ENGROSSED
H. B. 3153
(By Delegates Boggs, Craig and R. M. Thompson)
[Introduced March 23, 2005; referred to the
Committee on Roads and Transportation then the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend §61-3-28 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
amended; and to amend §61-3-41 of said code, all relating to
creation of criminal offenses for damaging, stealing or injury
to railroad property; defining terms; creating an offense for
reckless disregard for railroad property; creating an offense
for intentionally damaging railroad property; and providing
penalties.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §61-3-28 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted; and that §61-3-41 of said code be amended
and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY.
§61-3-28. Obstruction or removal of, or injury to, any part of
railroad or canal; penalty.
If any person maliciously obstruct, remove or injure any part
of a railroad, traction line or street railway, or canal, or any
bridge or fixture thereof, or shall obstruct any machinery, work,
engine or motor thereof, or any conveyor of electricity or other
power used by the same, whereby the life of any traveler on such
road or traction line or street railway is put in peril, he shall
be guilty of a felony, and, upon conviction, shall be confined in
the penitentiary not less than one year.
(a) Definitions.
(1) "Railroad" means any form of nonhighway ground
transportation that runs on rails or electromagnetic guideways,
including:
(i) Commuter or other short-haul railroad passenger service in
a metropolitan or suburban area; and
(ii) High-speed ground transportation systems that connect
metropolitan areas but does not include rapid transit operations in
an urban area that are not connected to the general railroad system
of transportation;
(2) "Railroad carrier" means a person providing railroad
transportation; railroad carrier including a right-of-way, track,
bridge, yard, shop, station, tunnel, viaduct, trestle, depot,
warehouse, terminal, railroad signal system, train control system,
centralized dispatching system, or any other structure,
appurtenance, or equipment owned, leased, or used in the operation of any railroad carrier including a train, locomotive, engine,
railroad car, work equipment, rolling stock, or safety device.
"Railroad property" does not include administrative buildings,
administrative offices, or administrative office equipment;
(3) "Right-of-way" means the track or roadbed owned, leased,
or operated by a railroad carrier which is located on either side
of its tracks and which is readily recognizable to a reasonable
person as being railroad property or is reasonably identified as
such by fencing or appropriate signs;
(6) "Yard" means a system of parallel tracks, crossovers, and
switches where railroad cars are switched and made up into trains,
and where railroad cars, locomotives and other rolling stock are
kept when not in use or when awaiting repairs.
(b) Reckless disregard for railroad property--
Whoever, with reckless disregard for railroad property or the
safety of another, commits an act causing damage to railroad
property or bodily injury to another by an act including, but not
limited to:
(1) Placing a small object, such as a coin, token, bottle cap,
bottle, or can, on a railroad track or rail or dropping or throwing
an object, at a locomotive or train;
(2) Taking, removing, defacing, altering, making with
graffiti, or otherwise vandalizing a railroad sign, placard, or
marker;
(3) Throwing a rock, baseball, or other dangerous object at a
locomotive, railroad car, or train;
(4) Dropping a brick or other dangerous object from a bridge
or other overpass onto a railroad right-of-way;
(5) Shooting a firearm or other dangerous weapon at a
locomotive, railroad car, or train;
(6) Removing appurtenances from, damaging, or otherwise
impairing the operation of any railroad signal system, including a
train control system, centralized dispatching system, or
highway-railroad grade crossing warning signal on a railroad owned,
leased, or operated by any railroad carrier, without consent of the
railroad carrier involved;
(7) Interfering or tampering with, or obstructing in any way,
any switch, frog, rail, roadbed, sleeper, viaduct, bridge, trestle,
culvert, embankment, structure, or appliance pertaining to or
connected with any railroad carrier, without consent of the
railroad carrier involved; or
(8) Taking, stealing, removing, changing, addressing to,
altering, or in any manner interfering with any journal bearing,
brass, waste, packing, triple valve, pressure cock, brake, air
hose, or any other part of the operating mechanism of any
locomotive, engine, tender, coach, car, caboose, or motor car used
or capable of being used by any railroad carrier in this state
without consent of the railroad carrier.
Any person violating this subsection is guilty of a criminal
offense. If railroad property damage does not exceed one thousand
dollars and no bodily injury occurs to another as a result of any
of the aforesaid acts, the person is guilty of a misdemeanor and,
upon conviction thereof, the person shall pay the railroad carrier
involved the cost to repair any railroad property damaged, and be
fined not more than five hundred dollars, imprisoned in jail for
not more than six months, or both fined and imprisoned. If
railroad property damage exceeds one thousand dollars or bodily
injury occurs to another as a result of any of the aforesaid acts,
the person is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, the
person shall pay the railroad carrier involved for the cost to
repair any railroad property damaged, and shall be fined not more
than ten thousand dollars, imprisoned for not less than one nor
more than twenty years, or both fined and imprisoned.
(c) Intent to damage railroad property--
Whoever willfully damages or attempts to damage railroad
property or willfully endangers or attempts to endanger the safety
of another, by an act including, but not limited to:
(1) Taking, removing, defacing, altering, or otherwise
vandalizing a railroad sign, placard or marker;
(2) Throwing a rock, baseball, or other dangerous object at a
locomotive, railroad car or train;
(3) Dropping a brick or other dangerous object from a bridge or other overpass onto a railroad right-of-way;
(4) Shooting a firearm or other dangerous weapon at a
locomotive, railroad car or train;
(5) Removing appurtenances from, damaging, or otherwise
impairing the operation of any railroad signal system, including a
train control system, centralized dispatching system, or
highway-railroad grade crossing warning signal, on a railroad
owned, leased, or operated by any railroad carrier, and without
consent of the railroad carrier involved;
(6) Interfering or tampering with, or obstructing in any way,
any switch, frog, rail, roadbed, sleeper, viaduct, bridge, trestle,
culvert, embankment, structure, or appliance pertaining to or
connected with any railroad carrier without consent of the railroad
carrier involved; or
(7) Taking, stealing, removing, changing, adding to, altering,
or in any manner interfering with any journal bearing, brass,
waste, packing, triple valve, pressure cock, brake, air hose, or
any other part of the operating mechanism of any locomotive,
engine, tender, coach, car, caboose, or motor car used or capable
of being used by any railroad carrier in this state without consent
of the railroad carrier is guilty of a felony.
