ENROLLED
H. B. 3034
(By Delegates Hines, L. White, Mahan, Wills, Coleman,
Amores and Capito)
[Passed March 13, 1999; in effect ninety days from passage.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section fifty-two, article three, chapter sixty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to the offense
of wrongful injury to timber; and making the first violation
a misdemeanor; second and subsequent violations deemed a
felony; and penalties.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section fifty-two, article three, chapter sixty-one of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted 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, 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 three times the value of timber injured, removed or destroyed, or
confined in the county or regional jail for thirty days, or both :
Provided, That if the timber is valued at one thousand dollars or
less, the fine shall be no more than one thousand dollars:
Provided, however, That a person convicted of a second or
subsequent violation of the provisions of this section shall be
guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof shall be confined
in a correctional facility for not less than one nor more than
three years, or fined not more than three times the value of the
timber injured, removed or destroyed, or both fined and confined.
(b) 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 natural resources other than
timber shall not be deemed a willful and intentional cutting down,
injuring, removing or destroying of timber.
(c) 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.
(d) 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.