The Judiciary Committee met today to discuss Senate Bill 72 creating Sexual Assault Victims’ Bill of Rights.
This bill creates a section of code entitled the Sexual Assault Victims’ Bill of Rights. The Victim Protection Act of 1984 provides rights to certain victims. This bill creates additional rights which include the following:
· The right to a personal representative of the victims choosing, to attend police interviews, medical treatment, court proceedings, etc.;
· The right to receive a forensic medical examination;
· The right to have a sexual assault evidence collection kit tested and preserved;
· The right to be informed of the results of a forensic medical examination, unless such disclosure would compromise or impede an ongoing investigation;
· The right to receive notification of the evidence no fewer than 60 days prior to the intended destruction of the evidence; and
· The right to have said evidence preserved for an additional period not to exceed 10 years after a written request
Senate Bill 491 extends effective date for voter registration in conjunction with driver licensing. This bill amends the effective date for automatic voter registration implementation to July 1, 2021. Additionally the bill requires the DMV to obtain an applicants United States citizenship status, along with other information that must be collected and released to the Secretary of State as part of an automatic voter registration application. The bill will be reported to the House.
The committee was left with questions though as one witness testified that another departments witness had given an alternate fact in Senate Judiciary. The committee unsettled by this issue will be asking the committee on Government and Finance to conduct an investigation as well as discussing it with the President of the Senate, Mitch Carmichael.
Senate Bill 481 relates to Judicial Vacancy Advisory Commission. This bill amends the in-state residency restriction for members of the Judiciary Vacancy Advisory Commission, which currently prevents more than three members of the Commission from being residents of the same congressional district of the state. The bill would instead provide that no more than four members may be residents of the same congressional district; and no more than two member of the JVAC may be residents of the same senatorial district. The bill will be reported to the House.
Senate Bill 393 protects the right to farm. The purpose of this bill is to protect the right to farm and to protect agricultural operations form nuisance litigation if the facility has been in operation for more than a year. The bill will be reported to the House.
Senate Bill 3 establishes WV Small Wireless Facilities Deployment Act. This bill primarily makes technical and formatting changes to the bill as originally introduced. The remaining changes are a result of agreement among the stakeholders – primarily between Wireless Communication Provider (AT&T) and the WV Municipal League. It also addresses the FCC guidance on the issue. The bill will be reported to the House.
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