Senate Bill No. 11
(By Senator Buckalew)
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[Introduced February 12, 1997; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend article one, 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
ten, relating to making it unlawful to possess, acquire or
use food stamps in an unauthorized manner; and creating
criminal penalties for violating this section.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article one, 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 ten,
to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. CRIMES AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT.
§61-1-10. Unauthorized use of food stamps.
(a) Any person who knowingly and intentionally possesses, acquires or uses food stamps in any unauthorized manner in the amount of one thousand dollars or less is guilty of a misdemeanor
and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than two
hundred nor more than one thousand dollars, and may be confined
in the county or regional jail for not more than one year.
(b) Any person who knowingly and intentionally possesses,
acquires or uses food stamps in any unauthorized manner in an
amount of more than one thousand dollars is guilty of a felony
and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned in a state
correctional facility not less than one nor more than five years.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to make it unlawful to
possess, acquire or use food stamps in any unauthorized manner;
and to create penalties for violating this section.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.