Senate Bill No. 536
(By Senator Sprouse)
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[Introduced February 8, 2006; referred to the Committee
the Judiciary; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new article, designated §15-13-1, §15-13-2,
§15-13-3, §15-13-4, §15-13-5, §15-13-6, §15-13-7, §15-13-8,
§15-13-9, §15-13-10 and §15-13-11, all relating to creating
the Violent Offender Registration Act; requiring registration
of certain violent offenders; creating Violent Offender
Registration Advisory Board; specifying information to be
included in registry information and requirements for updating
the information; specifying the duration requirements;
requiring distribution and disclosure of information;
requiring community information programs by prosecuting
attorney and State Police; providing procedures for removal;
requiring registration of out-of-state offenders under certain
circumstances; requiring address verification; specifying
duties of institution officials; requiring release of information to other states; and providing criminal penalties.
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 §15-13-1, §15-13-2,
§15-13-3, §15-13-4, §15-13-5, §15-13-6, §15-13-7, §15-13-8,
§15-13-9, §15-13-10 and §15-13-11, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 13. VIOLENT OFFENDER REGISTRATION ACT.
§15-13-1. Short title; intent and findings.
(a) This article may be cited as the "Violent Offender
Registration Act."
(b) It is the intent of this article to assist law-enforcement
agencies' efforts to protect the public from violent offenders by
requiring violent offenders to register with the State Police
detachment in the county where he or she resides and by making
certain information about violent offenders available to the
public. It is not the intent of the Legislature that the
information be used to inflict retribution or additional punishment
on any person convicted of any offense requiring registration under
this article. This article is intended to be regulatory in nature
and not penal.
© The Legislature finds and declares that there is a
compelling and necessary public interest that the public have
information concerning persons convicted of violent offenses in
order to allow members of the public to adequately protect themselves and their children from these persons.
(d) The Legislature also finds and declares that persons
required to register as violent offenders pursuant to this article
have a reduced expectation of privacy because of the state's
interest in public safety.
§15-13-2. Registration.
(a) The provisions of this article apply both retroactively
and prospectively.
(b) Any person who has been convicted of an offense or an
attempted offense or has been found not guilty by reason of mental
illness, mental retardation or addiction of an offense under
sections one, four, seven, nine, nine-a, nine-b, ten, ten-a, ten-b,
eleven, twelve or fifteen, article two, chapter sixty-one of this
code or under a statutory provision of another state, the United
States Code or the Uniform Code of Military Justice which requires
proof of the same essential elements shall register as set forth in
subsection (d) of this section and according to the internal
management rules promulgated by the superintendent under authority
of section twenty-five, article two of this chapter.
© Persons required to register under the provisions of this
article shall provide or cooperate in providing, at a minimum, the
following when registering:
(1) The full name of the registrant, including any aliases,
nicknames or other names used by the registrant;
(2) The address where the registrant intends to reside or
resides at the time of registration, the name and address of the
registrant's employer or place of occupation at the time of
registration, the names and addresses of any anticipated future
employers or places of occupation, the name and address of any
school or training facility the registrant is attending at the time
of registration and the names and addresses of any schools or
training facilities the registrant expects to attend;
(3) The registrant's social security number;
(4) A full-face photograph of the registrant at the time of
registration;
(5) A brief description of the crime or crimes for which the
registrant was convicted;
(6) Fingerprints;
(7) Information related to any motor vehicle owned or
regularly operated by a registrant; and
(8) Information relating to any internet accounts the
registrant has and the screen names, user names or aliases the
registrant uses on the internet.
(d) On the date that any person convicted or found not guilty
by reason of mental illness, mental retardation or addiction of any
of the crimes listed in subsection (b) of this section, hereinafter
referred to as a "qualifying offense", including those persons who
are continuing under some post-conviction supervisory status, are released, granted probation or a suspended sentence, released on
parole, probation, home detention, work release, conditional
release or any other release from confinement, the Commissioner of
Corrections, regional jail administrator or Secretary of the
Department of Health and Human Resources which releases the person,
and any parole or probation officer who releases the person or
supervises the person following the release, shall obtain all
information required by subsection © of this section prior to the
release of the person, inform the person of his or her duty to
register and send written notice of the release of the person to
the State Police within three business days of receiving the
information. The notice must include the information required by
this section. Any person having a duty to register for a
qualifying offense shall register upon conviction, unless that
person is confined or incarcerated, in which case he or she shall
register within three business days of release, transfer or other
change in disposition status.
(e) At the time the person is convicted or found not guilty by
reason of mental illness, mental retardation or addiction in a
court of this state of the crimes set forth in subsection (b) of
this section, the person shall sign in open court a statement
acknowledging that he or she understands the requirements imposed
by this article. The court shall inform the person so convicted of
the requirements to register imposed by this article and shall further satisfy itself by interrogation of the defendant or his or
her counsel that the defendant has received notice of the
provisions of this article and that the defendant understands the
provisions. The statement, when signed and witnessed, constitutes
prima facie evidence that the person had knowledge of the
requirements of this article. Upon completion of the statement,
the court shall provide a copy to the registry. Persons who have
not signed a statement under the provisions of this subsection and
who are subject to the registration requirements of this article
shall be informed of the requirement by the State Police whenever
the State Police obtain information that the person is subject to
registration requirements.
