Bill Text: WV HB4067 | 2020 | Regular Session | Comm Sub


Bill Title: Relating to crimes against property

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 4-1)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2020-02-18 - To Judiciary [HB4067 Detail]

Download: West_Virginia-2020-HB4067-Comm_Sub.html

WEST virginia legislature

2020 regular session

Committee Substitute

for

House Bill 4067

By Delegates Pack, Steele, Cooper, Hill and Bates

[Committee on the Judiciary]

A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated §61-13-3a, relating to crimes against property; creating the crime of theft of rental, leased, leased-purchased, or loaned property; creating certain evidentiary presumptions related to intent; defining “proper notice” for a written demand for return of property; requiring a written demand for return of the property; establishing property replacement value to determine the value of the theft; creating misdemeanor and felony offenses; providing penalties; and, establishing the agreements to which this section applies.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 3. CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY.


§61-3-13a. Theft of rental, leased, lease-purchased, or loaned property.; penalties.

(a) A person who, with intent to deprive the owner or owner's agent, wrongfully obtains, or exerts unauthorized control over, or by color or aid of deception gains control of personal property that is rented, leased, or loaned by written agreement to the person, is guilty of theft of rental, leased, lease-purchased, or loaned property.
     (b) The finder of fact may presume intent to deprive if the finder of fact finds either of the following:
     (1) That the person who rented or leased the property failed to return or make arrangements acceptable to the owner of the property or the owner's agent to return the property to the owner or the owner's agent within seventy-two hours after receipt of proper notice following the due date of the rental, lease, lease-purchase, or loan agreement; or
     (2) That the renter, lessee, or borrower presented identification to the owner or the owner's agent that was materially false, fictitious, or not current with respect to name, address, place of employment, or other appropriate items.
     (c) As used in subsection (2) of this section, "proper notice" consists of a written demand by the owner or the owner's agent made after the due date of the rental, lease, lease-purchase, or loan period, mailed by certified or registered mail to the renter, lessee, or borrower at: (a) The address the renter, lessee, or borrower gave when the contract was made; or (b) the renter, lessee, or borrower's last known address if later furnished in writing by the renter, lessee, borrower, or the agent of the renter, lessee, or borrower.
     (d) The replacement value of the property obtained must be utilized in determining the amount involved in the theft of rental, leased, lease-purchased, or loaned property.
     (e)(1) Theft of rental, leased, lease-purchased, or loaned property is a felony if the rental, leased, lease-purchased, or loaned property is valued at five thousand dollars or more. If any person shall be determined to be guilty of theft under this section, he or she shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, shall be confined in jail for a period of time not less than one nor more than five years, and be fined not exceeding $5,000.
     (2) Theft of rental, leased, lease-purchased, or loaned property is a  misdemeanor if the rental, leased, lease-purchased, or loaned property is valued at seven hundred fifty dollars or more but less than five thousand dollars.  If any person shall be determined to be guilty of theft under this section, he or she shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be confined in jail for a period of time not less than two nor more than 12 months, and be fined not exceeding $1,000.
    (f) This section applies to rental agreements that provide that the renter may return the property any time within the rental period and pay only for the time the renter actually retained the property, in addition to any minimum rental fee, to lease agreements, to lease-purchase agreements. This section does not apply to rental or leasing of real property under residential landlord-tenant agreements.

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