SENATE
HOUSE
JOINT
BILL STATUS
STATE LAW
REPORTS
EDUCATIONAL
CONTACT
home
home
Engrossed Committee Substitute House Bill 2340 History

OTHER VERSIONS  -  Committee Substitute  |  Introduced Version  |     |  Email
Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted


ENGROSSED

COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE

FOR

H. B. 2340

(By Delegates Proudfoot and Amores)


(Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary)


[March 28, 2001]


A BILL to amend and reenact section one-b, article six, chapter sixty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to the offense of disorderly conduct; providing for certain elements, events and circumstances that define acts of disorderly conduct; and providing for penalties.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section one-b, article six, chapter sixty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 6. CRIMES AGAINST THE PEACE.
§61-6-1b. Disorderly conduct; penalty.

(a) Any person who, in a public place, a mobile home park, a public parking area, a common area of an apartment building or dormitory, or a common area of a privately owned commercial shopping center, mall or other group of commercial retail establishments, disturbs the peace of others by violent, profane, indecent or boisterous conduct or language or by the making of unreasonably loud noise that is intended to cause annoyance or alarm to another person, and who persists in such conduct after being requested to desist by a law-enforcement officer acting in his lawful capacity, is guilty of disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than one hundred dollars.
(b) For purposes of this section:
(1) "Mobile home park" means a privately-owned residential housing area or subdivision wherein the dwelling units are comprised mainly of mobile homes and wherein the occupants of such dwelling units share common elements for purposes of ingress and egress, parking, recreation and other like residential purposes.
(2) "Mobile home" means a moveable or portable unit, designed and constructed to be towed on its own chassis (comprised of frame and wheels), and designed to be connected to utilities for year-round occupancy. The term includes: (A) Units containing parts that may be folded, collapsed or telescoped when being towed and that may be expanded to provide additional cubic capacity, and (B) units composed of two or more separately towable components designed to be joined into one integral unit capable of being separated again into the components for repeated towing.
(3) "Public parking area" means an area, whether publicly or privately owned or maintained, open to the use of the public for parking motor vehicles.
(a) A person commits the offense of disorderly conduct if, with the intent to cause physical inconvenience or alarm by a member or members of the public, or recklessly creating a risk thereof, the person:
(1) Makes unreasonable noise; or
(2) Engages in violent or tumultuous behavior which is likely to provoke a violent response; or
(b) Noise is unreasonable, within the meaning of subdivision (a)(1), if considering the nature and purpose of the person's conduct and the circumstances known to the person, including the nature of the location and the time of the day or night, the person's conduct involves a gross deviation from the standard of conduct that a law-abiding citizen would follow in the same situation; or the failure to heed the admonition of a police officer that the noise is unreasonable and should be stopped or reduced.
(c) A renter, resident, or owner-occupant of a premises who knowingly or negligently consents to unreasonable noise on the premises shall be guilty of disorderly conduct pursuant to the provisions of this section.
(d) Any person who violates the provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than one hundred dollars.
(e) This section in no way inhibits a person's right to free speech or to assemble in a peaceable manner, including the right to assemble for sporting events, the right to assemble to picket or strike or the right of the people to voice their support of picketers, strikers or teams by the blowing of horns or by other peaceful means.
(f) The provisions of this section are not applicable to shooting ranges as provided for in section twenty-three, article six, chapter sixty-one of this code.



This Web site is maintained by the West Virginia Legislature's Office of Reference & Information.  |  Terms of Use  |   Email WebmasterWebmaster   |   © 2024 West Virginia Legislature **


X

Print On Demand

Name:
Email:
Phone:

Print