PRIOR PRINTER'S NO. 181
PRINTER'S NO. 1091
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No.
296
Session of
2015
INTRODUCED BY HUGHES, FARNESE, FONTANA, TARTAGLIONE,
EICHELBERGER, VULAKOVICH, BREWSTER, COSTA, LEACH, BOSCOLA,
BROWNE AND RAFFERTY, JANUARY 21, 2015
SENATOR GREENLEAF, JUDICIARY, AS AMENDED, JUNE 23, 2015
AN ACT
Amending Titles 18 (Crimes and Offenses) and 42 (Judiciary and
Judicial Procedure) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
Statutes, in falsification and intimidation, further
providing for false alarms to agencies of public safety; and,
in sentencing, providing for sentencing for offenses
involving false alarms to agencies of public safety.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 4905 of Title 18 of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes is amended to read:
§ 4905. False alarms to agencies of public safety.
(a) Offense defined.--A person commits an offense if he
[knowingly causes a false alarm of fire or other emergency to be
transmitted to or within any organization, official or
volunteer, for dealing with emergencies involving danger to life
or property] knowingly and intentionally makes or causes to be
made a false report of a crime or medical or other emergency to
a police officer, State or local law enforcement agency,
firefighter, fire company, emergency medical services agency,
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emergency medical services provider, 911 system operator or a
governmental employee or contractor or an employee of a
contractor who is authorized to receive a report of a crime or
medical or other emergency.
(b) Grading.--An offense under this section is a misdemeanor
of the first degree unless the transmission of the false alarm
of fire or other emergency occurs during a declared state of
emergency and the false alarm causes the resources of the
organization to be diverted from dealing with the declared state
of emergency, in which case the offense is a felony of the third
degree.
(c) Costs.--
(1) In addition to a penalty imposed under subsection
(b), the court may order a person convicted or adjudicated
under this section to pay to the State or local unit of
government the costs of responding to the false report,
including the use of police, fire, medical or other emergency
response personnel, vehicles and teams.
(2) The following apply to a juvenile ordered to pay
costs under this subsection:
(i) If the court determines that the juvenile is or
will be unable to pay the costs ordered, after notice to
the juvenile's parent, parents or legal guardian and an
opportunity for the persons to be heard, the court may
order the parent, parents or legal guardian having
supervisory responsibility of the juvenile at the time of
the act upon which the order is based to pay a portion of
the costs ordered that is outstanding. An order under
this subparagraph does not relieve the juvenile of his
obligation to pay the costs as ordered, but the amount
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owed is offset by an amount paid by his parent, parents
or legal guardian.
(ii) If the court orders a parent, parents or legal
guardian to pay costs under subparagraph (i), the court
shall take into account the financial resources of the
parent, parents or legal guardians and the burden that
the payment of the cost will impose. If the court
requires a parent, parents or legal guardian to pay costs
under subparagraph (i), the court shall provide for
payment to be made in specified installments over a
specific period of time.
(iii) A parent, parents or legal guardian who has
been ordered to pay costs under subparagraph (i) may
petition the court for a modification of the amount of
the costs owed or for a cancellation of an unpaid portion
of the obligation. The court shall cancel all or part of
the obligation due if the court determines that the
payment of the amount due will impose a manifest hardship
on the parent, parents or legal guardian.
(3) If more than one unit of government incurs a cost in
responding to a false report, the court may order the person
convicted to reimburse each unit of government for the
expense it incurred.
(4) The amount ordered to be paid under this subsection
must be paid to the court, at a time and in a manner
prescribed by the court. The clerk of the court shall
transmit the appropriate amount to the unit or units of
government named in the order to receive reimbursement.
Unless otherwise ordered by the court, reimbursement must be
made immediately. This section does not prohibit a court from
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authorizing payments to be made according to a payment
schedule to be completed during a specified time.
(5) An order for reimbursement issued under this section
may be enforced in the same manner as a judgment in a civil
action by the district attorney of a county in which a
government unit entitled to reimbursement under the order is
located.
(6) For purposes of this subsection, the phrase "costs
of responding" includes:
(i) The salary or wages, including overtime pay, of
a police officer or State or local law enforcement agency
for time spent responding to the false report from which
the following occurred:
(A) the conviction OR ADJUDICATION OF
DELINQUENCY ;
(B) the arrest of the person convicted OR
ADJUDICATED DELINQUENT ;
(C) processing the person after arrest;
(D) preparing reports on the incident;
(E) investigating the incident;
(F) collecting and analyzing evidence; and
(G) preparing for and appearing at a pretrial
proceeding or trial.
(ii) The salary, wages or other compensation,
including overtime pay, of a firefighter or emergency
medical services provider for time spent in responding to
the false report.
(iii) The salary, wages or other compensation,
including overtime pay, of a prosecutor for time spent
investigating and prosecuting the crime charged under
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this section.
(iv) The costs of supplies expended or equipment
used by the State or local law enforcement agency, fire
company or emergency medical services agency in
responding to the false report.
(d) Construction.--A violation of this section occurs if the
communication of the false report originates in this
Commonwealth, is intended to terminate in this Commonwealth or
is intended to terminate with a person located in this
Commonwealth.
(e) Jurisdiction.--A violation of this section may be
prosecuted in a jurisdiction in which the communication
originated or terminated.
(f) Definitions.--As used in this section, the following
words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this
subsection unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
"911 system." As defined in 35 Pa.C.S. § 5302 (relating to
definitions).
"Bodily injury." Impairment of physical condition or
substantial pain.
"Emergency medical services agency" or "EMS agency." As
defined in 35 Pa.C.S. § 8103 (relating to definitions).
"Emergency medical services provider." As defined in 35
Pa.C.S. § 8103.
"Fire company." As defined in 35 Pa.C.S. § 7802 (relating to
definitions).
"Serious bodily injury." Bodily injury that creates a
substantial risk of death or causes serious, permanent
disfigurement or protracted loss or impairment of the function
of a bodily member or organ.
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"State or local law enforcement agency." Includes:
(1) the Pennsylvania State Police;
(2) a regional or municipal police department; and
(3) the Pennsylvania Capitol Police, a campus police or
university police department, as the terms are used in
section 2416 of the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.177, No.175),
known as The Administrative Code of 1929.
Section 2. Title 42 is amended by adding a section to read:
§ 9720.7. Sentencing for offenses involving false alarms to
agencies of public safety.
(a) Sentence enhancement guidelines .--The Pennsylvania
Commission on Sentencing, in accordance with section 2154
(relating to adoption of guidelines for sentencing), shall
provide for a sentence enhancement within its guidelines for an
offense under 18 Pa.C.S. § 4905 (relating to false alarms to
agencies of public safety).
(b) Aggravating circumstances.--The guidelines required
under subsection (a) shall provide a range of sentences based on
the following aggravating circumstances resulting as a proximate
cause of lawful conduct related to a response by an emergency
medical services agency, emergency medical services provider,
fire company or any other emergency response personnel:
(1) An individual is killed.
(2) An individual incurs serious bodily injury.
(3) An individual incurs bodily injury.
Section 3. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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