AN ACT Relating to the unlawful use of
explosives; amending RCW 70.74.010, 70.74.022, 70.74.160, 70.74.191, 70.74.270,
and 70.74.295; adding new sections to chapter 70.74 RCW; and prescribing
penalties.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1.
RCW 70.74.010 and 1972 ex.s. c 88 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:
As used in this chapter, unless a different
meaning is plainly required by the context:
(1) The terms "authorized",
"approved" or "approval" shall be held to mean authorized,
approved, or approval by the department of labor and industries.
(2) The term "blasting agent"
shall be held to mean and include any material or mixture consisting of a fuel
and oxidizer, intended for blasting, not otherwise classified as an explosive,
and in which none of the ingredients are classified as an explosive, provided
that the finished product, as mixed and packaged for use or shipment, cannot be
detonated when unconfined by means of a No. 8 test blasting cap.
(3) The term "explosive" or
"explosives" whenever used in this chapter, shall be held to mean and
include any chemical compound or mechanical mixture that is commonly used or
intended for the purpose of producing an explosion, that contains any oxidizing
and combustible units, or other ingredients, in such proportions, quantities or
packing, that an ignition by fire, by friction, by concussion, by percussion,
or by detonation of any part of the compound or mixture may cause such a sudden
generation of highly heated gases that the resultant gaseous pressures are
capable of producing destructive effects on contiguous objects or of destroying
life or limb. In addition, the term "explosives" shall include all
material which is classified as class A, class B, and class C explosives by the
federal department of transportation((: PROVIDED, That)). For
the purposes of this chapter small arms ammunition, small arms ammunition
primers, smokeless powder not exceeding fifty pounds, and black powder not
exceeding five pounds shall not be defined as explosives, unless possessed
or used for a purpose inconsistent with small arms use or other lawful purpose.
(4) Classification of explosives shall
include but not be limited to the following:
(a) CLASS A EXPLOSIVES: (Possessing
detonating hazard) dynamite, nitroglycerin, picric acid, lead azide, fulminate
of mercury, black powder exceeding five pounds, blasting caps in quantities of
1001 or more, and detonating primers.
(b) CLASS B EXPLOSIVES: (Possessing
flammable hazard) propellant explosives, including smokeless propellants
exceeding fifty pounds.
(c) CLASS C EXPLOSIVES: (Including
certain types of manufactured articles which contain class A or class B
explosives, or both, as components but in restricted quantities) blasting caps
in quantities of 1000 or less.
(5) The term "explosive-actuated
power devices" shall be held to mean any tool or special mechanized device
which is actuated by explosives, but not to include propellant-actuated power
devices.
(6) The term "magazine", shall
be held to mean and include any building or other structure, other than a
factory building, used for the storage of explosives.
(7) The term "improvised device"
means a device which is fabricated with explosives or destructive, lethal,
noxious, pyrotechnic, or incendiary chemicals and which is designed to
disfigure, destroy, distract, or harass.
(8) The term "inhabited
building", shall be held to mean and include only a building regularly occupied
in whole or in part as a habitation for human beings, or any church,
schoolhouse, railroad station, store, or other building where people are
accustomed to assemble, other than any building or structure occupied in
connection with the manufacture, transportation, storage, or use of explosives.
(9) The term "explosives
manufacturing plant" shall be held to mean and include all lands, with the
buildings situated thereon, used in connection with the manufacturing or
processing of explosives or in which any process involving explosives is
carried on, or the storage of explosives thereat, as well as any premises where
explosives are used as a component part or ingredient in the manufacture of any
article or device.
(10) The term "explosives
manufacturing building", shall be held to mean and include any building or
other structure (excepting magazines) containing explosives, in which the
manufacture of explosives, or any processing involving explosives, is carried
on, and any building where explosives are used as a component part or
ingredient in the manufacture of any article or device.
(11) The term "railroad" shall
be held to mean and include any steam, electric, or other railroad which
carries passengers for hire.
