H. B. 2443
(By Delegates Frederick, Trump, Pino,
Collins and Amores)
[Introduced January 27, 1999; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend chapter sixty-one of the code of West Virginia,
one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding
thereto a new article, designated article three-f, relating
to the railroad trespass prevention act; the purpose of
preventing accidents and casualties to trespassers on
railroad property; persons authorized to be on railroad
property; providing definitions; and providing criminal
penalties.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That chapter sixty-one of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by
adding thereto a new article, designated article three-f, to read
as follows:
ARTICLE 3F. THE RAILROAD TRESPASS PREVENTION ACT.
§61-3F-1.Short title.
This article may be cited as the "Railroad Trespass
Prevention Act."
§61-3F-2.Purpose.
The purpose of this article is to prevent accidents and
casualties to persons who unlawfully enter upon railroad
property, and otherwise to enhance the safety of transportation
by railroad.
§61-3F-3.Trespassing on railroad property.
(a) Trespassing on railroad property. -- Whoever, without
lawful authority or the railroad carrier's consent, knowingly
enters or remains upon railroad property, by an act including,
but not limited to:
(1) Standing, sitting, resting, walking, jogging, running,
driving, or operating a recreational or nonrecreational vehicle
including, but not limited to, a bicycle, motorcycle, snowmobile,
car or truck; or
(2) Engaging in recreational activity, including, but not
limited to, bicycling, hiking, fishing, camping, cross-country
skiing, or hunting, except for the purpose of crossing such
property at a public highway or other authorized crossing, is
guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, the person
shall be fined not more than one hundred dollars or imprisoned
for not more than thirty days, or both fined and imprisoned.
(b) Stowaways prohibited. -- Whoever, without lawful
authority or the railroad carrier's consent, rides on the outside
of a train or inside a passenger car, locomotive or freight car,
including a box car, flatbed or container, is guilty of a
misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, the person shall be
fined not more than one thousand dollars or imprisoned for not
more than six months, or both fined and imprisoned.
(c) Persons with lawful authority to be on specified
railroad property. -- Subsections (a) and (b) do not apply to:
(1) Passengers on trains, or employees of a railroad carrier
while engaged in the performance of their official duties;
(2) Police officers, firefighters, peace officers and
emergency response personnel, while engaged in the performance of
their official duties;
(3) A person going upon railroad property in an emergency to
rescue a person or animal such as livestock, pets or wildlife
from harm's way, or to remove an object that the person
reasonably believes to pose an imminent threat to life or limb;
(4) A person on the station grounds or in the depot of the
railroad carrier as a passenger, or for the purpose of
transacting lawful business;
(5) A person, or the person's family or invitee, or the
person's employee or independent contractor going upon a railroad's right-of-way for the purpose of crossing at a private
crossing site approved by the railroad carrier to obtain access
to land that the person owns, leases or operates;
(6) A person having written permission from the railroad
carrier to go upon the railroad property in question;
(7) Representatives, agents or consultants of the public
service commission or division of highways while engaged in the
performance of their official duties;
(8) Representatives of the federal railroad administration
while engaged in the performance of their official duties; or
(9) Representatives of the national transportation safety
board while engaged in the performance of their official duties.
(d) Definitions. -- For purposes of this section:
(1) "Passengers" means persons who are traveling by train
with lawful authority and who do not participate in the train's
operation. The term "passenger" does not include stowaways.
(2) "Railroad" means any form of nonhighway ground
transportation that runs on rails or electromagnetic guideways,
including:
(A) Commuter or other short-haul railroad passenger service
in a metropolitan or suburban area; and
(B) High-speed ground transportation systems that connect
metropolitan areas--but does not include rapid transit operations
in an urban area that are not connected to the general railroad system of transportation;
(3) "Railroad carrier" means a person providing railroad
transportation;
(4) "Railroad property" means all tangible property owned,
leased or operated by a railroad carrier including a right-of- way, track, bridge, yard, shop, station, tunnel, viaduct,
trestle, depot, warehouse, terminal or any other structure,
appurtenance or equipment owned, leased, or used in the operation
of any equipment, rolling stock or safety device. "Railroad
property" does not include a railroad carrier's administrative
building or offices, office equipment or intangible property such
as computer software or other information;
(5) "Right-of-way" means the track or roadbed owned, leased
or operated by a railroad carrier which is located on either side
of its track and which is readily recognizable to a reasonable
person as being railroad property or is reasonably identified as
such by fencing or appropriate signs; and
(6) "Yard" means a system of parallel tracks, crossovers,
and switches where railroad cars are switched and made up into
trains, and where railroad cars, locomotives and other rolling
stock are kept when not in use or when awaiting repairs.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to adopt the Model State
Railroad Trespass Prevention Act. It defines trespassing on
railroad property and makes such trespassing a misdemeanor. It defines and prohibits stowaways and provides the misdemeanor
offense for a violation. And, it designates certain persons who
may lawfully be on specified railroad property.
This article is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.
This bill is recommended by the U.S. Department of
Transportation and the Federal Railroad Administration.