Senate Bill No. 521
(By Senator Tomblin, Mr. President, Sprouse and Plymale)
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[Introduced February 9, 2007; referred to the Committee on
Natural Resources; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §20-14-6a, relating
to the Hatfield-McCoy Recreation Area; prohibiting entry
without paying a fee; and providing criminal and civil
penalties for violations.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §20-14-6a, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 14. HATFIELD-MCCOY REGIONAL RECREATION AUTHORITY.
§20-14-6a. Payment of fee required for entrance; unlawful entry
prohibited; civil and criminal penalties;
Hatfield-McCoy civil penalty fund.
Except for emergency, police and utility service personnel acting in the regular course of employment, it is unlawful for any
person to enter upon the Hatfield-McCoy Recreation Area without
paying the fee established by the authority for admission.
Any person who enters upon the Hatfield-McCoy Recreation Area
in violation of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than fifty dollars nor
more than five hundred dollars. In addition, any person who is
convicted of a violation of this section shall also pay a civil
penalty of one hundred dollars as costs associated with the
investigation, apprehension and prosecution of the violation.
There is hereby established within the State Treasury a
Special Revenue Fund to be known as the "Hatfield-McCoy
Recreational Area Fund." The clerk of the court in which a person
is found guilty of violating the provisions of this section shall
collect and forward to the Hatfield-McCoy Recreational Area Fund in
the State Treasury, all funds collected as civil penalties assessed
under the provisions of this section. The moneys in the fund may
only be appropriated to the Hatfield-McCoy Recreational Area
Authority for the enforcement of the provisions of this section and
as provided in section five of this article.
It is the responsibility and the duty of the Hatfield-McCoy
Recreation Area rangers to enforce the provisions of this section
any premises which are part of the Hatfield-McCoy Recreation Area,
subject to the conditions and restrictions imposed by the authority.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to
prohibit entry onto the
Hatfield-McCoy Recreational Area system of trails without paying a
fee and to provide criminal and civil penalties for violations.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.