(12) The term "highway" shall
be held to mean and include any public street, public alley, or public road.
(13) The term "efficient artificial
barricade" shall be held to mean an artificial mound or properly revetted
wall of earth of a minimum thickness of not less than three feet or such other
artificial barricade as approved by the department of labor and industries.
(14) The term "person" shall
be held to mean and include any individual, firm, copartnership, corporation,
company, association, joint stock association, and including any trustee,
receiver, assignee, or personal representative thereof.
(15) The term "dealer" shall
be held to mean and include any person who purchases explosives or blasting
agents for the sole purpose of resale, and not for use or consumption.
(16) The term "forbidden or not
acceptable explosives" shall be held to mean and include explosives which
are forbidden or not acceptable for transportation by common carriers by rail
freight, rail express, highway, or water in accordance with the regulations of
the federal department of transportation.
(17) The term "handloader"
shall be held to mean and include any person who engages in the noncommercial
assembling of small arms ammunition for his own use, specifically the operation
of installing new primers, powder, and projectiles into cartridge cases.
(18) The term "handloader
components" means small arms ammunition, small arms ammunition primers,
smokeless powder not exceeding fifty pounds, and black powder as used in muzzle
loading firearms not exceeding five pounds.
(19) The term "fuel" shall be
held to mean and include a substance which may react with the oxygen in the air
or with the oxygen yielded by an oxidizer to produce combustion.
(20) The term "motor vehicle"
shall be held to mean and include any self-propelled automobile, truck,
tractor, semi-trailer or full trailer, or other conveyance used for the
transportation of freight.
(21) The term "natural
barricade" shall be held to mean and include any natural hill, mound,
wall, or barrier composed of earth or rock or other solid material of a minimum
thickness of not less than three feet.
(22) The term "oxidizer" shall
be held to mean a substance that yields oxygen readily to stimulate the
combustion of organic matter or other fuel.
(23) The term "propellant-actuated
power device" shall be held to mean and include any tool or special
mechanized device or gas generator system which is actuated by a propellant or
which releases and directs work through a propellant charge.
(24) The term "public
conveyance" shall be held to mean and include any railroad car, streetcar,
ferry, cab, bus, airplane, or other vehicle which is carrying passengers for
hire.
(25) The term "public utility
transmission system" shall mean power transmission lines over 10 KV,
telephone cables, or microwave transmission systems, or buried or exposed
pipelines carrying water, natural gas, petroleum, or crude oil, or refined
products and chemicals, whose services are regulated by the utilities and
transportation commission, municipal, or other publicly owned systems.
(26) The term "purchaser"
shall be held to mean any person who buys, accepts, or receives any explosives
or blasting agents.
(27) The term (("pyrotechnics"))
"pyrotechnic" shall be held to mean and include any
combustible or explosive compositions or manufactured articles designed and
prepared for the purpose of producing audible or visible effects which are
commonly referred to as fireworks.
(28) The term "small arms
ammunition" shall be held to mean and include any shotgun, rifle, pistol,
or revolver cartridge, and cartridges for propellant-actuated power devices and
industrial guns. Military-type ammunition containing explosive bursting
charges, incendiary, tracer, spotting, or pyrotechnic projectiles is excluded
from this definition.
(29) The term "small arms
ammunition primers" shall be held to mean small percussion-sensitive
explosive charges encased in a cup, used to ignite propellant powder and shall
include percussion caps as used in muzzle loaders.
(30) The term "smokeless
propellants" shall be held to mean and include solid chemicals or solid
chemical mixtures in excess of fifty pounds which function by rapid combustion.
(31) The term "user" shall be
held to mean and include any natural person, manufacturer, or blaster who
acquires, purchases, or uses explosives as an ultimate consumer or who
supervises such use.
Words used in the singular number shall include
the plural, and the plural the singular.
Sec. 2.
