H. B. 4342

         (By Delegates Miley and Poore)

         [By Request of the Secretary of State]

         [Introduced January 30, 2012; referred to the

         Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.]

A BILL to amend and reenact §3-2-30 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to amend said code by adding thereto a new section, designated §59-1-2b, all relating to the preparation and sale of voter registration lists; establishing the fees to be collected; requiring the fees to be deposited in the State Election Fund; and permitting a county clerk to collect an additional fee for list preparation.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

    That §3-2-30 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted; and that said code be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated §59-1-2b, all to read as follows:

CHAPTER 3. ELECTIONS.

ARTICLE 2. REGISTRATION OF VOTERS.

§3-2-30. Public inspection of voter registration records in the office of the clerk of the county commission; providing voter lists for noncommercial use; prohibition against resale of voter lists for commercial use or profit.

    (a) Any person may examine the active, inactive, rejected and canceled voter registration records during office hours of the clerk of the county commission in accordance with the provisions of chapter twenty-nine-b of this code. as follows:

    (1) When the active and inactive files are maintained on precinct registration books, any person may examine the files under the supervision of the clerk and obtain copies of records except when a precinct book is in temporary use for updating and preparing lists or during the time the books are sealed for use in an election. Other original voter registration records, including canceled voter records, pending applications, rejected applications, records of change requests, reinstatements and other documents, shall be available for inspection upon specific request; and

    (2) When the active Active, inactive, rejected and canceled voter files are to be maintained in electronic data format. any Any person may examine voter record information in printed form or in a read-only data format on a computer terminal set aside for public use, if available. The data files available for examination and copying shall include all registration and voting information maintained in the file, but may not include the registrant’s telephone number, e-mail address, social security number or driver’s license number or nonoperator’s identification number issued by the Division of Motor Vehicles.

    (b) Printed lists of registered voters may be purchased for noncommercial use from the clerk of the county commission at a cost of 1¢ per name established in section two-b, article one, chapter fifty-nine of this code.

    (c) In counties maintaining active and inactive files in digitized data format, the The clerk of the county commission shall, upon request, prepare provide printed copies of the lists of voters for each precinct. No list prepared under this section may include the registrant’s telephone number, e-mail address, social security number or driver’s license number or nonoperator’s identification number issued by the Division of Motor Vehicles. The clerk shall establish a written policy, posted within public view, listing the options for selection and sorting criteria and available data elements. The data elements shall include, at least:

    (1) The name, residence address, political party affiliation and status of the registrant;

    (2) The available formats of the lists; and

    (3) The times at which lists will be prepared. A copy of the county policy shall be filed with the Secretary of State no later than January 1, of each even-numbered year.

    (d) In counties which maintain voter files in a digitized data format, lists Lists of registered voters may be obtained for noncommercial purposes in data format on disk provided and prepared by the clerk of the county commission at a cost of 1¢ per name plus $10 for each disk required established by section two-b, article one, chapter fifty-nine of this code. No data file prepared under this subsection may include the registrant’s telephone number, e-mail address, social security number or driver’s license number or nonoperator’s identification number issued by the Division of Motor Vehicles.

    (e) The fees income received by the clerk of the county commission shall be kept placed in a separate fund under the supervision of the clerk for the purpose of defraying the cost of the preparation of the voter lists. Any unexpended balance in the fund shall be transferred to the General Fund of the county commission or remitted directly to the Secretary of State for placement in the State Election Fund as set forth in subsection (b), section forty-eight, article one of this chapter. For the purpose of this subsection, “income” means the portion of fees remaining after moneys for the costs of producing the voter lists have been expended. Any balance in the fund under the supervision of the clerk, along with any interest earned, shall be transferred at least annually to the State Election Fund no later than July 31 of each year.