(f) The State Police shall maintain a central registry of all
persons who register under this article and shall release
information only as provided in this article. The information
required to be made public by the State Police by subdivision (1),
subsection (b), section six of this article is to be accessible
through the internet. No information relating to internet
accounts, screen names, user names or aliases a registrant has or
uses may be released through the internet.
(g) For the purposes of this article, the term "business
days," means days exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays and legal
holidays as defined in section one, article two, chapter two of
this code.
§15-13-3. Creation of Violent Offender Registration Advisory
Board.
There is created within the Department of Military Affairs and
Public Safety a Violent Offender Registration Advisory Board
consisting of a minimum of five members appointed by the Secretary
of the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety. At least
two of the members shall be experts in the field of the behavior
and treatment of violent offenders, and each shall be a physician,
psychologist or social worker in the employ of this state appointed
by the secretary in consultation with the Commissioner of the
Bureau for Public Health. The remaining members shall be victims
rights advocates and representatives of law-enforcement agencies.
Members of the board shall be reimbursed their reasonable expenses
pursuant to the rules promulgated by the Department of
Administration for the reimbursement of expenses of state officials
and employees and shall receive no other compensation for their
services. The board shall use the staff of the division or office
within the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety
designated by the secretary thereof in carrying out its duties and
responsibilities as set forth in this article.
§15-13-4. Change in registry information.
When any person required to register under this article
changes his or her residence, address, place of employment or
occupation, vehicle information required by section two of this article, or school or training facility which he or she is
attending, or when any of the other information required by this
article changes, he or she shall, within ten business days, inform
the State Police of the changes in the manner prescribed by the
Superintendent of the State Police in procedural rules promulgated
in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code.
§15-13-5. Duration.
(a) A person required to register under the terms of this
article shall continue to comply with this section, except during
ensuing periods of incarceration or confinement, until:
(1) Ten years have elapsed since the person was released from
prison, jail or a mental health facility or ten years have elapsed
since the person was placed on probation, parole or supervised or
conditional release. The ten-year registration period is not
reduced by the violent offender's release from probation, parole or
supervised or conditional release; or
(2) For the life of that person if that person: (A) Has one
or more prior convictions or has previously been found not guilty
by reason of mental illness, mental retardation or addiction for
any qualifying offense referred to in this article; or (B) has been
convicted or has been found not guilty by reason of mental illness,
mental retardation or addiction of a qualifying offense as referred
to in this article, and upon motion of the prosecuting attorney, the court finds by clear and convincing evidence, that the
qualifying offense involved multiple victims or multiple violations
of the qualifying offense; or © has been convicted or has been
found not guilty by reason of mental illness, mental retardation or
addiction of a qualifying offense as referred to in this article,
involving a minor.
(b) A person whose conviction is overturned for the offense
which required them to register under this article shall, upon
petition to the court, have their name removed from the registry.
§15-13-6. Distribution and disclosure of information; community
information programs by prosecuting attorney and
State Police; petition to circuit court.
(a) Within five business days after receiving any notification
as described in this article, the State Police shall distribute a
copy of the notification statement to:
(1) The supervisor of each county and municipal
law-enforcement office and any campus police department in the city
and county where the registrant resides, is employed or attends
school or a training facility;
(2) The county superintendent of schools where the registrant
resides, is employed or attends school or a training facility;
(3) The child protective services office charged with
investigating allegations of child abuse or neglect in the county
where the registrant resides, is employed or attends school or a training facility;
(4) All community organizations or religious organizations
which regularly provide services to youths in the county where the
registrant resides, is employed or attends school or a training
facility;
(5) Individuals and organizations which provide day care
services for youths or day care, residential or respite care, or
other supportive services for mentally or physically incapacitated
or infirm persons in the county where the registrant resides, is
employed or attends school or a training facility; and
(6) The Federal Bureau of Investigation.
(b) Information concerning persons whose names are contained
in the violent offender registry is not subject to the requirements
of the West Virginia Freedom of Information Act, as set forth in
chapter twenty-nine-b of this code, and may be disclosed and
disseminated only as otherwise provided in this article and as
follows:
(1) The State Police shall maintain and make available to the
public at least quarterly the list of all persons who are required
to register for life according to the terms of subdivision (2),
subsection (a), section five of this article. No information
concerning the identity of a victim of an offense requiring
registration or information relating to internet accounts, screen
names, user names or aliases a registrant has or uses may be released with this list. The method of publication and access to
this list are to be determined by the superintendent; and
(2) A resident of a county may petition the circuit court for
an order requiring the State Police to release information about
persons residing in that county who are required to register under
section two of this article. The court shall determine whether
information contained on the list is relevant to public safety and
whether its relevance outweighs the importance of confidentiality.
