FISCAL
NOTE
WEST virginia Legislature
2017 regular session
By
to the Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §61-8-28 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to the use of drone surveillance of private citizens; and providing criminal penalties.
Be it enacted by the
Legislature of West Virginia:
That §61-8-28 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 8. CRIMES
AGAINST CHASTITY, MORALITY AND DECENCY.
§61-8-28. Criminal
invasion of privacy; penalties.
(a) For the purposes of
this section, the words or terms defined in this subsection have the meanings
ascribed to them. These definitions are applicable unless a different meaning
clearly appears from the context:
(1) “A person fully or
partially nude” means a male or female who is either clothed or unclothed so
that: (A) All or any part of his or her genitals, pubic area or buttocks is
visible; or (B) in the case of a female only, a part of a nipple of her breast
is visible and is without a fully opaque covering;
(2) “To visually portray” a
person means to create a reproducible image of that person by means of:
(A) A photograph;
(B) A motion picture;
(C) A video tape;
(D) A digital recording; or
(E) Any other mechanical or
electronic recording process or device that can preserve, for later viewing, a
visual image of a person; and
(3) “Place where a
reasonable person would have an expectation of privacy” means a place where a
reasonable person would believe that he or she could, in privacy, be fully or
partially nude without expecting that the act of exposing his or her body was
being visually portrayed by another person.
(b) It is unlawful for a
person to knowingly visually portray another person without that other person's knowledge, while that other person is fully or
partially nude and is in a place where a reasonable person would have an
expectation of privacy. A person who violates the provisions of this subsection
is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be confined in a
county or regional jail for not more than one year or fined not more than
$5,000, or both confined and fined.
(c) Any person who displays
or distributes visual images of another person with knowledge that said the
visual images were obtained in violation of subsection (b) of this section is
guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be confined in a county
or regional jail for not more than one year or fined not more than $5,000,
or both confined and fined.
(d) It is unlawful for
any person to use a drone or unmanned aircraft system to enter and view another
person’s property in which the person operating the drone has no lawful access
or right of entry, with the intent of viewing or capturing photographs, video,
or surveillance, of persons or activities on another person’s property. A
person who violates the provisions of this subsection is guilty of a
misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be confined in jail for not more than
one year or fined not more than $5,000, or both confined and fined.
(d) (e) A person who is convicted of a second or
subsequent violation of subsection (b), or (c) or (d) of this
section is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, shall be confined in a
state correctional facility for not less than one year nor more than five years
or fined not more than $10,000, or both confined and fined.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is
to create restrictions on the use of drones or unmanned aircraft systems on
another person’s property in order to view or capture pictures, video, or
surveillance for the use of the person operating the drone and establish
penalties for violating those restrictions.
Strike-throughs indicate language
that would be stricken from a heading or the present law, and underscoring
indicates new language that would be added.