H. B. 4437
(By Delegates Perdue, Long, Boggs, Staggers,
Varner, Brown and Hatfield)
[Introduced February 6, 2008; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §61-2-10b of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to the imposition of enhanced
criminal penalties for certain criminal acts against health
care workers; and defining "health care workers."
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §61-2-10b of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. CRIMES AGAINST THE PERSON.
§61-2-10b. Malicious assault; unlawful assault; battery and
recidivism of battery; assault on police officers,
conservation officers, probation officers, humane
officers, emergency medical service personnel
, ;
health care workers; firefighters, fire marshal,
Division of Forestry employees, county or state
correctional employees, Public Service Commission
motor carrier inspector and enforcement officer
and court security personnel; penalties.
(a)
Malicious assault. -- Any person who maliciously shoots, stabs, cuts or wounds or by any means causes bodily injury with
intent to maim, disfigure, disable or kill a police officer,
probation officer, conservation officer, humane officer, emergency
medical service personnel,
health care worker, firefighter, State
Fire Marshal or employee, Division of Forestry employee, county
correctional employee or state correctional employee, employee of
an urban mass transportation system, court security personnel or
Public Service Commission motor carrier inspector and enforcement
officer acting in his or her official capacity and the person
committing the malicious assault knows or has reason to know that
the victim is acting in his or her official capacity is guilty of
a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be confined in a
correctional facility for not less than three nor more than fifteen
years.
(b)
Unlawful assault. -- Any person who unlawfully but not
maliciously shoots, stabs, cuts or wounds or by any means causes a
police officer, probation officer, conservation officer, humane
officer, emergency medical service personnel,
health care worker,
firefighter, State Fire Marshal or employee, Division of Forestry
employee, county correctional employee or state correctional
employee, employee of an urban mass transportation system, court
security personnel or Public Service Commission motor carrier
inspector and enforcement officer acting in his or her official
capacity bodily injury with intent to maim, disfigure, disable or
kill him or her and the person committing the unlawful assault
knows or has reason to know that the victim is acting in his or her official capacity is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be confined in a correctional facility for not less
than two nor more than five years.
(c)
Battery. -- Any person who unlawfully, knowingly and
intentionally makes physical contact of an insulting or provoking
nature with a police officer, probation officer, conservation
officer, humane officer, emergency medical service personnel,
health care worker, firefighter, State Fire Marshal or employee,
Division of Forestry employee, county correctional employee, state
correctional employee, employee of a mass transportation system,
court security personnel or Public Service Commission motor carrier
inspector and enforcement officer acting in his or her official
capacity, or unlawfully and intentionally causes physical harm to
that person acting in such capacity, is guilty of a misdemeanor
and, upon conviction thereof, shall be confined in jail for not
less than one month nor more than twelve months, fined the sum of
five hundred dollars, or both. If any person commits a second such
offense, he or she is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be confined in a correctional facility for not less
than one year nor more than three years or fined the sum of one
thousand dollars or both fined and confined. Any person who
commits a third violation of this subsection is guilty of a felony
and, upon conviction thereof, shall be confined in a correctional
facility not less than two years nor more than five years or fined
not more than two thousand dollars or both fined and confined.
(d)
Assault. -- Any person who unlawfully attempts to commit a violent injury to the person of a police officer, probation
officer, conservation officer, humane officer, emergency medical
service personnel,
health care worker, firefighter, State Fire
Marshal or employee, Division of Forestry employee, county
correctional employee, state correctional employee, employee of a
mass transportation system, court security personnel or Public
Service Commission motor carrier inspector and enforcement officer
acting in his or her official capacity, or unlawfully commits an
act which places that person acting in his or her official capacity
in reasonable apprehension of immediately receiving a violent
injury, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof,
shall be confined in jail for not less than twenty-four hours nor
more than six months, fined not more than two hundred dollars, or
both fined and confined.
(e) For purposes of this section:
(1) "Police officer" means any person employed by the State
Police, any person employed by the state to perform law-enforcement
duties, any person employed by a political subdivision of this
state who is responsible for the prevention or detection of crime
and the enforcement of the penal, traffic or highway laws of this
state or employed as a special police officer as defined in section
forty-one, article three of this chapter.
(2) "Health care worker" means any nurse, nurse practitioner,
physician, physician's assistant or technician practicing at, and
all workers or employees employed by, a hospital, county or
district health department, long-term care facility, physician's office, clinic or outpatient treatment facility.
(2) (3) "Employee of an urban mass transportation system"
means any person employed by an urban mass transportation system as
such is defined in section three, article twenty-seven, chapter
eight of this code or by a system that receives federal transit
administration funding under 49 U.S.C. §5307 or §5311.
(3) (4) "Division of Forestry employee" means an officer,
agent, employee or servant, whether full-time or not, of the
Division of Forestry.
(4) (5) "Court security personnel" means any person employed
by a circuit court, family court, magistrate court, county
commission, sheriff, the state or other political subdivision to
operate and maintain security devices, including, but not limited
to, a metal detector, x-ray machine, video monitoring equipment
and/or other security devices, prevent or detect crime, enforce the
laws of this state, or otherwise provide court security.
(5) (6) "Public Service Commission motor carrier inspector and
enforcement officer" means an officer, agent or employee of the
Public Service Commission charged with the enforcement of
commercial motor vehicle safety and weight restriction laws of the
State of West Virginia.
NOTE:
The purpose of this bill is to extend to health care
workers the same protections afforded other persons who serve the
public and are thereby regularly exposed to the threat of physical
violence in the course of performing their jobs, by establishing
enhanced criminal penalties for certain crimes, such as malicious
assault or battery, committed against licensed and certified health
care professionals.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.