If railroad property damage does not exceed five hundred
dollars and no bodily injury occurs to another as a result of any
of the aforesaid acts, upon conviction thereof, the person shall pay the railroad carrier involved, the cost to repair any railroad
property damaged, and shall be fined not more than ten thousand
dollars, imprisoned for no less than one nor more than ten years,
or both fined and imprisoned. If railroad property damage exceeds
five hundred dollars or bodily injury occurs to another as a result
of any of the aforesaid acts, upon conviction thereof, the person
shall pay the railroad carrier involved, the cost to repair any
railroad property damaged, and shall be fined not more than twenty
thousand dollars, imprisoned for no less than two nor more than
twenty years, or both fined and imprisoned.
(d) The provisions of this section do not apply to any person
employed by a railroad who is performing the duties assigned by the
railroad or who is otherwise performing within the scope of his or
her employment.
§61-3-41. Employees conservators of the peace; special railroad
policemen; penalties.
Any person who shall willfully and unlawfully injure, impair,
weaken, destroy or misplace any building, bridge, rail, track,
sidetrack, switch, rail bonds, spur track, work engine, machine,
locomotive, handcar, depot, car, trestle, telegraph line, telegraph
pole, telegraph wire, telegraph instrument, or any other
instrument, machine, invention, or mechanical or electrical
appliance whatever, which may be, or now is used by any company
operating or using any railroad or traction line or system, or other line or work of internal improvement, in this state; or who
shall obstruct any corporation which is the owner or lessee of any
railroad or traction line or system, or other work of internal
improvement, in this state, in the use of any such property, shall
be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction, shall be fined
not exceeding one thousand dollars and imprisoned not exceeding six
months. If the death of any person occur in consequence of any
such unlawful act, the person or persons committing the same shall
be guilty of murder and punished accordingly. Or if any person on
a train, or locomotive, or passenger car, on any railroad or
traction line or system, is maimed or disfigured by reason of any
such unlawful act, the person convicted of causing the same shall
be guilty of a felony, and shall be confined in the penitentiary
not less than one nor more than twenty years.
If any person shall shoot or throw stones, or other dangerous
missiles at or into any passenger car, or other railroad or
traction car used for carrying passengers or other persons, while
any such passenger or other person is within the same, he shall be
guilty of a felony, and, upon conviction, shall be confined in the
penitentiary not less than one nor more than ten years. And if any
person, whether a passenger or not, shall, while on any passenger
car or on any train of cars, behave in a riotous or disorderly
manner, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction,
shall be fined not less than twenty-five nor more than two hundred dollars, and may, in the discretion of the court, be confined in
jail not less than one nor more than six months, and may be ejected
from such car or train by the person or persons in charge thereof;
and such force as is necessary for that purpose may be used by such
person or persons in charge of such passenger car or train of cars,
with such other persons as they may call to their aid.
The conductor of every passenger car and
flagmen flag person
and
brakemen brake person employed on such car, as well as the
conductor of every train of railroad or traction cars, shall have
all the powers of a conservator of the peace while in charge of
such car or train.
Any railroad company owning, or leasing and operating, or
using any railroad or traction line or system lying wholly or
partially within this state, whether such railroad be operated by
steam or electric power, may apply to the governor to appoint such
citizen or citizens of this state as such railroad company may
designate, to act as special police officers for such railroad or
traction company, with the consent of such citizen or citizens; and
the governor may, upon such application, appoint and commission
such person or persons, or so many of them as he may deem proper,
as such special police officers. Every police officer so appointed
shall appear before some person authorized to administer oaths and
take and subscribe the oath prescribed in the fifth section of the
fourth article of the constitution, and shall file such oath with the clerk of the county commission, or other tribunal in lieu
thereof, of the county in which he shall reside. He
or she shall
also file certified copies of such oath in the office of the
secretary of state, and in the office of the clerk of the county
commission, or other tribunal established in lieu thereof, of each
county through which such railroad or any portion thereof may
extend. Every police officer appointed under the provisions of
this section shall be a conservator of the peace within each county
in which any part of such railroad may be situated, and in which
such oath or a certified copy thereof shall have been filed with
the clerk of the county commission or other tribunal established in
lieu thereof; and, in addition thereto, he shall possess and may
exercise all the powers and authority, and shall be entitled to all
the rights, privileges and immunities within such counties, as are
now or hereafter may be vested in or conferred upon a deputy
sheriff of such county. Any appointment made by the governor under
the provisions of this section may be revoked by him
or her for
good cause shown, and such police officers may be removed from
office for official misconduct, incompetence, habitual drunkenness,
neglect of duty or gross immorality, in the same manner in which
regularly elected or appointed county officers may be removed from
office. Whenever any such railroad company shall desire to
dispense with the services of any
such police officer, it may file
a notice to that effect, under its corporate seal, attested by its secretary, in each of the several offices in which such oath or
certified copy thereof shall have been filed; and, thereupon, the
powers of
such the police officer shall cease and determine.
Such
police Police officers may wear such uniform and badge of
authority, or either, as the railroad company, upon whose
application they were appointed, may designate, and such railroad
company shall pay them for all services rendered
by them pursuant
to
such his or her appointment.