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Committee Substitute House Bill 4615 History

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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted

WEST virginia legislature

2020 regular session

Committee Substitute

for

House Bill 4615

By Delegates J. Kelly, Anderson, D. Kelly, Westfall, Azinger, Sypolt, Jennings, Atkinson and Barnhart

[Introduced January 30, 2020; Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.]


 

A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated §61-10-34, relating to establishing the West Virginia Critical Infrastructure Protection Act; defining terms; creating a criminal offense of trespass upon property containing a critical infrastructure facility, upon property containing a critical infrastructure facility with intent to interrupt the lawful operations of the facility, and for causing willful damage to a critical infrastructure facility; establishing criminal offense of conspiracy to commit trespass; establishing criminal penalties; providing for civil liability; and providing nothing in this section will be construed to prevent lawful assembly and petition for redress of grievances.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:


ARTICLE 10. CRIMES AGAINST PUBLIC POLICY.


§61-10-34.  Critical Infrastructure Protection Act; prohibiting certain acts, including trespass and conspiracy to trespass against property designated a critical Infrastructure facility; criminal penalties; and civil action.


(a) This section may be referred to as the “West Virginia Critical Infrastructure Protection Act”.

(b) For purposes of this section:

“Critical Infrastructure” means systems and assets, whether physical or virtual, so vital to the United States of America or the State of West Virginia that the incapacity or destruction of such systems and assets would have a debilitating impact on security, national economic security, state economic security, national public health or safety, state public health or safety, or any combination of those matters, whether such systems or assets are in operation or are under any state of construction.

“Critical infrastructure facility” means one of the following, if completely enclosed by a fence or other physical barrier that is obviously designed to exclude intruders, or if clearly marked with a sign or signs that are posted on the property that are reasonably likely to come to the attention of intruders and indicate that entry is forbidden without site authorization:

(1) A petroleum or alumina refinery,

(2) An electrical power generating facility, substation, switching station, electrical control center or electric power lines and associated equipment infrastructure,

(3) A chemical, polymer or rubber manufacturing facility,

(4) A water intake structure, water treatment facility, wastewater treatment plant or pump station,

(5) A natural gas compressor station,

(6) A liquid natural gas terminal or storage facility,

(7) Wireline and wireless telecommunications infrastructure,

(8) A port, railroad switching yard, trucking terminal or other freight transportation facility,

(9) A gas processing plant, including a plant used in the processing, treatment or fractionation of natural gas or natural gas liquids,

(10) A transmission facility used by a federally licensed radio or television station,

(11) A steelmaking facility that uses an electric arc furnace to make steel,

(12) A facility identified and regulated by the United States Department of Homeland Security Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program,

(13) A dam that is regulated by the state or federal government,

(14) A natural gas distribution utility facility including, but not limited to, pipeline interconnections, a city gate or town border station, metering station, below- or above-ground pipeline or piping and truck loading or offloading facility, a natural gas storage facility, a natural gas transmission facility, or a natural gas utility distribution facility, or

(15) A crude oil or refined products storage and distribution facility including, but not limited to, valve sites, pipeline interconnections, pump station, metering station, below- or above-ground pipeline or piping and truck loading or offloading facility.

(16) Any above-ground portion of an oil, gas, hazardous liquid or chemical pipeline, tank, or other storage facility that is enclosed by a fence, other physical barrier or is clearly marked with signs prohibiting trespassing, that are obviously designed to exclude intruders.

(c)(1) Any person who willfully and knowingly trespasses or enters property containing a critical infrastructure facility without permission by the owner of the property or lawful occupant thereof is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not less than $500, or confined in jail not less than 30 days nor more than one year, or both fined and confined. If the intent of the trespasser is to willfully damage, destroy, vandalize, deface, tamper with equipment, or impede or inhibit operations of the critical infrastructure facility, the person is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $1,000 or imprisoned in a state correctional facility for not less than one nor more than three years, or both fined and imprisoned.

(2) Any person who willfully damages, destroys, vandalizes, defaces or tampers with equipment in a critical infrastructure facility is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $2,000 or imprisoned in a state correctional facility for a term of not less than one year nor more than five years, or both fined and imprisoned.

(3) Any person or organization who conspires with any person or organization to commit the offense of trespass against a critical infrastructure facility in violation of subdivision (1) of subsection (c) of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined in an amount of not less than $5,000. Any person or organization who conspires with any person or organization to willfully damage, destroy, vandalize, deface or tamper with equipment in a critical infrastructure facility is guilty of a felony and, shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined not less than $10,000.

(d)(1) Any person who is arrested for or convicted of an offense under this section may be held civilly liable for any damages to personal or real property while trespassing, in addition to the penalties imposed by this section.

(2) Any person or entity that compensates, provides consideration to or remunerates a person for trespassing as described in subdivision (1) of subsection (c) of this section may also be held liable for damages to personal or real property committed by the person compensated or remunerated for trespassing.

(e) Nothing in this section will be construed to prevent lawful assembly and petition for redress of grievances, during any dispute, including but not limited to, activities protected by the West Virginia Constitution, United States Constitution, or any statute of this state or the United States.

 

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to codify criminal penalties for persons convicted of willfully trespassing or entering property containing a critical infrastructure facility without permission by the owner of the property, and holds a person liable for any damages to personal or real property while trespassing. The bill also prescribes criminal penalties for organizations conspiring with persons who willfully trespass and/or damage critical infrastructure sites and holds conspiring organizations responsible for any damages to personal or real property while trespassing.

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

 

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