BP BHEAD INT S [atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to railroad right of way trespassing; amending RCW 9A.52.010; adding a new section to chapter 9A.52 RCW; and prescribing penalties.

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

Sec. 1. RCW 9A.52.010 and 1985 c 289 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

The ((~~following~~)) definitions in this section apply ((in)) throughout this chapter((:)) unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

(1) "Premises" includes any building, dwelling, structure used for commercial aquaculture, or any real property;

(2) "Enter". The word "enter" when constituting an element or part of a crime, shall include the entrance of the person, or the insertion of any part of his or her body, or any instrument or weapon held in his or her hand and used or intended to be used to threaten or intimidate a person or to detach or remove property;

(3) "Enters or remains unlawfully". A person "enters or remains unlawfully" in or upon premises when he or she is not then licensed, invited, or otherwise privileged to so enter or remain.

A license or privilege to enter or remain in a building ((~~which~~)) that is only partly open to the public is not a license or privilege to enter or remain in that part of a building ((~~which~~)) that is not open to the public. A person who enters or remains upon unimproved and apparently unused land, which is neither fenced nor otherwise enclosed in a manner designed to exclude intruders, does so with license and privilege unless notice against trespass is personally communicated to him or her by the owner of the land or some other authorized person, or unless notice is given by posting in a conspicuous manner. Land that is used for commercial aquaculture or for growing an agricultural crop or crops, other than timber, is not unimproved and apparently unused land if a crop or any other sign of cultivation is clearly visible or if notice is given by posting in a conspicuous manner. Similarly, a field fenced in any manner ((is)) or a railroad right of way on which rails exist are not unimproved and apparently unused lands;

(4) "Data" means a representation of information, knowledge, facts, concepts, or instructions that are being prepared or have been prepared in a formalized manner and are intended for use in a computer;

(5) "Computer program" means an ordered set of data representing coded instructions or statements that when executed by a computer cause the computer to process data;

(6) "Access" means to approach, instruct, communicate with, store data in, retrieve data from, or otherwise make use of any resources of a computer, directly or by electronic means;

(7) "Railroad" means any form of nonhighway ground transportation that runs on rails;

(8) "Railroad carrier" means a person providing railroad transportation;

(9) "Railroad right of way" means the rails over which a railroad can operate, any structures that support the rails, the land within ten feet of any rail, and the land outside that area that is owned, leased, or operated by a railroad carrier and which is readily recognizable to a reasonable person as being railroad property or is reasonably identified as such by fencing or appropriate signs.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 9A.52 RCW to read as follows:

(1) Every person who enters or remains unlawfully upon a railroad right of way is guilty of a misdemeanor. The only circumstances in which a person may lawfully enter a railroad right of way are specified in subsections (2) and (3) of this section. RCW 9A.52.090 does not apply to this section.

(2) The following persons have lawful authority to enter a railroad right of way while engaged in the performance of their official duties: Employees of a railroad carrier, police officers, fire fighters, peace officers, emergency response personnel, representatives of the state department of transportation, representatives of the state utilities and transportation commission, representatives of the federal railroad administration, representatives of the national transportation safety board, and union representatives who are employees of the railroad and are present on the railroad's right of way for official union or railroad business.

(3) A person may enter railroad rights of way under the following circumstances:

(a) When a person enters the right of way at a public crossing for the purpose of crossing the right of way at that location;

(b) When a person has the consent or written permission of the railroad carrier to enter or remain on the right of way in question. This includes passengers, who are persons traveling by rail with the express consent of the railroad carrier, and have consent to be on the train and in areas designated by the railroad carrier. The public has consent to be on the grounds of a railroad station in those areas and at those times designated by the railroad carrier;

(c) When a person or the person's family, invitee, employee, or independent contractor enters the right of way at a private crossing site approved by the railroad carrier for the purpose of crossing the right of way at the approved crossing to obtain access to land that the person owns, leases, or operates; or

(d) When a person enters or remains on the right of way in an emergency to rescue a person or animal or to remove an object that the person reasonably believes to pose an imminent threat to life or limb.