Senate Bill No. 355
(By Senators White, Wiedebusch, Prezioso, Love and Schoonover)
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[Introduced March 17, 1997; referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section seventeen, article six,
chapter sixty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to bomb
threats.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section seventeen, article six, chapter sixty-one of
the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one,
as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 6. CRIMES AGAINST THE PEACE.
§61-6-17. False reports concerning bombs or other explosive
devices; penalties.
(a) Any person who
shall impart or convey or cause imparts
or conveys or causes to be imparted or conveyed any false
information, knowing or having reasonable cause to believe
such
that information
to be is false, concerning the presence of any bomb or other explosive device in, at, on, near, under or against
any dwelling house, structure, improvement, building, bridge,
motor vehicle, vessel, boat, railroad car, airplane or other
place, or concerning an attempt or alleged attempt being made or
to be made to so place or explode any such bomb or other
explosive device,
shall be is guilty of a
misdemeanor felony and,
upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not less
than one hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars,
or
by imprisonment in the state penitentiary for not less than one
year nor more than five years, or both or, in the discretion of
the court, shall be punished by a fine of not less than one
hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars and or by
confinement in the county jail for not more than one year.
or
both
(b) Any person violating any provision of subsection (a) of
this section,
shall for the second or any subsequent offense
under this section,
be is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred
dollars nor more than one thousand dollars, or by imprisonment in
the state penitentiary for not less than one year nor more than
five years, or both
or fined and imprisoned, or in the discretion
of the court, shall be punished by a fine of not less than one
hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars and by
confinement in the county
or regional jail for not more than one year.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to increase the penalty
for first offenders making bomb threats from a misdemeanor to a
felony.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.