By

William Charnock, Executive Director, West Virginia Prosecuting Attorneys Institute

SB 354 - Effective June 6, 2003

Code Section - §60A-4-411

Effect: Any person who operates or attempts to operate a clandestine drug laboratory is guilty of a felony and shall be confined for not less than two nor more than ten years or fined not less than $5,000 nor more than $25,000, or both. A clandestine drug laboratory is defined as any property used for manufacturing methamphetamine, LSD or ecstasy.

SB 39 - Effective June 5, 2003

Code Section - §29-3-27

Effect: The criminal offense for a false fire alarm is increased to a felony when it is done with intent to cause injury to persons or property or divert attention from another offense. Upon conviction, a person shall be confined for not less than one nor more than three years and/or fined up to $5,000.

SB 205 - Effective May 28, 2003

Code Sections - §19-20-12 and §61-8-19

Effect: The fines for animal cruelty crimes are increased with this bill. The recovery limitation of the assessed value of a dog is eliminated. A felony offense is created for intentionally torturing or maliciously killing animals and those convicted of animal cruelty are prohibited from possessing animals for various periods.

HB 2748 - Effective June 6, 2003

Code Sections §16-9D-1 through 8; §16-9E-1 through 4

Effect: Purpose is to prevent mail order or internet sales of cigarettes or tobacco products to persons under the age of eighteen. For sales by phone or electronically, sellers must verify the buyer is over eighteen by obtaining a certificate from the prospective buyer; the seller must verify the information. The seller must mark the delivery with language saying WV law prohibits the sale of tobacco to minors. Sellers must file monthly statements with the department of tax and revenue and must collect and remit all cigarette taxes imposed by the state. A first violation of any provision is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of five hundred dollars or five times the retail value of the cigarettes, whichever is greater. Any person who knowingly violates any provision or who falsely submits a certification in another person’s name is guilty of a misdemeanor and fined $1,000 or ten times the retail value, whichever is greater, or jailed up to six months or both. Any cigarettes sold or attempted to be sold not meeting the requirements of this section shall be forfeited and destroyed. Prosecuting attorney of the county where the delivery is made shall have the power to prosecute the violation and to bring any action necessary to prevent further action. The attorney general may bring any other action to enforce the article.

HB 2753 - Effective June 6, 2003

Code Sections §61-8-19a and 19b

Effect: Makes engaging in, being employed at or selling admission to animal fighting venture involving a wild animal, game animal, fur-bearing animal, or wildlife not indigenous to West Virginia, or of a canine, feline, porcine, bovine or equine species a felony punishable by a fine not less than $1,000 nor more than $5,000 and imprisoned not less than one nor more than five years or both. Creates new misdemeanor offense of knowingly attending an animal fighting venture involving above described animals punishable by a fine not less than $100 nor more than $1,000 or jailed not more than one year or both.

HB 2902 - Effective June 5, 2003

Code Section - §11-10-5v

Effect: Specifies certain information reported on the oil and gas combined reporting form required by WV Code §11-13A-3a(d) is confidential and authorizes disclosure to county assessors, division of environmental protection and the public service commission for official use. Provides for misdemeanor offense for the unlawful or unauthorized disclosure of the confidential information contained on the form, punishable by a fine not more than one thousand dollars or confined not more than one year in jail, or both, and assessed the costs of prosecution.

SB 654 - Effective June 6, 2003

Code Section §62-12-26

Effect: Defendants convicted of incest, felony sexual offenses, felony filming of minors offenses or felony child abuse offenses may be required to serve a period of supervised release of up to 50 years. Supervision will be through the probation office or community corrections program if established. Defendants placed on supervised release are subject to any or all of the conditions applicable to a person placed on probation. The court may impose fees to offset the cost of supervision. The court may terminate the supervised release early, extend the term or revoke and require incarceration. The court is required to provide the defendant with a written statement of terms and conditions of the supervised release.

HB 2814 - Effective June 6, 2003

Code Section - §17C-9-6

Effect: Increases penalty for failure to yield right-of-way to be punishable by a fine not more than two hundred dollars for the first offense; upon a second conviction within one year thereafter, fined not more than three hundred dollars and upon a third or subsequent conviction, fined not more than one thousand dollars.

