H. B. 2448
(By Delegates Facemyer, L. White,
Johnson, Yeager and Amores)
[Introduced March 7, 1997; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend article ten, 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
thirty-two, relating to crimes against public policy; making
the resale or transfer of, or an offer to resell or
transfer, toys for value greater than the original sales
price or suggested retail value of the toy a misdemeanor;
providing an exception for charities; defining "collectible"
and "noncollectible" toys; and establishing a criminal
penalty upon conviction.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article ten, 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 thirty-two, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 10. CRIMES AGAINST PUBLIC POLICY.
§61-10-32. Reselling or transferring, or offering to resell or transfer, certain toys for value greater than their
original sales price or suggested retail value; exception; penalty.
Any person or entity reselling or transferring, or offering to
resell or transfer, a toy that is not a collectible as defined in
this section in exchange for money, services, goods or other
property having a value greater than the original sales price or
suggested retail value of the noncollectible toy or toys is
guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
fined one hundred dollars for each toy resold, transferred or
offered for resale or transfer. There is excepted from the
restrictions of this section sales of noncollectible toys when
the proceeds are paid to a charitable organization approved under
the laws of West Virginia.
For the purposes of this section a "collectible toy" is one
that is collected by fanciers of toys and is traditionally
collected because its rarity, excellence or particular type makes
it worth collecting. A "noncollectible toy" means all other
types of toys that are not traditionally collected, are not rare and are not of any particular excellence or type that would be
considered for collecting by a toy fancier. It also includes
toys that are newly manufactured and marketed for a particular
season and whose sales are aimed at children under the age of
majority.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create the misdemeanor
offense of "scalping" noncollectible toys. It provides an
exception when the proceeds are for a legal charity.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.