| (1) |
Attorney's NoteUnder the Utah Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
| Class | Prison | Fine |
|---|
| class A misdemeanor | up to 364 days | up to $2,500 | | class B misdemeanor | up to 6 months | up to $1,000 |
For details, see Utah Code § 76-3-204
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Terms Used In Utah Code 76-6-107- Actor: means a person whose criminal responsibility is in issue in a criminal action. See Utah Code 76-1-101.5
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Graffiti: means any form of unauthorized printing, writing, spraying, scratching, painting, affixing, etching, or inscribing on the property of another regardless of the content or the nature of the material used in the commission of the act. See Utah Code 76-6-101
- Person: means an individual, public or private corporation, government, partnership, or unincorporated association. See Utah Code 76-1-101.5
- Property: means :
| (i) | any form of real property or tangible personal property which is capable of being damaged or destroyed and includes a habitable structure; and |
| (ii) | the property of another, if anyone other than the actor has a possessory or proprietary interest in any portion of the property. See Utah Code 76-6-101- Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
- written: includes any handwriting, typewriting, printing, electronic storage or transmission, or any other method of recording information or fixing information in a form capable of being preserved. See Utah Code 76-1-101.5
|
| (a) |
As used in this section, “victim” means the person whose property is defaced or damaged by the use of graffiti and who bears the expense for removal of the graffiti. |
| (2) |
An actor commits defacement by graffiti if the actor, without permission, defaces or damages the property of another by graffiti. |
| (3) |
A violation of Subsection (2) is a:
| (a) |
second degree felony if the damage caused is in excess of $5,000; |
| (b) |
third degree felony if the damage caused is equal to or in excess of $1,000 but less than or equal to $5,000; |
| (c) |
class A misdemeanor if the damage caused is equal to or in excess of $300 but less than $1,000; and |
| (d) |
class B misdemeanor if the damage caused is less than $300. |
|
| (4) |
Damages under Subsection (3) include removal costs, repair costs, or replacement costs, whichever is less. |
| (5) |
The court shall order an individual convicted under Subsection (3) to pay restitution to the victim in an amount equal to the costs incurred by the victim as a result of the graffiti. |
| (6) |
An additional amount of $1,000 in restitution shall be added to removal costs if the graffiti is positioned on an overpass or an underpass, requires that traffic be interfered with in order to remove it, or the entity responsible for the area in which the clean-up is to take place must provide assistance in order for the removal to take place safely. |
| (7) |
An individual who voluntarily, at the individual’s own expense, and with the consent of the property owner, removes graffiti for which the individual is responsible may be credited for the removal costs against restitution ordered by a court. |
| (8) |
Before an authorized government agency may issue a citation or assess a fine to a victim for the victim’s failure to remove graffiti from the victim’s property, the agency shall:
| (a) |
provide written notice to the victim alerting the victim of the graffiti; |
| (b) |
allow the victim one week after the day on which the agency provides written notice of the graffiti to remove the graffiti; and |
| (c) |
provide the victim with a list of resources available to assist the victim with removal of the graffiti. |
|
| (9) |
| (a) |
After receiving notification of graffiti under Subsection (8)(a), a victim who is unable to remove the graffiti due to physical or financial hardship may alert the agency that provided notice under Subsection (8)(a) of the hardship. |
| (b) |
If an authorized government agency finds a victim has demonstrated that the victim would experience significant hardship in removing the graffiti, the agency:
| (i) |
may not issue a citation or assess a fee to the victim for failure to remove the graffiti; and |
| (ii) |
shall provide, or hire an outside entity to provide, the assistance necessary to remove the graffiti from the victim’s property. |
|
| (c) |
An authorized government agency that provides, or hires an outside agency to provide, assistance under Subsection (9)(b)(ii), may request reimbursement from a restitution order, under Subsection (5), against an individual who used graffiti to damage the property that the agency removed, or paid another to remove. |
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Amended by Chapter 111, 2023 General Session
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