H. B. 2076
(By Delegate Schoen)
[Introduced February 11, 2009; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend
the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §17-15-9
, relating to
making it unlawful to offer for sale or sell products created,
wholly or in part, by jail inmates and providing criminal
penalty.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §17-15-9
, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 15. COUNTY CONVICT ROAD FORCE.
§17-15-9. Sale of jail-made goods prohibited; penalty.
(a) It is unlawful to sell or offer to sell on the open market
of this state or export for sale to another state any articles,
products or commodities manufactured or produced, wholly or in
part, in this state or another state, by jail inmates of this state or another state. The provisions of this subsection do not apply
to articles, products or commodities manufactured or produced by
persons while on home confinement or probation.
(b) Any person violating the provisions of this section is
guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be punished by
a fine of not less than $2,000 nor more than $5,000 or by
confinement in jail for not less than three months nor more than
one year or by both fine and confinement. Each sale or offer for
sale is a separate offense under this section.
NOTE:
The purpose of this bill is to make it unlawful to sell
or offer to sell products made with inmate labor.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.