    (f) The Secretary of State may make voter lists and other reports extracted from the statewide voter registration system available for sale subject to the limitations as provided in this section for counties. The cost costs shall be as established by section two b, article one, chapter fifty-nine of this code. for a partial list shall be one and one-half cents per name plus $10 for each disk required; the cost for a complete statewide list shall be one-half cent per name and a flat fee of $1,000. One cent per name for each voter from a particular county on each partial list and one-half cent per name for each voter from a particular county on each statewide list sold shall be reimbursed to the appropriate county. The disk fee and one-half cent per name associated with a partial list and the flat fee of $1,000 associated with a complete statewide list shall be deposited to a special revenue account for purpose of defraying the cost of preparing the lists. The fees associated with the purchase of a partial list, or associated with a complete statewide list, shall be deposited to the State Election Fund as set forth in subsection (b), section forty-eight, article one of this chapter.

    (g) An update to a previously purchased list may be provided by the Secretary of State or the clerk of the county commission at a prorated cost based on the amount of additional information provided. The additional rates charged by the clerk of the county commission shall be specified in the policy established pursuant to subsection (c) of this section.

    (h) (g) No voter registration lists or data files containing voter names, addresses or other information derived from voter data files obtained pursuant to the provisions of this article may be used for commercial or charitable solicitations or advertising, sold or reproduced for resale.

    (h) This section may not be interpreted to prevent the Secretary of State from sharing data files containing voter information with authorized service providers or with any state or local election officials for the purpose of voter registration and election administration in accordance with this chapter or applicable federal law.

CHAPTER 59. FEES, ALLOWANCES AND COSTS;

NEWSPAPERS; LEGAL ADVERTISEMENTS.

ARTICLE 1. FEES AND ALLOWANCES.

§59-1-2b. Purchase of voter registration lists and election data.

    (a) Except as may be otherwise provided in this code, the Secretary of State shall collect the following fees for data originating in the statewide voter registration system from the person requesting the information:

    (1) Election Cycle Subscription Service...............$6,000

            An Election Cycle Subscription Service includes:

    (A) Statewide Registered Voter List, updated monthly; 

    (B) Master Voter History List Export following certification of the primary, general and odd-year elections;

    (C) Statewide All Mail-in Request List for the primary, general and odd-year elections;

    (D) First file sixty days prior to election day. Updated files daily starting thirty days prior to election day through election day;

    (E) Statewide Public Received Mail-in List for the primary, general and odd-year elections;

    (F) Updated files daily starting thirty days prior to election day through ten days following election day;

    (G) Statewide Early Voters List for the primary, general, and odd-year elections; and

    (H) Updated files daily starting on the first day of early voting through election day.

    (2) Statewide Voter Registration List...................$500

    (3) Master Voter History List Export....................$500

    (4) Statewide Early Voters List.........................$200

    (5) Statewide Absentee Requests List....................$200

    (6) Statewide Absentee Received List....................$200

    (7) Partial Voter Registration or Voter History List...Current hourly rate

    (8) Complex Research Query...............Current hourly rate

    (9) The current hourly rate shall be determined by the Secretary of State, or in the case of a county-generated list by the clerk of the county commission, and shall be provided to the purchaser before a list is prepared and supplied.

    (b) Clerks of county commissions providing voter lists in pursuant to subsection (d), section thirty, article two, chapter three of this code shall charge the fees established by this section. Clerks may additionally charge a reasonable and necessary fee to defray the costs associated with list preparation and distribution.

    (c) Proceeds from the sale of data originating in the statewide voter registration system, along with any interest on those funds, shall be deposited into the State Election Fund as set forth in subsection (b), section forty-eight, article one, chapter three of this code.

    NOTE: The purpose of this bill concerns the preparation and sale of voter registration lists. The bill establishes the fees to be collected and requires those fees be deposited in the State Election Fund. The bill also permits a county clerk to collect an additional fee for list preparation.

    Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.

    §59-1-2b. is new; therefore, it has been completely underscored.

    This bill was recommended for introduction and passage during the Regular Session of the Legislature by the Secretary of State.