COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE

FOR

H. B. 2865

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

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


(Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary)

[February 14, 2003]


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

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections twenty-nine and thirty, article three, chapter sixty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all 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 willfully and maliciously 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 any real or personal property used for producing, generating, transmitting, distributing, treating or collecting electricity, natural gas, water, wastewater, stormwater, telecommunications or cable television, 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 two thousand dollars, or confined in the county or regional jail not more than one year, or both fined and imprisoned.
(b) Any person who willfully and maliciously damages or destroys any real or personal property owned by a railroad company or public utility company, or any real or personal property used for producing, generating, transmitting, distributing, treating or collecting electricity, natural gas, water, wastewater, stormwater, telecommunications or cable television, and the nature and extent of the damage which that person intended to cause is likely to create a direct or indirect threat of death or serious injury or does in fact result in death or serious injury, 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.
(c) In addition to the penalties set forth in subsections (a)and (b) 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.
(d) Nothing in this section may be interpreted to limit or restrict the ability of the property owner or any other person who has been damaged or injured as a result of such willful and malicious acts from seeking full recovery for all resulting damages and injuries from the responsible party or parties by civil action.
§61-3-30. Removal, injury to or destruction of property, monuments designating land boundaries and of certain no trespassing signs; penalties.

(a) If any person unlawfully, but not feloniously, take and carry away, or destroy, injure or deface takes and carries away, or destroys, injures or defaces any property, real or personal, not his or her own, he or she shall be is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars, or imprisoned in the county or regional jail not more than one year, or both fined and imprisoned.
(b) Any person who unlawfully and feloniously, willfully and intentionally destroys, injures or defaces property not his or her own, causing damage, destruction or diminution in the value of the property in an amount of twenty-five hundred dollars or more, is guilty of the felony offense of destruction of property and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned in a state correctional facility for not less than one year nor more than ten years, or in the discretion of the court, be confined in a county or regional jail not more than one year, and shall be fined not more than twenty-five hundred dollars, or both fined and imprisoned.
(c) If any person shall break down, destroy, injure, deface or remove breaks down, destroys, injures, defaces or removes any monument erected for the purpose of designating the boundaries of a municipality, tract or lot of land, or any tree marked for that purpose, or any sign or notice upon private property designating no trespassing upon such the property, except signs or notices posted in accordance with the provisions and purposes of sections seven, eight and ten, article two, chapter twenty of this code, he or she shall be is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than twenty dollars nor more than two hundred dollars, or imprisoned in the county or regional jail not less than one nor more than six months, or both fined and imprisoned. Justices of the peace and magistrates shall Magistrates have concurrent jurisdiction of all offenses arising under the provisions of this section. The provisions of this paragraph shall do not apply to the owner, or his or her agent, of the lands on which such signs or notices are posted.

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