COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE

FOR

H. B. 2141

(By Delegates Hamilton and Tabb)


(Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary)


[January 30, 2005]


A BILL to amend and reenact §17C-10-6 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to amend said code by adding thereto a new section, designated §17C-19-13a, relating to establishing criteria and limitations for soliciting donations on public highways; and penalties.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §17C-10-6 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted; and that said code be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated §17-19-13a, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 17C. TRAFFIC REGULATIONS AND LAWS OF THE ROAD.

§17C-10-6. Pedestrians on roadways; soliciting rides.
(a) Where sidewalks are provided it shall be unlawful for any pedestrian to walk along and upon an adjacent roadway. (b) Where sidewalks are not provided any pedestrian walking along and upon a highway shall when practicable walk only on the left side of the roadway or its shoulder facing traffic which may approach from the opposite direction. (c) No person shall stand in a roadway for the purpose of soliciting a ride from the driver of any vehicle. (d) No person may stand on a public highway outside a municipality for the purpose of soliciting money from the driver or passenger of any motor vehicle traveling along the public highway without a permit issued by the county commission. The county commission of any county may issue a permit allowing only nonprofit organizations, or organizations that do non-profit work, within the county to stand on a public highway to solicit money from motor vehicles traveling along the public highway. The permit shall specify the exact times of the solicitation, the names of all persons soliciting and the location of the solicitation. The permit shall require the nonprofit organization to certify that only persons of eighteen years of age or older will be involved in the solicitation. The issuance of a permit by the county commission is not an acknowledgment of liability on the part of the county commission for any injury to any person involved in the solicitation.
ARTICLE 19. GENERAL CRIMINAL PROVISIONS.

§17-19-13a. Prohibiting solicitation by charitable organizations on public highways; penalties.
(a) For purposes of this section:

(1) "Charitable organization" means a person who is or holds itself out to be a benevolent, educational, philanthropic, humane, patriotic, religious or eleemosynary organization, or any person who solicits or obtains contributions solicited from the public for charitable purposes, or any person who in any manner employs any appeal for contributions which may be reasonably interpreted to suggest that any part of such contributions will be used for charitable purposes.
(2) "Contribution" means the promise or grant of any money or property of any kind or value.
(3) "Solicit" and "solicitation" means the request or appeal, directly or indirectly, for any contribution on the plea or representation that such contribution will be used for a charitable purpose, including, without limitation, the following methods of requesting such contribution:
(A) Any oral or written request;
(B) Any announcement to the press, over the radio or television, or by telephone or telegraph, concerning an appeal or campaign to which the public is requested to make a contribution for any charitable purpose connected therewith;
(C) The distribution, circulation, posting or publishing of any handbill, written advertisement or other publication which directly or by implication seeks to obtain public support; or
(D) The sale of, offer or attempt to sell, any advertisement, advertising space, subscription, ticket or any service or tangible item in connection with which any appeal is made for any charitable purpose or where the name of any charitable or civic organization is used or referred to in any such appeal as an inducement or reason for making any such sale, or when or where in connection with any such sale, any statement is made that the whole or any part of the proceeds from any such sale will be donated to any charitable purpose.
"Solicitation," as defined herein, shall be deemed to occur when the request is made, at the place the request is received, whether or not the person making the same actually receives any contribution.
(b) No person under eighteen years of age may approach a motor vehicle on a public highway with a federal or state highway designation, in a zone with a speed limit exceeding twenty-five miles per hour, for the purpose of soliciting a contribution from the occupant of the motor vehicle on behalf of a charitable organization.
(c) A person violating the provisions of this section shall be issued a warning citation upon a first offense, and the name of the charitable organization conducting the solicitation shall be forwarded to the Secretary of State for investigation to determine whether the charitable organization is properly registered and in compliance with the provisions of article nineteen, chapter twenty-nine of this code, and the name of the charitable organization shall also be forwarded to the department of revenue for investigation to determine whether the charitable organization is in compliance with state tax laws. Upon a second or subsequent violation of the provisions of this section, a person is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than fifty dollars nor more than five hundred dollars.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to establish criteria and limitations for persons and organizations soliciting contributions on public highways and providing a penalty for violation.