If the court orders information to be released, it may further
order limitations upon secondary dissemination by the resident
seeking the information. In no event may information concerning
the identity of a victim of an offense requiring registration or
information relating to internet accounts, screen names, user names
or aliases a registrant has or uses be released.
© The State Police may furnish information and documentation
required in connection with the registration to authorized law
enforcement, campus police and governmental agencies of the United
States and its territories, of foreign countries duly authorized to
receive the same, of other states within the United States and of
the State of West Virginia upon proper request stating that the
records will be used solely for law-enforcement related purposes.
The State Police may disclose information collected under this
article to federal, state and local governmental agencies
responsible for conducting preemployment checks.
(d) An elected public official, public employee or public
agency is immune from civil liability for damages arising out of
any action relating to the provisions of this section except when
the official, employee or agency acted with gross negligence or in
bad faith.
§15-13-7. Duties of institution officials.
The official in charge of the place of confinement shall
inform any person required to register under this article, before
parole or release, of the duty to register. Further, the official
shall obtain the full address of the person and a statement signed
by the person acknowledging that the person has been informed of
his or her duty to register.
§15-13-8. Information shall be released when person moves out of
state.
A person who is required to register pursuant to the
provisions of this article, who intends to move to another state or
country shall at least ten business days prior to the move notify
the State Police of his or her intent to move and of the location
to which he or she intends to move, or if that person is
incarcerated he or she shall notify correctional officials of his
or her intent to reside in some other state or country upon his or
her release, and of the location to which he or she intends to
move. Upon the notification, the State Police shall notify
law-enforcement officials of the jurisdiction where the person indicates he or she intends to reside of the information provided
by the person under the provisions of this article.
§15-13-9. Failure to register or provide notice of registration
changes; penalty.
(a) Except as provided in this section, any person required to
register under this article who knowingly provides false
information or who refuses to provide accurate information when so
required by terms of this article, or who knowingly fails to
register or knowingly fails to provide a change in any information
as required by this article, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than two hundred fifty
dollars nor more than ten thousand dollars or imprisoned in jail
not more than one year, or both:
Provided, That each time the
person has a change in any of the registration information as
required by this article and fails to register the change or
changes, each failure to register each separate item of information
changed constitutes a separate offense.
(b) Any person required to register under this article who is
convicted of a second or subsequent offense of failing to register
or provide a change in any information as required by this article
or any person who is required to register for life pursuant to
subsection (2), subdivision (a), section five of this article and
who knowingly provides false information or who refuses to provide
accurate information when so required by terms of this article or who knowingly fails to register or knowingly fails to provide a
change in information as required by this article is guilty of a
felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned in a state
correctional facility for not less than one year nor more than five
years.
© In addition to any other penalty specified for failure to
register under this article, any person under the supervision of a
probation officer, parole officer or any other sanction short of
confinement in jail or prison who knowingly refuses to register or
who knowingly fails to provide a change in information as required
by this article shall be subject to immediate revocation of
probation or parole and returned to confinement for the remainder
of any suspended or unserved portion of his or her original
sentence.
§15-13-10. Registration of out-of-state offenders.
(a) When any probation or parole officer accepts supervision
of and has legal authority over any person required to register
under this article from another state under the terms and
conditions of the uniform act for out-of-state parolee supervision
established under article six, chapter twenty-eight of this code,
the officer shall give the person written notice of the
registration requirements of this section and obtain a signed
statement from the person
required to register acknowledging the
receipt of the notice. The officer shall obtain and submit to the State Police the information required in subsection (d), section
two of this article.
(b) Any person:
(1) Who resides in another state or federal or military
jurisdiction;
(2) Who is employed, carries on a vocation, is a student in
this state or is a visitor to this state for a period of more than
fifteen continuous days; and
(3) Who is required by the state, federal or military
jurisdiction in which he or she resides to register in that state,
federal or military jurisdiction as a violent offender, or has been
convicted of a violation in that state, federal or military
jurisdiction that is similar to a violation in this article
requiring registration as a violent offender in this state, shall
register in this state and otherwise comply with the provisions of
this article.
© Any person changing residence to this state from another
state or federal or military jurisdiction who is required to
register as a violent offender under the laws of that state or
federal or military jurisdiction shall register as a violent
offender in this state.
§15-13-11. Address verification.
The State Police shall verify addresses of those persons
registered as violent offenders once a year. The State Police may require registrants to periodically submit to new fingerprints and
photographs as part of the verification process. The method of
verification shall be in accordance with internal management rules
pertaining thereto promulgated by the superintendent under
authority of section twenty-five, article two, chapter fifteen of
this code.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require the registration
of violent offenders in a similar manner as is required of sexual
offenders.
This article is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.
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