Senate Bill No. 414

(By Senators Buckalew and Kimble)

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[Introduced February 16, 1996; referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend article one, 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 ten, relating to making it unlawful to possess, acquire or use food stamps in an unauthorized manner; and creating penalties for violating this section.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article one, 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 ten, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. CRIMES AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT.
§61-1-10. Unauthorized use of food stamps.
(a) Any person who knowingly and intentionally possesses, acquires or uses food stamps in any unauthorized manner in the amount of one thousand dollars or less is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than two hundred nor more than one thousand dollars, and may be imprisoned in the county jail for not more than one year.
(b) Any person who knowingly and intentionally possesses, acquires or uses food stamps in any unauthorized manner in an amount of more than one thousand dollars is guilty of a felony, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be confined in the penitentiary not less than one nor more than five years.





NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to make it unlawful to possess, acquire or use food stamps in any unauthorized manner; and to create penalties for violating this section.

This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.