H.
B.
4512
(By Delegates L. White, Staton, Burk and Beane)
[Introduced February 17, 1994; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section two, article five, chapter seventeen-c of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to prohibiting the operation of a motor vehicle by a person under the influence of any self ingested or voluntarily ingested fume, vapor or substance derived from paint, glue or other legal substance and providing criminal penalties for violations.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section two, article five, chapter seventeen-c of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5. SERIOUS TRAFFIC OFFENSES.
§
17C
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5
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2. Driving under influence of alcohol, controlled
substances or drugs; penalties.
(a) Any person who:
(1) Drives a vehicle in this state while:
(A) He is Under the influence of alcohol, or
(B) He is Under the influence of any controlled substance, or
(C) He is Under the influence of any other drug, or
(D) He is Under the combined influence of alcohol and any controlled substance or any other drug, or
(E) He Has an alcohol concentration in his or her blood of ten hundredths of one percent or more, by weight, and or
(F) Under the influence of any voluntarily ingested fume, vapor or substance derived from paint, glue or other legal substance, and
(2) When so driving does any act forbidden by law or fails to perform any duty imposed by law in the driving of such vehicle, which act or failure proximately causes the death of any person within one year next following such act or failure; and
(3) Commits such act or failure in reckless disregard of the safety of others, and when the influence of alcohol, controlled substances or drugs is shown to be a contributing cause to such death, shall be is guilty of a felony, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned in the penitentiary for not less than one nor more than ten years and shall be fined not less than one thousand dollars nor more than three thousand dollars.
(b) Any person who:
(1) Drives a vehicle in this state while:
(A) He is Under the influence of alcohol, or
(B) He is Under the influence of any controlled substance, or
(C) He is Under the influence of any other drug, or
(D) He is Under the combined influence of alcohol and any controlled substance or any other drug, or
(E) He Has an alcohol concentration in his or her blood of ten hundredths of one percent or more, by weight, and or
(F) Under the influence of any self ingested or voluntarily ingested fume, vapor or substance derived from paint, glue or other legal substance, and
(2) When so driving does any act forbidden by law or fails to perform any duty imposed by law in the driving of such vehicle, which act or failure proximately causes the death of any person within one year next following such act or failure, shall be is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned in the county jail for not less than ninety days nor more than one year and shall be fined not less than five hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars.
(c) Any person who:
(1) Drives a vehicle in this state while:
(A) He is Under the influence of alcohol, or
(B) He is Under the influence of any controlled substance, or
(C) He is Under the influence of any other drug, or
(D) He is Under the combined influence of alcohol and any controlled substance or any other drug, or
(E) He Has an alcohol concentration in his or her blood of ten hundredths of one percent or more, by weight, and or
(F) Under the influence of any self ingested or voluntarily ingested fume, vapor or substance derived from paint, glue or other legal substance,
(2) When so driving does any act forbidden by law or fails to perform any duty imposed by law in the driving of such vehicle, which act or failure proximately causes bodily injury to any person other than himself, shall be is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned in the county jail for not less than one day nor more than one year, which jail term shall include actual confinement of not less than twenty-four hours, and shall be fined not less than two hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars.
(d) Any person who:
(1) Drives a vehicle in this state while:
(A) He is Under the influence of alcohol, or
(B) He is Under the influence of any controlled substance, or
(C) He is Under the influence of any other drug, or
(D) He is Under the combined influence of alcohol and any controlled substance or any other drug, or
(E) He Has an alcohol concentration in his or her blood of ten hundredths of one percent or more, by weight, and or
(F) Under the influence of any self ingested or voluntarily ingested fume, vapor or substance derived from paint, glue or other legal substance,
(2) Shall be Is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned in the county jail for not less than one day nor more than six months, which jail term shall include actual confinement of not less than twenty-four hours, and shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars.
