COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H.
B.
4029
(By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Chambers, and Delegate Burk)
[By Request of the Executive]
(Originating in the House Committee on the Judiciary)
[February 28, 1994]
A BILL to amend and reenact section eleven, article seven, chapter sixty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to further amend said article seven by adding thereto a new section, designated section eleven-a, all relating to the reasonable regulation of the use and possession of deadly weapons generally; use of a deadly weapon to cause or threaten a breach of the peace; legislative findings; unlawful possession of deadly weapon on school bus or property and exceptions thereto; unlawful possession of deadly weapon with intent to commit a crime on school bus or property; duty of principal to report; suspension of driver's license or instruction permit upon adjudication or conviction; duty of parent, custodian or legal guardian to report; unlawful possession of deadly weapon on premises which house court of law or in offices of family law master and exceptions thereto; unlawful possession of deadly weapon with intent to commit a crime on premises which house court of law or in offices of family law master; and criminal penalties.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section eleven, article seven, chapter sixty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted; and that said article seven be further amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section eleven-a, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 7. DANGEROUS WEAPONS.
§
61
-
7
-
11.
Brandishing deadly
weapons; threatening or causing
breach of the peace;
(a) It shall be unlawful for any person armed with a firearm or other deadly weapon, whether licensed to carry the same or not, to carry, brandish, or use such weapon in a way or manner to cause, or threaten, a breach of the peace. Any person violating this subsection section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than fifty nor more than one thousand dollars, or shall be confined in the county jail not less than ninety days nor more than one year, or both.
(b) It shall be unlawful for any person armed with a firearm or deadly weapon, except for law-enforcement officers on duty, to expose, brandish, unholster or hold such firearm in his or her hand or expose, brandish or hold such deadly weapon in his or her hand (1) on the premises of any primary or secondary educational facility in this state, except for valid educational purposes by faculty or by individuals invited by faculty; or (2) on any premises housing a court of law. Any person violating this subsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than two hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars, or confined in the county jail not less than six months nor more than one year, or both.
§
61
-
7
-
11a. Possessing deadly weapons on premises of educational
facilities; reports by school principals;
suspension of driver's license; possessing deadly
weapons on premises housing courts of law and in
offices of family law master.
(a) The Legislature hereby finds that the safety and welfare of the citizens of this state are inextricably dependent upon assurances of safety for children in school in this state and for those persons employed with the judicial department of this state. It is for the purpose of providing such assurances of safety, therefore, that subsection (b) of this section is enacted as a reasonable regulation of the manner in which citizens may exercise those rights accorded to them pursuant to section twenty-two, article three of the Constitution of the State of West Virginia.
(b)(1) It shall be unlawful for any person to possess any firearm or any other deadly weapon on any school bus as defined in section one, article one, chapter seventeen-a of this code, or in or on any public or private primary or secondary education building, structure, facility or grounds thereof, including any vocational education building, structure, facility or grounds thereof where secondary vocational education programs are conducted.
(2) This subsection shall not apply to:
(A) A law-enforcement officer acting in his or her official capacity;
(B) A person specifically authorized by the board of education of the county or principal of the school where the property is located to conduct programs with valid educational purposes; or
(C) A person who, as otherwise permitted by the provisions of this article, possesses an unloaded firearm or deadly weapon in a motor vehicle, or leaves an unloaded firearm or deadly weapon in a locked motor vehicle.
(3) Any person violating this subsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars, or shall be confined in jail not more than one year, or both.
(c)(1) It shall be unlawful for any person to possess any firearm or any other deadly weapon with the intent to commit a crime on any school bus or in or on any public or private primary or secondary education building, structure, facility or grounds thereof, including any vocational education building, structure, facility or grounds thereof where secondary vocational education programs are conducted.
(2) Any person violating this subsection shall be guilty of a felony, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned in the penitentiary of this state for a definite term of years of not less than two years nor more than ten years, or fined not more than five thousand dollars, or both.
