WEST virginia legislature

2020 regular session

Introduced

House Bill 4002

By Delegates Mandt, Waxman, Hanna, D. Kelly, Householder, Sypolt and Porterfield

[Introduced January 08, 2020; Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary]

A BILL to amend and reenact §60A-4-416 of the Code of West Virginia,1931, as amended, relating to creating a felony crime of negligently with reckless disregard of the safety of others delivering a controlled substance or a counterfeit controlled substance for an illicit purpose and the use thereof causes death.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 4. OFFENSES AND PENALTIES.

§60A-4-416. Drug delivery resulting in death; failure to render aid.

(a) Any person who knowingly and willfully delivers a controlled substance or counterfeit controlled substance in violation of the provisions of §60A-4-401 of this chapter for an illicit purpose and the use, ingestion or consumption of the controlled substance or counterfeit controlled substance alone or in combination with one or more other controlled substances, proximately causes the death of a person using, ingesting or consuming the controlled substance, is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be confined  in a state correctional facility for a determinate sentence of not less than three nor more than 15 years.

(b) Any person who negligently delivers a controlled substance or counterfeit controlled substance with reckless disregard for the safety of others, in violation of the provisions of §60A-4-401 of this chapter for an illicit purpose and the use, ingestion or consumption of the controlled substance or counterfeit controlled substance alone or in combination with one or more other controlled substances, proximately causes the death of a person using, ingesting or consuming the controlled substance, is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be confined in a state correctional facility for a determinate sentence of not less than one nor more than three years.

(b)(c) Any person who, while engaged in the illegal use of a controlled substance with another, who knowingly fails to seek medical assistance for such other person when the other person suffers an overdose of the controlled substance or suffers a significant adverse physical reaction to the controlled substance and the overdose or adverse physical reaction proximately causes the death of the other person, is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be confined  for not less than one year nor more than five years.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create a felony crime of negligently and with a reckless disregard of the safety of others, delivering a controlled substance or counterfeit controlled substance for an illicit purpose and the use thereof causes a death.

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