(e) Any person who, being an habitual user of narcotic drugs or amphetamine or any derivative thereof, drives a vehicle in this state, shall be is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned in the county jail for not less than one day nor more than six months, which jail term shall include actual confinement of not less than twenty-four hours, and shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars.
(f) Any person who:
(1) Knowingly permits his vehicle to be driven in this state by any other person who is:
(A) Under the influence of alcohol, or
(B) Under the influence of any controlled substance, or
(C) Under the influence of any other drug, or
(D) Under the combined influence of alcohol and any controlled substance or any other drug, or
(E) Has an alcohol concentration in his blood of ten hundredths of one percent or more, by weight, and or
(F) Under the influence of any self ingested or voluntarily ingested fume, vapor or substance derived from paint, glue or other legal substance,
(2) Shall be Is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned in the county jail for not more than six months and shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars.
(g) Any person who:
Knowingly permits his vehicle to be driven in this state by any other person who is an habitual user of narcotic drugs or amphetamine or any derivative thereof, shall be is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned in the county jail for not more than six months and shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars.
(h) A person violating any provision of subsection (b), (c), (d), (e), (f) or (g) of this section shall is, for the second offense under this section, be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned in the county jail for a period of not less than six months nor more than one year, and the court may, in its discretion, impose a fine of not less than one thousand dollars nor more than three thousand dollars.
(i) A person violating any provision of subsection (b), (c), (d), (e), (f) or (g) of this section shall is, for the third or any subsequent offense under this section, be guilty of a felony, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned in the penitentiary for not less than one nor more than three years, and the court may, in its discretion, impose a fine of not less than three thousand dollars nor more than five thousand dollars.
(j) For purposes of subsections (h) and (i) of this section relating to second, third and subsequent offenses, the following types of convictions shall be regarded as convictions under this section:
(1) Any conviction under the provisions of subsections (a), (b), (c), (d), (e) or (f) of the prior enactment of this section for an offense which occurred on or after the first day of September, one thousand nine hundred eighty-one, and prior to the effective date of this section;
(2) Any conviction under the provisions of subsection (a) or (b) of the prior enactment of this section for an offense which occurred within a period of five years immediately preceding the first day of September, one thousand nine hundred eighty-one;
(3) Any conviction under a municipal ordinance of this state or any other state or a statute of the United States or of any other state of an offense which has the same elements as an offense described in this section, which offense occurred after June tenth, one thousand nine hundred eighty-three; and
(4) A person may be charged in a warrant or indictment or information for a second or subsequent offense under this section, if the person has been previously arrested for or charged with a violation of this section which is alleged to have occurred within the applicable time periods for prior offenses, not withstanding the fact that there has not been a final adjudication of the charges for the alleged previous offense. In such case, the warrant or indictment or information must set forth the date, location and particulars of the previous offense or offenses. No person may be convicted of a second or subsequent offense under this section unless the conviction for the previous offense has become final.
(k) The fact that any person charged with a violation of subsection (a), (b), (c), (d) or (e) of this section, or any person permitted to drive as described under subsection (f) or (g) of this section, is or has been legally entitled to use alcohol, a controlled substance or a drug shall not constitute a defense against any charge of violating subsection (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f) or (g) of this section.
(l) For purposes of this section, the term "controlled substance" shall have the meaning ascribed to it in chapter sixty-a of this code.
(m) The sentences provided herein upon conviction for a violation of this article are mandatory and shall not be subject to suspension or probation:
Provided,
That the court may apply the provisions of article eleven-a, chapter sixty-two of this code to a person sentenced or committed to a term of one year or less.
(n) The reenactment of this section in the regular session of the Legislature during the year one thousand nine hundred eighty-three, shall not in any way add to or subtract from the elements of the offenses set forth herein and earlier defined in the prior enactment of this section.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to prohibit the operation of a motor vehicle by a person under the influence of any self ingested or voluntarily ingested fume, vapor or substance derived from paint, glue or other legal substance.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.