(a) A person who violates § 22-3218.02 shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon a conviction, shall be imprisoned for not more than 60 days, or fined, not more than the amount set forth in § 22-3571.01, or both. In the case of a second or subsequent conviction, a person who violates § 22-3218.02 shall be imprisoned for not more than 180 days, or fined, not more than the amount set forth in § 22-3571.01, or both.
(b) In addition to the criminal penalties in subsection (a) of this section, a person who is found to have violated § 22-3218.02 in a civil proceeding shall be liable to the company using or engaged in the generation or distribution of electricity or gas for restitution of the amount of any losses or damage sustained.
(Dec. 1, 1982, D.C. Law 4-164, § 118c; as added June 12, 2003, D.C. Law 14-310, § 15, 50 DCR 1092; June 11, 2013, D.C. Law 19-317, § 205(h), 60 DCR 2064.)
The 2013 amendment by D.C. Law 19-317, in (a), substituted the first occurrence of “not more than the amount set forth in § 22-3571.01” for “not more than $500”, and the second occurrence for “not more than $1,500”.
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 205(h) of the Criminal Fine Proportionality Emergency Act of 2013 (D.C. Act 20-45, April 1, 2013, 60 DCR 5400, 20 DCSTAT 1300).
Applicability of D.C. Law 19-317: Section 401 of D.C. Law 19-317 provided that the act shall apply only to offenses committed on or after June 11, 2013.