H. B. 3142
(By Delegates Schoen, Carmichael and Caputo)
[Introduced February 21, 2003; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend article fifteen, chapter seventeen of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
nine, relating to making it unlawful to offer for sale or sell
products created wholly or in part by county or regional jail
inmates and providing criminal penalty.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article fifteen, chapter seventeen of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section nine,
to read as follows:
ARTICLE 15. COUNTY CONVICT ROAD FORCE.
§17-15-9. Sale of county or regional jail made goods prohibited;
penalty.
(a) It is unlawful to sell or offer to sell on the open market
of this state or exported for sale to another state any articles,
products or commodities manufactured or produced, wholly or in
part, in this state or any other state, by county or regional jail
inmates of this state or another state, except inmates on home
confinement or probation.
(b) Any person violating the provisions of this section is
guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be punished by
a fine of not less than two hundred dollars nor more than five
thousand dollars or by confinement in jail for not less than three
months nor more than one year or by both fine and confinement.
Each sale or offer for sale is a separate offense under this
section.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to make it unlawful to sell
or offer to sell products made with inmate labor.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.