Chapter 47, Chapter 47

(a) License. -- No person, firm, corporation or association shall conduct within this state a collection agency without having first applied for and obtained a business franchise registration certificate pursuant to section two, article twelve, chapter eleven of this code, nor sh…

(a) Any person, firm, corporation or association violating any of the provisions of this article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than $1,000. (b) Any person, firm, corporation or association violating any of the provisions o…

(a) If a contract requires one party to reimburse another party for taxes levied under Part III of Subchapter A of Chapter 32 of the federal Internal Revenue Code, the party making the reimbursement, at its option, shall not be required to reimburse the other party more than one …

This article shall be known and may be cited as the "West Virginia Antitrust Act."

A final judgment rendered in any civil proceeding brought by the state for violation of this article to the effect that a defendant has violated said article shall be prima facie evidence against such defendant in any proceeding brought by any other party against such defendant p…

Any action brought to enforce the provisions of this article shall be barred unless commenced within four years after the cause of action arose, or if the cause of action is based upon a conspiracy in violation of this article, within four years after the plaintiff discovered, or…

Whenever any civil proceeding shall be commenced by the state to prevent, restrain or punish a violation of this article, the running of the statute of limitations in respect of every private right of action arising under this article and based in whole or in part on any matter c…

The remedies provided in this article shall be cumulative.

The Attorney General may cooperate with officials of the federal government and the several states in the enforcement of this article.

Actions or proceedings under this article may be brought in the circuit court of any county in which an act on which the action or proceeding is based occurred, or in any county in which the respondent or defendant resides or transacts business.

This article shall be construed liberally and in harmony with ruling judicial interpretations of comparable federal antitrust statutes.

(a) The Attorney General shall be permitted to bring an action as parens patriae of natural persons who are citizens and residents of this state, under this article, and in proper federal court for violations of the federal antitrust laws or of both this article and the federal a…

All civil penalties exacted pursuant to this article, unless otherwise specifically provided for, shall be paid into the state Treasury for the use of the antitrust enforcement fund.

All money received by the state as a result of actions by the Attorney General pursuant to this article or to the federal antitrust laws shall be placed in a separate fund by the state Treasurer, to be known as the antitrust enforcement fund, and shall be used solely for the paym…

As used in this article, unless the context otherwise requires: (a) "Person" shall mean any natural person or persons, or any corporation, partnership, company, trust or association of persons. (b) "Trade or commerce" shall include all economic activity involving or relating to a…

The Attorney General may make and adopt such rules and regulations as may be necessary for the enforcement and administration of this article.

It shall be the duty of all public officers, their deputies, assistants, clerks, subordinates and employees, to render and furnish to the Attorney General, his deputy or other designated representative, when so requested, all information and assistance in their possession and wit…

In the administration of this article, the Attorney General may accept an assurance of voluntary compliance with respect to any method, act or practice deemed to be a violation of this article from any person who has engaged or was about to engage in such method, act or practice.…

If, for any reason, any section, sentence, clause, phrase or provision of this article or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held unconstitutional or invalid, such unconstitutionality or invalidity shall not affect other sections, sentences, clauses, phrases…

(a) Every contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy in restraint of trade or commerce in this state shall be unlawful. (b) Without limiting the effect of subsection (a) of this section, the following shall be deemed to restrain trade or commerce unrea…

The establishment, maintenance or use of a monopoly or an attempt to establish a monopoly of trade or commerce, any part of which is within this state, by any persons for the purpose of excluding competition or controlling, fixing or maintaining prices is unlawful.

(a) Labor of a human being is not a commodity or an article of commerce. (b) Nothing in this article shall be construed to forbid the existence and operation of any labor, agricultural or horticultural organization instituted for the purpose of mutual help, while lawfully carryin…

The Attorney General shall investigate suspected violations of, and institute such proceedings as are hereinafter provided for violation of the provisions of this article. The Attorney General may direct the county prosecutor of any county in which such proceedings may be brought…

(a) If the Attorney General has probable cause to believe that a person has engaged in an act which is subject to action by the Attorney General under any of the provisions of this article, he may make an investigation to determine if the act has been committed and, to the extent…

The Attorney General may institute proceedings to prevent and restrain violations of the provisions of this article. In addition to granting such temporary, interlocutory, or permanent relief as is necessary to prevent and restrain a violation, the courts of this state may grant …

Any person who shall be injured in his business or property by reason of a violation of the provisions of this article may bring an action therefor and shall recover threefold the damages sustained by him together with reasonable attorneys' fees, filing fees and reasonable costs …

It shall be unlawful for any person or persons as principal, clerk, agent or servant to sell any items, effect, paraphernalia, accessory or thing which is designed or marketed for use with controlled substances, as defined in chapter sixty-a of this code, without obtaining a lice…

