COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE

FOR

H. B. 4004

(By Delegates L. Phillips, Rowan, Fleischauer,

Border, Lawrence, Guthrie, P. Smith, Marshall and Poore)

(Originating in the House Committee on Finance)

[February 21, 2014]

A BILL to amend and reenact §61-8D-3 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to criminal offenses for child abuse by a parent, guardian or custodian; creating a misdemeanor offense for child abuse by a parent, guardian or custodian which creates a substantial threat of bodily injury; establishing a misdemeanor penalty for a first offense; providing that those convicted of the first offense may be required to undergo counseling; increasing penalties for a second conviction; making a conviction for a third or subsequent offense a felony; establishing criminal penalties; and providing that a parent, guardian or custodian convicted of a misdemeanor is not required to register as a person convicted of child abuse or neglect.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

    That §61-8D-3 of the Code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:

ARTICLE 8D. CHILD ABUSE.

§61-8D-3. Child abuse resulting in injury; child abuse creating risk of injury; criminal penalties.

    (a) If any parent, guardian or custodian shall abuse a child and by such abuse cause such child bodily injury as such term is defined in section one, article eight-b of this chapter, then such parent, guardian or custodian shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $100 nor more than $1,000 and committed to the custody of the Division of Corrections for not less than one nor more than five years, or in the discretion of the court, be confined in the county or regional jail for not more than one year.

    (b) If any parent, guardian or custodian shall abuse a child and by such abuse cause said child serious bodily injury as such term is defined in section one, article eight-b of this chapter, then such parent, guardian or custodian shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $1,000 nor more than $5,000 and committed to the custody of the Division of Corrections not less than two nor more than ten years.

    (c) Any person parent, guardian or custodian who abuses a child and by the abuse creates a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury, or of death as that term is defined in section one, article eight-b of this chapter, to the child is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $3,000 and confined to the custody of the Division of Corrections for not less than one nor more than five years.

    (d) Any parent, guardian or custodian who abuses a child and by the abuse creates a substantial risk of bodily injury, as that term is defined in section one, article eight-b of this chapter, to the child is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, for a first offense, shall be fined not less than $100 nor more than $1,000 or confined in jail not less than thirty days nor more than six months, or both fined and confined. Any person convicted of a first offense under this subsection may also be required to complete parenting classes, substance abuse counseling, anger management counseling, or other appropriate services, or any combination thereof, as determined as necessary through a family functioning assessment conducted by Department of Health and Human Resources, Bureau for Children and Families. For a second offense under this subsection, the parent, guardian or custodian is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $1,500 and confined in jail not less than thirty days nor more than one year. Any person convicted of a third or subsequent offense under this subsection is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $2,000 and imprisoned in a state correctional facility not less than one year nor more than three years. Any person convicted of a misdemeanor offense under this subsection is not required to register pursuant to article thirteen, chapter fifteen of this code.

    (e) Nothing in this article shall preclude a parent, guardian or custodian from providing reasonable discipline to a child.