H. B. 3097
(By Delegates Staton, Perdue and Hatfield )
[Introduced March 18, 2005; 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 §61-3-59,
relating to criminal offenses involving the sale of yo-yo
waterball toys.
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 §61-3-59, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 3. CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY.
§61-3-59. Unlawful sale of Yo-Yo Waterball toy; penalty;
revocation of license to sell.
(a) It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, corporation, or
association, either foreign or domestic, to sell a Yo-Yo Waterball
toy.
(b) For the purposes of this section, "Yo-Yo Waterball toy"
means the toy marketed and sold under the name of "Yo-Yo Waterball" and any similar fluid yo-yo toy that includes a rubber ball filled
with liquid, attached to a rubber cord.
(c) Any person, firm, corporation, or association, foreign or
domestic, who violates the provisions of this section, shall be
deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof, shall,
for the first offense, be fined not less than two thousand five
hundred nor more than five thousand dollars; and for a second
offense shall be fined not less than five thousand dollars nor more
than ten thousand dollars, and in addition thereto, the owner,
manager or acting agent of the seller shall be imprisoned in the
county or regional jail not less than ten nor more than sixty days;
and upon conviction for a third or subsequent offense, shall be
fined not less than ten thousand dollars nor more than twenty
thousand dollars, and in addition thereto the owner, manager or
acting agent of the seller shall be confined in the county or
regional jail not less than thirty days nor more than six months,
at the discretion of the court, and upon conviction for such third
or subsequent offense, in addition to the penalty herein provided,
the license of the offender for the sale of merchandise shall be
revoked and shall not be renewed for the period of six months from
the date of such third conviction, and then only upon the offender
executing bond with approved security in the sum of one thousand
dollars, conditioned that he, she or it will not violate the
provisions of this section.
Note: This bill creates a new criminal misdemeanor offense for
the sale of yo-yo waterball toys. The penalty upon a first conviction is a fine of not less than $2,500 nor more than $5,000.
A penalty for a second offense is a fine of not less than $5,000
nor more than $10,000, and in addition thereto, the owner, manager
or acting agent of the seller shall be imprisoned in the county or
regional jail not less than 10 nor more than 60 days; and upon
conviction for a third or subsequent offense, the fine shall be
fined not less than $10,000 nor more than $20,000, and in addition
thereto the owner, manager or acting agent of the seller shall be
confined in the county jail not less than 30 days nor more than 6
months, at the discretion of the court, and upon conviction for
such third or subsequent offense, in addition to the penalty above,
the license of the offender for the sale of merchandise shall be
revoked and shall not be renewed for the period of 6 months from
the date of such third conviction, and then only upon the offender
executing bond with approved security in the sum of $1,000,
conditioned that he or it will not violate the provisions of this
section.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring
have been omitted.