H. B. 616
(By Delegates Pino, Coleman, Smirl, Fleischauer,
Craig, Caputo and Webb)
(Originating in the House Committee on the Judiciary)
[October 25, 2001]
A BILL to amend article six, 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
twenty-four, relating to false terrorist threats;
prohibiting threats of terrorist acts; prohibiting conveying
false information concerning a terrorist act; prohibiting
using hoax substances or devices to commit a terrorist act;
providing penalties; requiring restitution and
reimbursement; and providing definitions.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article six, 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
twenty-four, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 6. CRIMES AGAINST THE PEACE.
§61-6-24. Threats of terrorist acts, conveying false information
concerning terrorist acts and committing terrorist hoaxes
prohibited; penalties.
(a)
As used in this section, unless the context otherwise
requires:
(1) "Economic harm" means all direct, incidental, and
consequential pecuniary harm suffered by a victim as a result of
criminal conduct. Economic harm includes, but is not limited to
the following:
(A) All wages, salaries, or other compensation lost as a
result of the criminal conduct;
(B) The cost of all wages, salaries, or other compensation
paid to employees for time those employees are prevented from
working as a result of the criminal conduct;
(C) The cost of all wages, salaries, or other compensation
paid to employees for time those employees spent in reacting to
the results of the criminal conduct; or
(D) The overhead costs incurred for the time that a business
is shut down as a result of the criminal conduct.
(2) "Hoax substance or device" means any substance or device
that is shaped, sized, colored, marked, imprinted, numbered,
labeled, packaged, distributed, priced or delivered so as to cause a reasonable person to believe that the substance or device
is of a nature which is capable of causing serious bodily injury
or damage to property or the environment.
(3) "Terrorist act" means an act that is:
(A) Likely to result in serious bodily injury or damage to
property or the environment; and
(B) Intended to:
(i) Intimidate or coerce the civilian population;
(ii) Influence the policy of a branch or level of government
by intimidation or coercion;
(iii) Affect the conduct of a branch or level of government
by intimidation or coercion; or
(iv) Retaliate against a branch or level of government for
a policy or conduct of the government.
(b) Any person who knowingly threatens to commit a terrorist
act under circumstances in which a reasonable person could
believe the threat to be true is guilty of a misdemeanor and,
upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than five
thousand nor more than twenty-five thousand dollars, or confined
in a county or regional jail for not more than one year, or both.
(c) Any person who knowingly conveys false information
knowing the information to be false concerning an attempt or alleged attempt being made, or to be made of a terrorist act is
guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
fined not less than five thousand nor more than twenty-five
thousand dollars, or confined in a county or regional jail for
not more than one year, or both.
(d) Any person who knowingly uses a hoax substance or device
with the intent to cause a reasonable person to believe a
terrorist act is being committed is guilty of a felony and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than ten thousand nor
more than fifty thousand dollars, or confined in a state
correctional facility for not less than one year nor more than
five years, or both.
(e) The court shall order any person convicted of an offense
under this section to pay the victim restitution in an amount not
to exceed the total amount of any economic harm suffered.
(f) The court shall order any person convicted of an offense
under this section to reimburse the state or any subdivision of
the state for any expenses incurred by the state or the
subdivision incident to its response to a violation of this
section.
(g) The conviction of any person under the provisions of
this section does not preclude or otherwise limit any civil proceedings arising from the same act.
§61-6-24 is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring
have been omitted.