Committee Substitute
House Bill 2141 History
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COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 2141
(By Delegates Hamilton and Tabb)
(Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary)
[January 30, 2005]
A BILL to amend and reenact §17C-10-6 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended; and to amend said code by adding thereto a
new section, designated §17C-19-13a, relating to establishing
criteria and limitations for soliciting donations on public
highways; and penalties.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §17C-10-6
of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted; and that said code be amended by adding
thereto a new section, designated §17-19-13a, all to read as
follows:
CHAPTER 17C. TRAFFIC REGULATIONS AND LAWS OF THE ROAD.
§17C-10-6. Pedestrians on roadways; soliciting rides.
(a) Where sidewalks are provided it shall be unlawful for any
pedestrian to walk along and upon an adjacent roadway.
(b) Where sidewalks are not provided any pedestrian walking
along and upon a highway shall when practicable walk only on the left side of the roadway or its shoulder facing traffic which may
approach from the opposite direction.
(c) No person shall stand in a roadway for the purpose of
soliciting a ride from the driver of any vehicle.
(d) No person may stand on a public highway outside a
municipality for the purpose of soliciting money from the driver or
passenger of any motor vehicle traveling along the public highway
without a permit issued by the county commission. The county
commission of any county may issue a permit allowing only nonprofit
organizations, or organizations that do non-profit work, within the
county to stand on a public highway to solicit money from motor
vehicles traveling along the public highway. The permit shall
specify the exact times of the solicitation, the names of all
persons soliciting and the location of the solicitation. The permit
shall require the nonprofit organization to certify that only
persons of eighteen years of age or older will be involved in the
solicitation. The issuance of a permit by the county commission is
not an acknowledgment of liability on the part of the county
commission for any injury to any person involved in the
solicitation.
ARTICLE 19. GENERAL CRIMINAL PROVISIONS.
§17-19-13a. Prohibiting solicitation by charitable organizations
on public highways; penalties.
(a) For purposes of this section:
(1) "Charitable organization" means a person who is or holds itself
out to be a benevolent, educational, philanthropic, humane,
patriotic, religious or eleemosynary organization, or any person
who solicits or obtains contributions solicited from the public for
charitable purposes, or any person who in any manner employs any
appeal for contributions which may be reasonably interpreted to
suggest that any part of such contributions will be used for
charitable purposes.
(2) "Contribution" means the promise or grant of any
money or property of any kind or value.
(3) "Solicit" and "solicitation" means the request or
appeal, directly or indirectly, for any contribution on the plea or
representation that such contribution will be used for a charitable
purpose, including, without limitation, the following methods of
requesting such contribution:
(A) Any oral or written request;
(B) Any announcement to the press, over the radio or
television, or by telephone or telegraph, concerning an appeal or
campaign to which the public is requested to make a contribution
for any charitable purpose connected therewith;
(C) The distribution, circulation, posting or publishing
of any handbill, written advertisement or other publication which directly or by implication seeks to obtain public support; or
(D) The sale of, offer or attempt to sell, any
advertisement, advertising space, subscription, ticket or any
service or tangible item in connection with which any appeal is
made for any charitable purpose or where the name of any charitable
or civic organization is used or referred to in any such appeal as
an inducement or reason for making any such sale, or when or where
in connection with any such sale, any statement is made that the
whole or any part of the proceeds from any such sale will be
donated to any charitable purpose.
"Solicitation," as defined herein, shall be deemed to
occur when the request is made, at the place the request is
received, whether or not the person making the same actually
receives any contribution.
(b) No person under eighteen years of age may approach a
motor vehicle on a public highway with a federal or state highway
designation, in a zone with a speed limit exceeding twenty-five
miles per hour, for the purpose of soliciting a contribution from
the occupant of the motor vehicle on behalf of a charitable
organization.
(c) A person violating the provisions of this section
shall be issued a warning citation upon a first offense, and the
name of the charitable organization conducting the solicitation shall be forwarded to the Secretary of State for investigation to
determine whether the charitable organization is properly
registered and in compliance with the provisions of article
nineteen, chapter twenty-nine of this code, and the name of the
charitable organization shall also be forwarded to the department
of revenue for investigation to determine whether the charitable
organization is in compliance with state tax laws. Upon a second
or subsequent violation of the provisions of this section, a person
is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
fined not less than fifty dollars nor more than five hundred
dollars.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to establish criteria
and limitations for persons and organizations soliciting
contributions on public highways and providing a penalty for
violation.