Z-1148.1 _______________________________________________
HOUSE BILL 2535
_______________________________________________
State of Washington 52nd Legislature 1992 Regular Session
By Representatives R. Meyers, R. King, Padden, Orr, Wilson, Haugen, Jacobsen, Paris, Kremen and Rasmussen; by request of Department of Wildlife
Read first time 01/20/92. Referred to Committee on Judiciary.
AN ACT Relating to violations of Title 77 RCW involving commercial trafficking of wildlife; amending RCW 77.16.040 and 77.21.010; and prescribing penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW 77.16.040 and 1987 c 506 s 60 are each amended to read as follows:
Except
as authorized by law or rule, it is unlawful to bring into this state, offer
for sale, sell, possess with intent to sell, exchange, ((buy)) purchase,
transport, or ship wildlife or articles made from an endangered species. It is
unlawful for a common or contract carrier knowingly to ship or receive for
shipment wildlife or articles made from an endangered species.
Sec. 2. RCW 77.21.010 and 1988 c 265 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) A
person ((violating RCW 77.16.040, 77.16.050, 77.16.060)) who
intentionally commits an act in violation of RCW 77.16.040 or 77.16.060 which
involves wildlife having a wholesale value in excess of two hundred fifty
dollars is guilty of a class C felony and shall be prosecuted and punished
under RCW 9A.20.021. A person violating RCW 77.16.040 or 77.16.060 which
involves wildlife having a wholesale value of two hundred fifty dollars or less
or committing a violation of RCW 77.16.050, 77.16.080, 77.16.210,
77.16.220, 77.16.310, 77.16.320, or 77.32.211, or committing a violation of RCW
77.16.020 or 77.16.120 involving 77.16.210, 77.16.220, 77.16.310, 77.16.320,
77.16.340, or 77.32.211, or committing a violation of RCW 77.16.020 or
77.16.120 involving big game or an endangered species is guilty of a gross
misdemeanor and shall be punished ((by a fine of not less than two hundred
fifty dollars and not more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment in the
county jail for not less than thirty days and not more than one year or by both
the fine and imprisonment)) under RCW 9.92.020. Each subsequent
violation within a five-year period of RCW 77.16.040, 77.16.050, or 77.16.060,
or of RCW 77.16.020 or 77.16.120 involving big game or an endangered species,
as defined by the commission under the authority of RCW 77.04.090, shall be
prosecuted and punished as a class C felony ((as defined in RCW 9A.20.020))
under RCW 9A.20.021. In connection with each such felony prosecution,
the director shall provide the court with an inventory of all articles or
devices seized under this title in connection with the violation. Inventoried
articles or devices shall be disposed of pursuant to RCW 77.21.040.
(2) A
person violating or failing to comply with this title or rules adopted pursuant
to this title for which no penalty is otherwise provided is guilty of a
misdemeanor and shall be punished ((for each offense by a fine of five
hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than ninety days in the county
jail or by both the fine and imprisonment)) under RCW 9.92.030. The
commission may provide, when not inconsistent with applicable statutes, that
violation of a specific rule is an infraction under chapter 7.84 RCW.
(3) A
person placing traps on private property without permission of the owner,
lessee, or tenant where the land is improved and apparently used, or where the
land is fenced or enclosed in a manner designed to exclude intruders or to
indicate a property boundary line, or where notice is given by posting in a
conspicuous manner, is guilty of the misdemeanor of trespass as defined and
established in RCW 9A.52.010 and 9A.52.080 and shall be punished ((for each
offense by a fine of not less than two hundred fifty dollars)) under RCW
9.92.030.
(4) Persons convicted of a violation shall pay the costs of prosecution and the penalty assessment in addition to the fine or imprisonment.
(5) The unlawful killing, taking, or possession of each wildlife member constitutes a separate offense.
(6) District courts have jurisdiction concurrent with the superior courts of misdemeanors and gross misdemeanors committed in violation of this title or rules adopted pursuant to this title and may impose the punishment provided for these offenses. Superior courts have jurisdiction over felonies committed in violation of this title.