RCW 70.74.022 and 1988 c 198 s 10 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) It is unlawful for any person to
manufacture, purchase, sell, offer for sale, use, possess, transport,
or store any explosive, improvised device, or components that are intended
to be assembled into an explosive or improvised device without having a
validly issued license from the department of labor and industries, which
license has not been revoked or suspended. Violation of this section is a ((gross
misdemeanor)) class C felony.
(2) Upon notice from the department of labor
and industries or any law enforcement agency having jurisdiction, a person
manufacturing, purchasing, selling, offering for sale, using, possessing,
transporting, or storing any explosive, improvised device, or components
of explosives or improvised devices without a license shall immediately
surrender ((any and all such)) those explosives, improvised
devices, or components to the department or to the respective law
enforcement agency.
(3) At any time that the director of labor and
industries requests the surrender of explosives, improvised devices, or
components of explosives or improvised devices, from any person pursuant to
subsection (2) of this section, the director may in addition request the
attorney general to make application to the superior court of the county in
which the unlawful practice exists for a temporary restraining order or such
other relief as appears to be appropriate under the circumstances.
Sec. 3.
RCW 70.74.160 and 1969 ex.s. c 137 s 19 are each amended to read as follows:
No person, except ((an official as
authorized herein)) the director of labor and industries or the
director's authorized agent, the owner, the owner's agent, or a person
authorized to ((do so by the owner thereof, or his agent, shall)) enter by
the owner or owner's agent, or a law enforcement officer acting within his or
her official capacity, may enter any explosives manufacturing building,
magazine or car, vehicle or other common carrier containing explosives in this
state. Violation of this section is a gross misdemeanor punishable under
chapter 9A.20 RCW.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4.
Unless otherwise allowed to do so under this chapter, a person who exhibits a
device designed, assembled, fabricated, or manufactured, to convey the
appearance of an explosive or improvised device, and who intends to, and does,
intimidate or harass a person, is guilty of a class C felony.
Sec. 5.
RCW 70.74.191 and 1985 c 191 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
The laws contained in this chapter and the
ensuing regulations prescribed by the department of labor and industries shall
not apply to:
(1) Explosives or blasting agents in the course
of transportation by way of railroad, water, highway or air under the
jurisdiction of, and in conformity with, regulations adopted by the federal
department of transportation, the Washington state utilities and transportation
commission and the Washington state patrol;
(2) The laboratories of schools, colleges and
similar institutions if confined to the purpose of instruction or research and
if not exceeding the quantity of one pound;
(3) Explosives in the forms prescribed by the
official United States Pharmacopoeia;
(4) The transportation, storage and use of
explosives or blasting agents in the normal and emergency operations of federal
agencies and departments including the regular United States military
departments on military reservations, or the duly authorized militia of any
state or territory, or to emergency operations of any state department or
agency, any police, or any municipality or county;
(5) The importation, sale, possession,
and use of fireworks, signaling devices, flares, fuses, and torpedoes;
(6) The transportation, storage, and use of
explosives or blasting agents in the normal and emergency avalanche control
procedures as conducted by trained and licensed ski area operator personnel.
However, the storage, transportation, and use of explosives and blasting agents
for such use shall meet the requirements of regulations adopted by the director
of labor and industries; and
(7) Any violation under this chapter if any
existing ordinance of any city, municipality or county is more stringent than
this chapter.
Sec. 6.
RCW 70.74.270 and 1992 c 7 s 49 are each amended to read as follows:
Every person who maliciously places any
explosive ((substance or material)) or improvised device in,
upon, under, against, or near any building, car, vessel, railroad track,
airplane, public utility transmission system, or structure, in such manner or
under such circumstances as to destroy or injure it if exploded, shall be
punished as follows:
(1) If the circumstances and surroundings are
such that the safety of any person might be endangered by the explosion, by
imprisonment in a state correctional facility for not more than twenty years;
(2) In every other case by imprisonment in a
state correctional facility for not more than five years.
Sec. 7.
RCW 70.74.295 and 1972 ex.s. c 88 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
It shall be unlawful for any person to abandon
explosives or ((explosive substances)) improvised devices. Violation
of this section is a gross misdemeanor punishable under chapter 9A.20 RCW.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 8.
