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ENROLLED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 57
(Senator Bailey, original sponsor)
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[Passed March 9, 2002; in effect ninety days from passage.]
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AN ACT to amend and reenact sections one-b and nineteen, article
six, chapter sixty-one of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, all relating to
crimes against the peace; prohibiting the disturbance of the
peace in or on any property controlled by the state of West
Virginia; specifying certain activities that are prohibited in
the state capital complex; providing exemptions; and setting
forth criminal penalties.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
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That sections one-b and nineteen, article six, chapter
sixty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 6. CRIMES AGAINST THE PEACE.
§61-6-1b. Disorderly conduct; penalty.
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(a) Any person who, in a public place, any office or office
building of the state of West Virginia, or in the state capitol complex, or on any other property owned, leased, occupied or
controlled by the state of West Virginia, a mobile home park, a
public parking area, a common area of an apartment building or
dormitory, or a common area of a privately owned commercial
shopping center, mall or other group of commercial retail
establishments, disturbs the peace of others by violent, profane,
indecent or boisterous conduct or language or by the making of
unreasonably loud noise that is intended to cause annoyance or
alarm to another person, and who persists in such conduct after
being requested to desist by a law-enforcement officer acting in
his lawful capacity, is guilty of disorderly conduct, a
misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, may be committed to the
custody of the division of corrections for twenty-four hours or
fined not more than one hundred dollars: Provided, That nothing in
this subsection should be construed as a deterrence to the lawful
and orderly public right to demonstrate in support or protest of
public policy issues.
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(b) For purposes of this section:
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(1) "Mobile home park" means a privately owned residential
housing area or subdivision wherein the dwelling units are
comprised mainly of mobile homes and wherein the occupants of such
dwelling units share common elements for purposes of ingress and
egress, parking, recreation and other like residential purposes.
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(2) "Mobile home" means a moveable or portable unit, designed
and constructed to be towed on its own chassis (comprised of frame
and wheels) and designed to be connected to utilities for year-round occupancy. The term includes: (A) Units containing
parts that may be folded, collapsed or telescoped when being towed
and that may be expanded to provide additional cubic capacity; and
(B) units composed of two or more separately towable components
designed to be joined into one integral unit capable of being
separated again into the components for repeated towing.
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(3) "Public parking area" means an area, whether publicly or
privately owned or maintained, open to the use of the public for
parking motor vehicles.
§61-6-19. Willful disruption of governmental processes; offenses
occurring at state capitol complex; penalties.
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(a) If any person willfully interrupts or molests the orderly
and peaceful process of any department, division, agency or branch
of state government or of its political subdivisions, he or she is
guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
fined not more than one hundred dollars, or imprisoned in the
county or regional jail not more than six months, or both fined and
imprisoned: Provided, That any assembly in a peaceable, lawful and
orderly manner for a redress of grievances shall not be a violation
of this section.
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(b) It is unlawful for any person to bring upon the state
capitol complex any weapon as defined by the provisions of section
two, article seven of this chapter. It is unlawful for any person
to willfully deface any trees, wall, floor, stairs, ceiling,
column, statue, monument, structure, surface, artwork or adornment
in the state capitol complex. It is unlawful for any person or persons to willfully block or otherwise willfully obstruct any
public access, stair or elevator in the state capitol complex after
being asked by a law-enforcement officer acting in his or her
official capacity to desist: Provided, That in order to preserve
the constitutional right of the people to assemble, it is not
willful blocking or willful obstruction for persons gathered in a
group or crowd, if the persons move to the side or part to allow
other persons to pass by the group or crowd to gain ingress or
egress: Provided, however, That this subsection shall not apply to
a law-enforcement officer acting in his or her official capacity.
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Any person who violates any provision of this subsection is
guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
fined not less than one hundred dollars or confined in the county
or regional jail not more than six months, or both.