Relating to persons convicted of a crime
HB3514 amends West Virginia’s Sex Offender Registration Act to expand and clarify who must register as a sex offender. The bill states that any person convicted of an offense under the listed sexual offense statutes, including attempted offenses and certain out-of-state, federal, or military convictions with the same essential elements, must register. It also expressly preserves registration requirements for people convicted under former §61-8B-6, the repealed offense of sexual assault of a spouse, making clear that those individuals remain subject to the registry despite the repeal.
The bill also requires registration for people found not guilty by reason of mental illness, mental retardation, or addiction for covered offenses, and for anyone whose offense was found by the sentencing judge to be sexually motivated. It updates and details the information registrants must provide, including residence, employment, school information, Social Security number, photographs, fingerprints, vehicle information, internet accounts, phone numbers, identification documents, professional licenses, and unmanned aerial vehicle information. It also reinforces procedures for notice at release, court advisements, and public registry maintenance by the State Police.
HB3514 would amend §15-12-2 of the West Virginia Code and broaden the statutory language governing sex offender registration, while also clarifying that the registration duty applies retroactively and prospectively. It affects registrants convicted under a wide range of sexual offense statutes, people convicted in other jurisdictions of comparable offenses, and persons adjudicated not guilty by reason of mental illness, mental retardation, or addiction. The bill also preserves registration obligations for individuals convicted under the repealed marital sexual assault statute and adds more detailed reporting requirements for the State Police registry system and for courts, correctional officials, and probation/parole authorities.
The available voting history shows strong support for the bill, with the House passing HB3514 unanimously 97-0. No committee transcript is available in the provided materials, but the bill’s structure suggests a consensus approach focused on clarifying and strengthening existing sex offender registration rules rather than creating a new regulatory scheme. The unanimous vote indicates broad agreement on the need to maintain and update registration requirements for covered offenders.
The main substantive point of potential contention is the bill’s retroactive application and its express preservation of registration duties for people convicted under the repealed offense of sexual assault of a spouse, which could be viewed as extending ongoing burdens to older convictions. Another area that may draw concern is the breadth of required personal information, including internet accounts, phone numbers, professional licenses, and unmanned aerial vehicle information, which raises privacy and administrative issues. However, no recorded opposition appears in the provided vote history, and the House vote was unanimous.