(1) Explosives, improvised devices, and components of explosives and improvised
devices that are possessed, manufactured, stored, sold, purchased, transported,
abandoned, detonated, or used in violation of a provision of this chapter are
subject to seizure and forfeiture by a law enforcement agency and no property
right exists in them.
(2) Seizure of explosives, improvised devices,
and components of explosives and improvised devices under subsection (1) of
this section may be made if:
(a) The seizure is incident to arrest or a
search under a search warrant;
(b) The explosives, improvised devices, or
components have been the subject of a prior judgment in favor of the state in
an injunction or forfeiture proceeding based upon this chapter;
(c) A law enforcement officer has probable
cause to believe that the explosives, improvised devices, or components are
directly or indirectly dangerous to health or safety; or
(d) The law enforcement officer has probable
cause to believe that the explosives, improvised devices, or components were
used or were intended to be used in violation of this chapter.
(3) A law enforcement agency shall destroy
explosives seized under this chapter when it is necessary to protect the public
safety and welfare. When destruction is not necessary to protect the public
safety and welfare, and the explosives are not being held for evidence, a
seizure pursuant to this section commences proceedings for forfeiture.
(4) The law enforcement agency under whose
authority the seizure was made shall issue a written notice of the seizure and
commencement of the forfeiture proceedings to the person from whom the
explosives were seized, to any known owner of the explosives, and to any person
who has a known interest in the explosives. The notice shall be issued within
fifteen days of the seizure. The notice of seizure and commencement of the
forfeiture proceedings shall be served in the same manner as provided in RCW
4.28.080 for service of a summons. The law enforcement agency shall provide a form
by which the person or persons may request a hearing before the law enforcement
agency to contest the seizure.
(5) If no person notifies the seizing law
enforcement agency in writing of the person's claim of ownership or right to
possession of the explosives, improvised devices, or components within thirty
days of the date the notice was issued, the seized explosives, devices, or
components shall be deemed forfeited.
(6) If, within thirty days of the issuance of
the notice, any person notifies the seizing law enforcement agency in writing
of the person's claim of ownership or right to possession of items seized, the
person or persons shall be afforded a reasonable opportunity to be heard as to
the claim or right. The hearing shall be before the chief law enforcement or
the officer's designee of the seizing agency, except that the person asserting
the claim or right may remove the matter to a court of competent jurisdiction
if the aggregate value of the items seized is more than five hundred dollars. The
hearing and any appeal shall be conducted according to chapter 34.05 RCW. The
seizing law enforcement agency shall bear the burden of proving that the person
(a) has no lawful right of ownership or possession and (b) that the items
seized were possessed, manufactured, stored, sold, purchased, transported,
abandoned, detonated, or used in violation of a provision of this chapter with
the person's knowledge or consent.
(7) The seizing law enforcement agency shall
promptly return the items seized to the claimant upon a determination that the
claimant is entitled to possession of the items seized.
(8) If the items seized are forfeited under
this statute, the agency shall destroy the explosives. When explosives are
destroyed either to protect public safety or because the explosives were
forfeited, the person from whom the explosives were seized loses all rights of
action against the law enforcement agency or its employees acting within the
scope of their employment, or other governmental entity or employee involved
with the seizure and destruction of explosives.
(9) This section is not intended to change the
seizure and forfeiture powers, enforcement, and penalties available to the
department of labor and industries pursuant to chapter 49.17 RCW as provided in
RCW 70.74.390.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. A
person who knows of a theft or loss of explosives for which that person is
responsible under this chapter shall report the theft or loss to the local law
enforcement agency within twenty-four hours of discovery of the theft or loss.
The local law enforcement agency shall immediately report the theft or loss to
the department of labor and industries.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 10.
Sections 4, 8, and 9 of this act are each added to chapter 70.74 RCW.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. If
any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is
held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to
other persons or circumstances is not affected.
