By CHARLES OWENS
PRINCETON — A proposed measure being considered by Lawmakers in Charleston would “network” courthouses across the state.
The proposed legislation would allow businesses to conduct criminal background checks without having to travel to individual courthouses, and would also help network deeds and other court records stored at courthouses across the state.
“I think that would be a tremendous improvement to our system if we could do that,” Senate Minority Leader Don Caruth, R-Mercer, said. “It’s a good idea. But again, we still need to do a good deal of looking at what the county commissions have in terms of their present electronic abilities, and what has to be done to connect the whole state.”
Caruth said courthouses in neighboring Virginia are already linked, and can share such data electronically. Caruth said there would be several benefits to West Virginia by networking courthouses.
“There is probably a lot of benefits,” Caruth said. “There are things beyond my imagination we could accomplish in West Virginia. So we are certainly going to look into it, but it wouldn’t be something that could take place immediately. But we need to start working on it now.”
Connie Saunders, of Saunders Staffing in Bluefield, said efforts to conduct criminal background checks for future employees is currently complicated by the lack of networking between counties. Saunders said fellow employees, senior citizens and children could be placed at risk because of the inability of employers to conduct appropriate criminal background checks on potential employees.
Saunders said new jobs could be created for the networking of such data.
“In my business, we have to do background checks, criminal checks, credit checks or whatever,” Saunders said. “This doesn’t apply just to criminal background checks. You think of all of the things at the courthouse — births, deeds, deaths — all of that needs to be connected.”
Saunders, who has contacted U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., about the lack of networking among courthouses in West Virginia, also has spoken to Caruth about the proposal.
“This is jobs,” Saunders said. “It is going to take people to get this data together.”
