| Passed by the Senate February 16, 2004 YEAS 48 ________________________________________ President of the Senate Passed by the House March 2, 2004 YEAS 94 ________________________________________ Speaker of the House of Representatives | I, Milton H. Doumit, Jr., Secretary of the Senate of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is SENATE BILL 6338 as passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives on the dates hereon set forth. ________________________________________ Secretary | |
| Approved ________________________________________ Governor of the State of Washington | Secretary of State State of Washington |
| State of Washington | 58th Legislature | 2004 Regular Session |
Read first time 01/19/2004. Referred to Committee on Judiciary.
AN ACT Relating to stolen merchandise pallets; and amending RCW 9A.56.020 and 9A.56.140.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1 RCW 9A.56.020 and 1975-'76 2nd ex.s. c 38 s 9 are each
amended to read as follows:
(1) "Theft" means:
(a) To wrongfully obtain or exert unauthorized control over the
property or services of another or the value thereof, with intent to
deprive him or her of such property or services; or
(b) By color or aid of deception to obtain control over the
property or services of another or the value thereof, with intent to
deprive him or her of such property or services; or
(c) To appropriate lost or misdelivered property or services of
another, or the value thereof, with intent to deprive him or her of
such property or services.
(2) In any prosecution for theft, it shall be a sufficient defense
that:
(a) The property or service was appropriated openly and avowedly
under a claim of title made in good faith, even though the claim be
untenable; or
(b) The property was merchandise pallets that were received by a
pallet recycler or repairer in the ordinary course of its business.
Sec. 2 RCW 9A.56.140 and 1998 c 236 s 3 are each amended to read
as follows:
(1) "Possessing stolen property" means knowingly to receive,
retain, possess, conceal, or dispose of stolen property knowing that it
has been stolen and to withhold or appropriate the same to the use of
any person other than the true owner or person entitled thereto.
(2) The fact that the person who stole the property has not been
convicted, apprehended, or identified is not a defense to a charge of
possessing stolen property.
(3) When a person has in his or her possession, or under his or her
control, stolen access devices issued in the names of two or more
persons, or ten or more stolen merchandise pallets, or ten or more
stolen beverage crates, or a combination of ten or more stolen
merchandise pallets and beverage crates, as defined under RCW
9A.56.010, he or she is presumed to know that they are stolen.
(4) The presumption in subsection (3) of this section is rebuttable
by evidence raising a reasonable inference that the possession of such
stolen access devices, merchandise pallets, or beverage crates was
without knowledge that they were stolen.
(5) In any prosecution for possessing stolen property, it is a
sufficient defense that the property was merchandise pallets that were
received by a pallet recycler or repairer in the ordinary course of its
business.