Senate Bill No. 89
(By Senators Hunter, Ball, Dawson, Dittmar, McKenzie, Mitchell,
Redd and Snyder)
[Introduced January 14, 2000; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section thirty-nine-a, article three,
chapter sixty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to the crime of
making, drawing, issuing, uttering or delivering a
worthless check; and creating a jail penalty for first
and second convictions.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That thirty-nine-a, 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.
§61-3-39a. Making, drawing, issuing, uttering or delivering
worthless checks; penalty.
(a) It shall be is unlawful for any person, firm or
corporation to make, draw, issue, utter or deliver any check, draft
or order for the payment of money or its equivalent upon any bank
or other depository, knowing or having reason to know there is not
sufficient funds on deposit in or credit with such the bank or
other depository with which to pay the same upon presentation. The
making, drawing, issuing, uttering or delivering of any such check,
draft or order, for or on behalf of any corporation, or its name,
by any officer or agent of such the corporation, shall subject such
subjects the officer or agent to the penalty of this section to the
same extent as though such the check, draft or order was his or her
own personal act.
(b) This section shall does not apply to any such check, draft
or order when the payee or holder knows or has been expressly
notified prior to the acceptance of same or has reason to believe
that the drawer did not have on deposit or to his or her credit
with the drawee sufficient funds to insure payment as aforesaid,
nor shall does this section apply to any postdated check, draft or
order. This section shall does not apply when such insufficiency of funds or credit is caused by any adjustment to the drawer's
account by the bank or other depository without notice to the
drawer or is caused by the dishonoring of any check, draft or order
deposited in the account unless there is knowledge or reason to
believe that such the check, draft or order would be so dishonored.
(c) Any person who shall violate violates the provisions of
this section shall be is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than one hundred
dollars; and upon a third or subsequent conviction thereof, shall
be fined not more than one hundred dollars, or confined in the
county or regional jail not more than ten days, or both.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to allow a jail penalty for
first or second convictions of this section.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.