HB 2865 - Effective June 6, 2003

Code Section - §61-3-29

Effect: The penalty for damaging or destroying railroad or public utility personal or real property is increased to a fine of not more than $2,000 or confined in jail for not more than one year, or both. If the damage or destruction causes serious bodily injury to another, it is a felony offense with a fine of not less than $5,000 nor more than $50,000 and/or a jail sentence from 1 to 5 years.

HB 2847 - Effective June 6, 2003

Code Section - §7-7-13

Effect: Makes the law enforcement agency that places a person under arrest responsible for the person’s initial transportation to a regional or county jail unless there is a pre-existing agreement between the county and the other governing body. Any person transported to the regional jail shall, upon conviction, pay the reasonable transportation costs. The money is to be collected by the court of conviction at the current mileage reimbursement rate.

HB 2910 - Effective June 4, 2003

Code Sections - §15-3A-1 through 6

Effect: Establishes an "Amber Alert" system to be utilized to rapidly disseminate information about abducted children, recognizing the first few hours immediately following abduction are the most critical in the search. The secretary of the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety will establish "Amber’s Plan," a program authorizing the broadcast media, upon notice from the state police, to transmit an emergency alert to inform the public of a child abduction. The program is a voluntary, cooperative effort between state and local law-enforcement agencies and the broadcast media.

HB 3009 - Effective from passage

Code Section - §29B-1-4

Effect: Records and information related to preparation for terrorist acts or threats of terrorist acts are exempt from disclosure under the freedom of information act. These include records that contain communication codes or deployment plans of law enforcement or emergency response personnel, specific intelligence information between state and local law enforcement and other records related to national security briefings to assist state and local government with preparation for acts of terrorism.

HB 2285 - Effective June 8, 2003

Code Sections - §20-2-36 and 37

Effect: Requires licensees of hunting and fishing licenses to carry and exhibit for inspection proof of identity, all applicable stamps, permits and written consents required by law, a certificate of training or other proof of hunter education and proof of a valid hunting or fishing license. As an alternative to the identification required under the section, the name, address and birth date of a licensee under 15 may be established by the averment or an accompanying licensed adult.

SB 535 - Effective June 6, 2003

Code Sections - §11-16-18; 60-3A-25a and 60-8-20

Effect: Provides for mandatory carding for all purchasers of nonintoxicating beer, wine and liquor. The bill additionally provides protection from criminal and civil liability for retailers that install transaction scan devices and require their employees to enforce mandatory carding.

SB 583 - Effective June 6, 2003

Code Sections §17C-6-1 and 10; §17C-17-10, 11 and 11d; §17C-17A-1 through 16; §17C-17B-1 through 5; §17E-1-3; §24A-1A-1 and 2; §24A-7-7

Effect: Requires the division of highways to establish all legal vehicle weight limits for all public highways including roads within the coal resource transportation system and requires the commissioner of the division to determine what public highways shall be designated as coal resource transportation roads. Provides only state-maintained roads and public highways located in the following areas: Boone, Fayette, Lincoln, Logan, McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, Raleigh, Wayne and Wyoming Counties; in Greenbrier County - routes west of Sam Black Church and southwest to the Summers County line; in Clay County - routes 4 and 16; in Nicholas County - routes 19, 20, 39, 41 and 55; in Webster County - routes 9, 20 and 82; and all state-maintained roads and public highways found in Washington, Malden, Louden and Cabin Creek districts of Kanawha County are eligible to qualify as part of the coal resource transportation road system. A "coal resource transportation road" is defined as a road designated by the department of transportation as safe and sufficient to allow vehicles hauling coal to carry a greater gross and axle weight of up to 120,000 pounds with a 5% variance. The division of highways is required to post signs on roads informing the public of the designation and to list a toll free telephone line for public reporting of poor driving or law violations by special permit operators. The public service commission will administer the coal resource transportation road permitting program and generally enforce the weight limit restrictions pertaining to such roads. The public service commission will impose administrative sanctions for violations which occur on the coal resource transportation system. Jurisdiction for enforcement of state statutes and rules relating to coal truck weight and the issuance of permits for excess vehicular weight is transferred from the department of transportation to the public service commission.

