12101972D
HOUSE BILL NO. 556
Offered January 11, 2012
Prefiled January 10, 2012
A BILL to amend and reenact §18.2-186.4:1 of the Code of
Virginia, relating to Internet publication of personal information of certain
public officials.
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Patron-- Albo
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Referred to Committee on Science and Technology
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Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §18.2-186.4:1 of the Code of Virginia is
amended and reenacted as follows:
§18.2-186.4:1. Internet publication of personal information
of certain public officials.
A. The Commonwealth shall not publish on the Internet the
personal information of any law-enforcement
officer public official
if a court has, pursuant to subsection B, ordered that the officer's official's
personal information is prohibited from publication and the officer official
has made a demand in writing to the Commonwealth, accompanied by the order of
the court, that the Commonwealth not publish such information.
B. Any law-enforcement
officer public official
may petition a circuit court for an order prohibiting the publication on the
Internet, by the Commonwealth, of the officer's official's personal
information. The petition shall set forth the specific reasons that the officer official seeks the order. The court shall hold a hearing on
the petition and shall issue such an order only if it finds that (i) there
exists a threat to the officer official or a person who
resides with him that would result from publication of the information, or (ii)
the officer official has demonstrated a reasonable fear of a risk to
his safety or the safety of someone who resides with him that would result from
publication of the information on the Internet.
C. If the Commonwealth publishes the law-enforcement officer's public official's personal information on the Internet
prior to receipt of a written demand by the officer official
under subsection A, it shall remove the information from publication on the
Internet within 48 hours of receipt of the written demand.
D. A written demand made by an officer official
pursuant to this section shall be effective for four years, as follows:
1. For a law-enforcement officer, if the officer remains
continuously employed as a law-enforcement officer throughout the four-year
period;
2. For a member
of the Governor's Cabinet identified in Chapter
2 (§2.2-200 et seq.), if the member continuously serves in the
Governor's Cabinet throughout the four-year
period; and
3.
For an elected official or
a federal or state
judge, if such official continuously serves throughout the four-year period.
E. For purposes of this section:
"Commonwealth" includes means
any agency or political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Virginia;.
"Law-enforcement officer" shall
have means the
same definition as set forth as that term is defined in §9.1-101;.
"Personal information" means home address or any personal, home telephone numbers; and, personal
cell phone numbers, or home email address.
"Publication" and "publishes" means
intentionally communicating personal information to, or otherwise making
personal information available to, and accessible by, the general public through the Internet or other
online service.
"Public
official" means any elected person,
member of the Governor's Cabinet, state or federal
judge or justice, and state or federal law-enforcement officer.
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