Senate Bill No. 36
(By Senator Wiedebusch)
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[Introduced January 17, 1995; referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend article five, chapter sixty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section fourteen-a, relating to the giving of false information to any law-enforcement officer or agency; and penalty therefor.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article five, chapter sixty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section fourteen-a, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5. CRIMES AGAINST PUBLIC JUSTICE.

§61-5-14a. Giving false information to law enforcement officer; penalty.

Any person who, on being asked for information by any sheriff or other law enforcement officer, knowingly gives false or misleading information to such officer, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction, shall be confined in jail not more than six months, fined not more than one hundred dollars, or both fined and imprisoned: Provided, That such officer requests the information in furtherance of executing the duties of his or her office in a criminal case, in preserving the peace, in apprehending or securing any person for a breach of the peace, or in any case of escape or rescue.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to make it a misdemeanor to knowingly provide false or misleading information to a law enforcement officer who is engaged in executing his or her official duties.

This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.