                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

EMERGENCY CONTACT INFORMATION PROGRAM (§ 46.2-203.2)

A. As used in this section, &#8220;emergency contact&#8221; means a person 18
years of age or older whom the customer may designate to be contacted by a
law-enforcement officer in an emergency situation.

B. The Department may establish an emergency contact information program to
assist law-enforcement personnel in emergency situations. To establish such a
program, a person who currently holds a credential issued by the Department
under Chapter 3 (&#xA7; 46.2-300 et seq.) or completes an application for the
same may voluntarily submit emergency contact information for inclusion in his
customer record with the Department. Such emergency contact information may
include the name, relationship to the customer, address, and telephone number
for an individual the customer designates as a contact in the event of an
emergency situation.

C. Any person voluntarily submitting emergency contact information to the
Department for inclusion in the applicant&#8217;s customer record is responsible
for maintaining current emergency contact information with the Department. Each
applicant submitting emergency contact information to the Department shall
certify in his application that he has notified the person he has designated as
an emergency contact that such information will be supplied to the Department.
The Department shall provide a method by which applicants submitting emergency
contact information to the Department may submit such information electronically
pursuant to &#xA7; 46.2-216.1. Customers may add, modify, or delete information
at any time. Such modifications or deletions will overwrite all previously
provided information.

D. In the event of an emergency situation, the Department shall make emergency
contact information in customer records electronically available to a
law-enforcement officer who in the exercise of his official duties requires
assistance in reaching a customer&#8217;s emergency contact. Emergency contact
information provided to the Department by the customer shall only be disclosed
as permitted in this section and shall not be considered a public record subject
to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act and shall not be subject to
disclosure by court order or other means of discovery.

E. In the absence of gross negligence or willful misconduct, the Department, its
employees, and law-enforcement officers shall be immune from any civil or
criminal liability in connection with the maintenance and use of emergency
contact information voluntarily provided by customers for use in an emergency
situation.

HISTORY: 2015, c. 162; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 544.