CHARLESTON, WV (LOOTPRESS) – The West Virginia House of Delegates advanced several bills.
House Bill 5341 would create a domestic violence registry. This registry would include several pieces of information about the names of the people who have been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor offense of domestic violence. This information would include, but is not limited to, the address where the person will reside or resides at the time of registration, their Social Security number, a full-face photograph, a brief description of the crime or crimes for which the registrant was convicted, fingerprints and palm prints, and motor vehicle information.
House Bill 4603 would create a diversion process that allows parents whose children are being removed from their home to be placed with a family member under guardianship. This process is only available to select child abuse and neglect cases. Cases that are not available to this process include, but are not limited to, those where a parent has subjected a child to abandonment, torture, and chronic abuse.
House Bill 4656 would address student absenteeism and shift the focus from punitive to preventive. This bill would remove having 10 or more unexcused absences as a status offense. This bill would also provide different services to prevent chronic absenteeism, such as financial help, mental health support services, or transportation to school if needed
House Bill 4799 would establish the cold case task force for the State of West Virginia. This task force would investigate and prosecute offenders in cold cases. The cold case task force would be authorized to cooperate with federal, state, and local law-enforcement agencies.
