservation of species and request for public records.
(a) The director may exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, article one, chapter twenty-nine-b of this
code, any record concerning the site-specific location of an animal
species protected under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, 7 U. S.
C. §136, a plant protected under the Plant Variety Protection Act,
7 U. S. C. §2321:2583 and any plant or animal species native to
West Virginia determined by the director to be sensitive and in
need of conservation to maintain viability or existence.
(b) The director may not deny the release of records under
subsection (a) of this section if requested:
(1) By the owner of the land upon which the resource is
located;
(2) By an entity which can take the land through the right of
eminent domain; or
(3) For
scientific purposes which include, but are not limited
to, conservation and education, by a person or entity
that
demonstrates to the director's satisfaction that the request for
information is necessary, will not cause harm to the plant or
animal species, and that the person or entity will use the
information only for the limited purpose which is the basis for the
request of information. The director retains the right to provide
any such data in a form which in his or her opinion, is of
sufficient resolution to satisfy that request and is not obligated
to provide exact coordinate data.
(c) Persons or entities receiving records under this
subsection may not release the information to the public or release the information to another entity for commercial purposes.
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