ENROLLED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 2084
(By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss, and Delegates Amores, Capito,
Evans and Flanigan)
[Passed March 12, 1999; in effect ninety days from passage.]
AN ACT to amend article seven, 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
fifteen, relating to providing for the felony offense of
wearing body armor while committing a violent crime; and
providing penalties.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article seven, 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
fifteen, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 7. DANGEROUS WEAPONS.
§61-7-15. Persons prohibited from committing violent crime
while wearing body armor; penalties.
(a) A person who wears or is otherwise equipped with body
armor while committing a felony offense, an element of which is
force, the threat of force, physical harm to another or the use
or presentment of a firearm or other deadly weapon, is guilty of
a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be confined in a
correctional facility for not less than two nor more than ten
years or fined not more than ten thousand dollars, or both.
(b) As used in this section, "body armor" means a jacket,
vest, or other similar apparel or device constructed to provide
ballistic resistance to penetration and deformation and intended
to protect the human torso against gunfire. The term may
include, but is not limited to, apparel that incorporates
inserts, or variations in construction of the ballistic panel
over small areas of the torso, for the purpose of increasing the
basic level of protection of the armor (whether ballistic or
blunt trauma) on localized areas. Body armor may be constructed
of Kevlar or other similar fabric and may be reinforced with
other materials. Body armor may incorporate "threat" or "trauma"
plates (which are inserts that fit into the vest that will stop
more powerful rounds) or may, as "threat armor", incorporate hard panels.
Adopted
Rejected