H-4364.3          _______________________________________________

                                  HOUSE BILL 2798

                  _______________________________________________

State of Washington              54th Legislature             1996 Regular Session

By Representatives Dickerson, Appelwick, Chappell, Hatfield, Conway, Scheuerman, Regala, Cody, Jacobsen, Mason, Costa, Patterson, Brown, Chopp and Cole

Read first time 01/19/96.  Referred to Committee on Law & Justice.

Making it a crime for a director of a corporation to approve an act that endangers public health or safety.

     AN ACT Relating to corporate endangerment; adding a new section to chapter 9A.36 RCW; and prescribing penalties.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  A new section is added to chapter 9A.36 RCW to read as follows:

     (1) A person is guilty of the crime of corporate endangerment if, while acting as a high managerial agent, he or she recklessly approves an action of the corporation that endangers public health or safety by creating a substantial risk of death or substantial bodily harm to a person, and substantial bodily harm or death results from the corporation's action.

     (2) The crime of corporate endangerment is a class C felony.

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