HB 2190 - Effective June 4, 2003

Code Sections - §17A-3-2 and §17C-16-4

Effect: Allows farm vehicles exempt from registration and license plate requirements that have passed motor vehicle inspection to use the highways between sunset and sunrise for a distance not to exceed 25 miles. Requires motor vehicle commissioner to issue certificate of inspection for farm vehicles exempt from registration and licensing upon owner’s request.

HB 2763 - Effective from Passage

Code Section - §17C-15-17

Effect: To allow original equipment mounted auxiliary lighting devices for use only when a vehicle is used off road. A motor vehicle operated on any road or highway must have the light bar covered and not illuminated when the vehicle is being operated on any road or highway.

SB 95 - Effective June 6, 2003

Code Sections §17C-17-2 through 4

Effect: Increases allowable length of motor homes to forty-five feet, exclusive of front and rear bumpers; a combination of vehicles coupled together one of which is a travel trailer or folding camping trailer may not exceed sixty-five feet, exclusive of front and rear bumpers. DMV commissioner may allow for a combination vehicle length not to exceed seventy feet. Requires the commissioner annually publish an official map designating the highways of the state and the various maximum vehicle lengths relating thereto.

SB 634 - Effective from passage

Code Sections §20-1-2 and §20-2-5

Effect: To define the crow as a game bird so that a hunting season may be instituted as required by the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

HB 2092 - Effective June 6, 2003

Code Section - §15-9-4

Effect: Directs Governor’s Committee on Crime, Delinquency and Correction to research criminal sentencing. Review is to include sentence imposed, length of sentence served, parole eligibility and revocation, determinate and indeterminate sentences and how these relate to prison bed space. The committee is to make recommendations to the Legislature; however, no recommendation is to be effective without further action of the Legislature.

SB 453 - Effective June 6, 2003

Code Section - §48-27A-1 through 3

Effect: The domestic violence fatality review team is established under the office of the chief medical examiner for the purpose of reviewing deaths resulting from suspected domestic violence. Members include four prosecuting attorneys and one county law-enforcement official.

Department of Health and Human Resources

SB 364 - Effective from passage

Code Sections §49-5-7, 16b and 21; §49-5D-3, 3a and 8

Effect: Requires circuit clerk notify the local office of the Department, which shall then be responsible for convening and directing the Multi-Disciplinary treatment planning process; in status offense or delinquency cases where a case manager has not been assigned, the juvenile probation officer is responsible for notifying the local office of the Department which is to assign a case manager who will initiate assessment and be responsible for convening and directing the Multi-Disciplinary treatment planning process. Defendants over eighteen who are convicted as adults for offenses committed while in the custody of the division of juvenile services and who are sentenced to incarceration may not be returned to the custody of the division until a hearing is held before the sentencing court; if the crime committed involves a felony crime of violence against an employee of the division of juvenile services, the defendant cannot be returned to the division’s custody. Quarterly judicial reviews must be conducted as long as the child remains in the legal or physical custody of the state. In cases involving out-of-home placement, the juvenile probation officer is to notify the local office of the Department and the division of juvenile services five days before the court hearing to allow the Multi-Disciplinary treatment team to convene and develop a plan for the child; such notice is not required when the child is in state’s custody or exigent circumstances exist to justify taking the child immediately into custody without a hearing. The team is authorized to advise the court as to the services the team has determined are needed and the type of placement, if any, which will best serve the needs of the child. If team’s recommendations are not adopted, the court is to hold a hearing to allow the team to present evidence about its recommendations. If after the hearing the court does not adopt the team’s recommendations, the court is required to make specific written finding as to why the team’s recommended service plan was not adopted.

SB 635 - Effective from passage

Code Sections §49-7-29 and 30

Effect: Clarify that foster homes are not health care facilities and directs the Supreme Court to develop model orders for out-of-home placement of children.

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