H. B. 2865

(By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss, and Delegates Browning, Staton,

Beane, H. White, Stalnaker and G. White)


[Introduced February 4, 2003; referred to the

Committee on Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security then the Judiciary.]



A BILL to amend and reenact section twenty-nine, article three, chapter sixty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to the criminal offense of damaging or destroying real or personal property owned by a railroad company or public utility, or real or personal property used for producing, generating, transmitting, distributing, treating or collecting electricity, natural gas, water, wastewater, stormwater, telecommunications or cable television; penalties; restitution.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section twenty-nine, 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.
§61-3-29. Injuries to railroad or public utility company property, or real or personal property used for producing, generating, transmitting, distributing, treating or collecting electricity, natural gas, water, wastewater, stormwater, telecommunications or cable television ; penalties; restitution.

(a) Any person who shall wilfully or maliciously destroy or injure any of the wires, poles, insulators, or other damages or destroys any real or personal property belonging to any telephone, telegraph or owned by a railroad company, or any public utility company, or real or personal property used for producing, generating, transmitting, distributing, treating or collecting electricity, natural gas, water, wastewater, stormwater, telecommunications or cable television , if the cost of repair or replacement of the property including necessary environmental mitigation is less than one thousand dollars, shall be is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned in the county jail not exceeding twelve months, and be fined not exceeding five hundred dollars, at the discretion of the court more than three times the cost of repairing or replacing the property including necessary environmental mitigation, or confined in the county or regional jail not more than one year, or both fined and imprisoned: Provided, That if the cost of repair or replacement of the property including necessary environmental mitigation is one thousand dollars or more, the person is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than five thousand dollars nor more than fifty thousand dollars, or imprisoned in a state correctional facility not less than one nor more than five years, or both fined and imprisoned. Such person shall also be liable in a civil action for all damages to such property caused by such destruction or injury.
(b) In addition to the penalties set forth in subsection (a) of this section, the court may order the person so convicted to pay restitution to the owner of the property damaged or destroyed in an amount sufficient to cover the cost of repair or replacement of the property including necessary environmental mitigation.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to upgrade the criminal offense of damaging or destroying real or personal property owned by a railroad company or public utility, or real or personal property used for producing, generating, transmitting, distributing, treating or collecting electricity, natural gas, water, wastewater, stormwater, telecommunications or cable television . Property damage totaling less than $1,000 is a misdemeanor offense punishable by a fine not exceeding three times the cost of repairing the damage, or imprisonment up to a maximum of one year, or both. Property damage of $1,000 or more is a felony offense punishable by a fine of not less than $5,000 nor more than $50,000,or imprisonment of not less than one year nor more than five years, or both. A court may order a convicted person to pay restitution.

 Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.