H. B. 4459
(By Delegates Spencer and DeLong)
[Introduced February 7, 2008; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new article, designated §15-12A-1 and
§15-12A-2, all relating to creating a registry of persons
convicted of operating a clandestine drug laboratory;
designating certain information to be contained on the
registry; directing the Criminal Identification Bureau of the
State Police to create a website using descriptive terms for
the public to access relative to the information in the
registry; and requiring the Superintendent of the State Police
to propose rules to implement the provisions of the article.
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 article, designated §15-12A-1 and
§15-12A-2,
all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 12A. REGISTRY OF CONVICTIONS FOR OPERATING A CLANDESTINE DRUG LABORATORY.
§15-12A-1. Registry of convictions for operating a clandestine
drug laboratory; required information; procedures.
(a) The Criminal Identification Bureau of the West Virginia
State Police shall establish a registry, to contain information
relating to criminal final convictions of persons under the
provisions of section four hundred eleven, article four, chapter
sixty-a of this code.
(b) The registry shall contain, at a minimum, the following
information:
(1) The convicted person's full name;
(2) Sufficient information to identify the convicted person,
including date of birth, social security number and fingerprints,
if available;
(3) Identification of the criminal offense to the extent the
date of conviction, the county of conviction and the particular
drug for which the person was convicted of manufacturing or
attempting to manufacture is provided;
(4) Whether children were present during the time the
convicted person operated or attempted to operate the clandestine
drug laboratory; and
(5) Any statement by the individual disputing the conviction,
if he or she chooses to make and file one.
(c) Upon conviction in the criminal courts of this state of a felony offense constituting the operation or attempted operation of
a clandestine drug laboratory, the individual so convicted shall be
placed on the registry.
§15-12A-2. Reports of certain convictions by prosecuting
attorneys; providing website information;
superintendent to propose rules.
(a) The prosecuting attorneys in each of the fifty-five
counties within the state, upon conviction of a person for
violating the provisions of section four hundred eleven, article
four, chapter sixty-a of this code, shall report the conviction to
the registry, together with additional information, provided in a
form, as may be required by the Criminal Identification Bureau for
registry purposes. Reporting procedures shall be developed by the
Criminal Identification Bureau in conjunction with the prosecuting
attorneys' institute and the Office of the Administrator of the
Supreme Court of Appeals.
(b) Information relating to convictions prior to the effective
date of this section shall, to the extent feasible and practicable,
be placed on the registry. When any requester requests information
related to a named individual, the Criminal Identification Bureau
may search and release other information maintained by the bureau
to determine whether that individual has been convicted of an
offense subject to inclusion on the registry. The Criminal
Identification Bureau shall also provide an Internet website which may be accessed using the descriptive terms "meth lab conviction
website of the West Virginia State Police" which shall provide the
information required by this article.
(c) The Superintendent of the State Police shall propose
legislative rules in accordance with the provisions of article
three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code designed to implement the
provisions of this article.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create a registry of
persons convicted of operating a clandestine drug laboratory. The
proposal includes provisions designating certain information to be
contained on the registry and directing the Criminal Identification
Bureau of the State Police to create a website using descriptive
terms for the public to access relative to the information in the
registry.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.