H. B. 4340
(By Delegate Sparks)
[Introduced February 1, 2000; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section four hundred six, article four,
chapter sixty-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to increasing
the length of incarceration for persons convicted of selling
drugs to minors by making them ineligible for parole for a
longer period of time than under current law.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section four hundred six, article four, chapter sixty-a
of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one,
as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 4. OFFENSES AND PENALTIES.
§60A-4-406. Distribution to persons under the age of eighteen by persons over the age of twenty-one; distribution by
persons eighteen or over in or on, or within one
thousand feet of, school or college; increasing
mandatory period of incarceration prior to parole
eligibility.
(a) Notwithstanding any provision of this code, a person
convicted of a felony violation of the provisions of section four
hundred one of this article for distribution of a controlled
substance who:
(1) Is twenty-one years of age or older at the time of the
distribution upon which the conviction is based, and the person to
whom the controlled substance was distributed was under the age of
eighteen years at the time of the distribution; or
(2) Is eighteen years of age or older and the distribution
upon which the conviction is based occurred in or on, or within one
thousand feet of, the real property comprising a public or private
elementary, vocational or secondary school or a public or private
college, junior college or university in this state, shall, if
sentenced to the custody of the commissioner of corrections for
service of a sentence of incarceration, be ineligible for parole
for a period of two three years.
(b) The existence of any fact which would make any person
subject to the provisions of this section shall not be considered
unless such fact is clearly stated and included in the indictment
or presentment by which such person is charged and is either:
(1) Found by the court upon a plea of guilty or nolo
contendere;
(2) Found by the jury, if the matter be tried before a jury,
upon submission to the jury of a special interrogatory for such
purpose; or
(3) Found by the court, if the matter be tried by the court
without a jury.
(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the
sentencing alternatives made available to circuit court judges
under other provisions of this code.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to increase the length of
incarceration for persons convicted of selling drugs to minors by
making them ineligible for parole for three years instead of the
current two year ineligibility provided in the code.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.