(d) It shall be the duty of the principal of each school subject to the authority of the state board of education to report any violation of subsection (b) or (c) of this section discovered by such principal to the state superintendent of schools within seventy-two hours after such violation occurs. The state board of education shall keep and maintain such reports and may prescribe rules establishing policy and procedures for the making and delivery of the same as required by this subsection. In addition, it shall be the duty of the principal of each school subject to the authority of the state board of education to report any violation of subsection (b) or (c) of this section discovered by such principal to the appropriate local office of the division of safety within seventy-two hours after such violation occurs
(e) In addition to the methods of disposition provided by article five, chapter forty nine of this code, any court which adjudicates a person who is fourteen years of age or older as delinquent for a violation of subsection (b) or (c) of this section may, in its discretion, order the division of motor vehicles to suspend any driver's license or instruction permit issued to such person for such period of time as the court may deem appropriate, such suspension, however, not to extend beyond such person's nineteenth birthday; or, where such person has not been issued a driver's license or instruction permit by this state, order the division of motor vehicles to deny such person's application for the same for such period of time as the court may deem appropriate, such denial, however, not to extend beyond such person's nineteenth birthday. Any suspension ordered by the court pursuant to this subsection shall be effective upon the date of entry of such order. Where the court orders the suspension of a driver's license or instruction permit pursuant to this subsection, the court shall confiscate any driver's license or instruction permit in the adjudicated person's possession and forward the same to the division of motor vehicles.
(f)(1) If a person eighteen years of age or older is convicted of violating subsection (b) or (c) of this section, and if such person does not act to appeal such conviction within the time periods described in subdivision (2) of this subsection, such person's license or privilege to operate a motor vehicle in this state shall be revoked in accordance with the provisions of this section.
(2) The clerk of the court in which the person is convicted as described in subdivision (1) of this subsection shall forward to the commissioner a transcript of the judgment of conviction. If the conviction is the judgment of a magistrate court, the magistrate court clerk shall forward such transcript when the person convicted has not requested an appeal within twenty days of the sentencing for such conviction. If the conviction is the judgment of a circuit court, the circuit clerk shall forward such transcript when the person convicted has not filed a notice of intent to file a petition for appeal or writ of error within thirty days after the judgment was entered.
(3) If, upon examination of the transcript of the judgment of conviction, the commissioner shall determine that the person was convicted as described in subdivision (1) of this subsection, the commissioner shall make and enter an order revoking such person's license or privilege to operate a motor vehicle in this state for a period of one year, or, in the event the person is a student enrolled in a secondary school, for a period of one year or until the person's twentieth birthday, whichever is the greater period. The order shall contain the reasons for the revocation and the revocation period. The order of suspension shall advise the person that because of the receipt of the court's transcript, a presumption exists that the person named in the order of suspension is the same person named in the transcript. The commissioner may grant an administrative hearing which substantially complies with the requirements of the provisions of section two, article five-a, chapter seventeen-c of this code upon a preliminary showing that a possibility exists that the person named in the notice of conviction is not the same person whose license is being suspended. Such request for hearing shall be made within ten days after receipt of a copy of the order of suspension. The sole purpose of this hearing shall be for the person requesting the hearing to present evidence that he or she is not the person named in the notice. In the event the commissioner grants an administrative hearing, the commissioner shall stay the license suspension pending the commissioner's order resulting from the hearing.
(4) For the purposes of this subsection, a person is convicted when such person enters a plea of guilty or is found guilty by a court or jury.
(g)(1) It shall be unlawful for any parent, custodian or other legal guardian of a person less than eighteen years of age who knows that said person is in violation of subsection (b) or (c) of this section, or who has reasonable cause to believe that said person's violation of subsection (b) or (c) of this section is imminent, to fail to report such knowledge or belief to the appropriate school or law enforcement officials.
(2) Any person violating this subsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars, or shall be confined in jail not more than one year, or both.
(h)(1) It shall be unlawful for any person to possess any firearm or any other deadly weapon on any premises which houses a court of law or in the offices of a family law master.
(2) This subsection shall not apply to:
(A) A law-enforcement officer acting in his or her official capacity; and
(B) A person exempted from the provisions of this subsection by order of record entered by a court with jurisdiction over such premises or offices.
(3) Any person violating this subsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars, or shall be confined in jail not more than one year, or both.
(i)(1) It shall be unlawful for any person to possess any firearm or any other deadly weapon on any premises which houses a court of law or in the offices of a family law master with the intent to commit a crime.
(2) Any person violating this subsection shall be guilty of a felony, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned in the penitentiary of this state for a definite term of years of not less than two years nor more than ten years, or fined not more than five thousand dollars, or both.