(a) Application to sell any item, effect, paraphernalia, accessory or thing which is designed or marketed for use with controlled substances shall be accompanied by affidavits by applicant and each and every employee authorized to sell such items that such person has never been c…

(a) The following items, if marketed for use or designed for the use with controlled substances, are considered drug paraphernalia for the purpose stated in §47-19-1 et seq. of this code: (1) Kits marketed for use, or designed for use in planting, propagating, cultivating, growin…

Every licensee must keep a record of every item, effect, paraphernalia, accessory or thing which is designed or marketed for use with controlled substances which is sold, and this record shall be open to the inspection of any police officer at any time during the hours of busines…

The applicant shall comply with all applicable rules of the State Tax Commissioner, promulgated pursuant to the provisions of chapter twenty-nine-a of this code.

It shall be unlawful to sell items as described in section three of this article in any form to any male or female child under eighteen years of age. Any person eighteen years of age or older who violates this section is guilty of a felony, and, upon conviction thereof, may be im…

Any person violating any provision of this article shall, if convicted, be guilty of a misdemeanor and, be fined not less than $10 nor more than $500 for the first offense and succeeding offenses, and each day that such violation shall continue shall be deemed a separate and dist…

(a) Any person who attempts to sell or offer for sale drug paraphernalia as such is defined in section three of this article at any fair, festival, musical or theatrical production or at any event performed or conducted outdoors is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, sh…

The Legislature, in recognition of the recreational enjoyment the people of West Virginia receive from playing bingo and of the need charitable and public service organizations have for a practicable way of raising funds, declares its intent to grant the privilege of holding bing…

Except as otherwise provided in section twenty-two of this article, during the period of a license the average total prizes awarded by a licensee, or in the aggregate by two or more limited occasion licensees holding a joint bingo occasion, for any bingo occasion held pursuant to…

(a) Except as provided in sections thirteen and twenty-two of this article, the only persons, as defined in section two of this article, that may participate in any manner in the conduct of any bingo game or operate any concession in conjunction with a bingo occasion are either: …

Except as provided otherwise in sections twelve-a, thirteen and twenty-two of this article, no individual who participates in any manner in the conduct of a bingo occasion or the operation of a concession in conjunction with a bingo occasion may receive or accept any commission, …

(a) Within the guidelines set forth in subsections (b), (c) and (d) of this section, a licensee may pay a salary, the minimum of which is the federal minimum wage and the maximum of which is not more than one hundred and twenty percent of the state minimum wage to operators of bi…

A licensee may allow any individual, firm, partnership or corporation to operate concessions in conjunction with bingo occasions, and to be compensated for the operation, only if the individual, firm, partnership or corporation agrees to donate all net proceeds received from the …

(a) The reasonable, necessary and actual expenses incurred in connection with the conduct of bingo occasions, not to exceed 40 percent of the gross proceeds collected during a license period, may be paid out of the gross proceeds of the conduct of bingo, including, but not limite…

Any licensee which holds a bingo occasion as provided by this article shall maintain a separate checking account and separate bookkeeping procedure for its bingo operations: Provided, That nothing in this article restricts a licensee from transferring moneys in the account from a…

A licensee may advertise its bingo occasions in a manner reasonably necessary to promote the occasion: Provided, That a licensee may not hire any person, as defined in section two of this article, to develop or conduct an advertising campaign to promote any bingo occasion.

In addition to any other offense set forth in this code, any person who or licensee which knowingly conducts or participates in a fraudulently or deceptively conducted bingo game with intent to defraud is guilty of a felony, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less t…

In addition to any other offense set forth in this code, any individual, association, organization or corporation which knowingly obtains or assists another in obtaining a bingo license under false, deceptive or fraudulent pretenses is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon convictio…

For purposes of this article, unless specified otherwise: (a) "Bingo" means the game wherein participants pay consideration for the use of one or more paper or virtual cards bearing several rows of numbers in which no two cards played in any one game contain the same sequence or …

Any person who knowingly violates the provisions of this article other than sections eighteen and nineteen is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than one hundred nor more than $1,000. Any individual who knowingly violates the provisions…

The Legislature declares that the net proceeds of any bingo game which accrue to the West Virginia state fair are considered used for charitable or public service purposes as defined in section two of this article. Any proceeds allowed by the state fair board to be paid to or ret…

The West Virginia state fair board may apply annually to the Tax Commissioner for a state fair bingo license to provide for the conduct of bingo occasions at the state fair. The license shall permit the state fair board to have one or more persons conduct bingo occasions at the s…

(a) The Tax Commissioner shall administer the provisions of this article in accordance with the provisions of this article and chapter twenty- nine-a of this code. (b) The commissioner shall deny an application for a license if he finds that the issuance thereof would be in viola…