Senate Bill No. 384
(By Senators Bowman, Plymale, Macnaughtan, Ross and Scott)
____________
[Introduced February 14, 1996; referred to the
Committee on Natural Resources.]
____________
A BILL to amend article three, chapter sixty-one of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
fifty-two, relating to making it a felony to remove or
injure timber valued at more than one thousand dollars;
making it a misdemeanor to remove or injure timber valued at
one thousand dollars or less; creating penalties; and
creating exemptions.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article three, chapter sixty-one of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section fifty-two, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY.
§61-3-52. Wrongful injuries to timber; criminal penalties.
(a) Any person who willfully and maliciously and with intent
to do harm unlawfully enters upon the lands of another, cuts
down, injures, removes or destroys any timber valued at more than
one thousand dollars, without the permission of the owner or his
or her representative is guilty of a felony, and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be fined not more than ten thousand dollars or
imprisoned in a state correctional facility for not more than
five years, or both fined and imprisoned.
(b) Any person who willfully and maliciously and with intent
to do harm unlawfully enters upon the lands of another, cuts
down, injures, removes or destroys any timber valued at one
thousand dollars or less, without the permission of the owner or
his or her representative is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than one thousand
dollars or imprisoned in the county or regional jail for not more
than thirty days.
(c) The necessary trimming and removal of timber to permit
the construction, repair, maintenance, cleanup and operations of pipelines and utility lines and appurtenances of public
utilities, public service corporations and to aid registered land
surveyors and professional engineers in the performance of their
professional services, and municipalities, and pipeline
companies, or lawful operators and product purchasers of oil and
gas shall not be deemed a willful and intentional cutting down,
injuring, removing or destroying of timber.
(d) The necessary trimming and removal of timber for
boundary line maintenance, for the construction, maintenance and
repair of streets, roads and highways or for the control and
regulation of traffic thereon by the state and its political
subdivisions or registered land surveyors and professional
engineers shall not be deemed a willful and intentional cutting
down, injuring, removing or destroying of timber.
__________
(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to make it a felony to
remove or injure timber valued at more than $1,000; to make it a
misdemeanor to remove or injure timber valued at $1,000 or less;
and to create penalties.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.)
__________
NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS
On page _____, section fifty-two, line _____, by striking
out the words "ten thousand dollars" and inserting in lieu
thereof the words "three times the value of the timber injured,
removed or destroyed";
On page _____, section fifty-two, line _____, by striking
out the words "state correctional facility for not more than five
years" and inserting in lieu thereof the words "regional jail for
thirty days";
On page _____, section fifty-two, line _____, by striking
out the words "oil and gas" and inserting in lieu thereof the
words "natural resources other than timber";
And,
On page _____, section fifty-two, line _____, after the word
"timber." by adding the following subsection:
(e) No fine or imprisonment imposed pursuant to this section
shall be construed to limit any cause of action by a landowner
for recovery of damages otherwise allowed by law.