COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 512
(By Senators Kessler and Oliverio)
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[Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary;
reported February 13, 2007.]
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A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §62-6-8, relating to
prohibiting law-enforcement officers or prosecutors from
asking or requiring an adult, youth or child victim of an
alleged sexual offense to submit to a polygraph examination or
other truth-testing device as a condition for proceeding with
the investigation of the offense; and precluding declination
to investigate or prosecute for a refusal to undergo such
testing.
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 §62-6-8, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 6. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS CONCERNING CRIMINAL PROCEDURE.
§62-6-8. Alleged victim of sexual offense may not be required to
submit to a polygraph or other truth-testing device as a condition of investigating alleged offense nor may
prosecutors or law-enforcement officers predicate a
declination to proceed upon a refusal to undergo such
testing.
No law-enforcement officer, prosecutor or any other government
official may ask or require the alleged victim of a sexual offense,
as set forth in the provisions of section eight, article six,
chapter sixty-one of this code, article eight-b of this chapter or
section twelve, article eight of this chapter, to submit to a
polygraph or other truth-testing examination as a condition of
proceeding with the investigation of the alleged offense or
predicate a refusal to proceed with an investigation, warrant,
indictment, information or prosecution of the alleged offense on
the victim's refusal to submit to such an examination.
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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to comply with
requirements of the Violence Against Women Act, 42 U. S. C §3796gg-
4 and §
3796hh, which prohibits use of federal funds under the
Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act in any jurisdiction in
which the government may ask or require an alleged victim of a
sexual offense to take a polygraph or other truth-telling
examination before investigating or prosecuting the case.
§62-6-8
is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring
have been omitted.)
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