PRINTER'S NO. 952
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No.
812
Session of
2023
INTRODUCED BY HUGHES, LANGERHOLC, TARTAGLIONE, ROTHMAN, FONTANA,
COSTA, LAUGHLIN, DILLON, DUSH, VOGEL, COMITTA, SCHWANK,
BREWSTER, KANE AND BROOKS, JUNE 23, 2023
REFERRED TO JUDICIARY, JUNE 23, 2023
AN ACT
Amending Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes, in falsification and intimidation,
further providing for the offense of 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 law enforcement agency, firefighter, fire company, emergency
medical services agency, emergency medical services provider,
911 system operator or a government employee or contractor or an
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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 or legal guardian and an
opportunity for the persons to be heard, the court may
order the parent 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
owed is offset by an amount paid by his parent or legal
guardian.
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(ii) If the court orders a parent or legal guardian
to pay costs under subparagraph (i), the court shall take
into account the financial resources of the parent or
legal guardians and the burden that the payment of the
cost will impose. If the court requires a parent 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 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 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 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
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
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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 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
this section.
(iv) The costs of supplies expended or equipment
used by the law enforcement agency, fire company or
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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.--In addition to the jurisdiction granted
to a district attorney under section 1402 of the act of August
9, 1955 (P.L.323, No.130), known as The County Code, the
Attorney General shall have the authority to investigate and to
institute criminal proceedings for any violation or series of
violations of this section when the violation or series of
violations involves more than one county of this Commonwealth or
another state. The authority granted to the Attorney General
under this subsection shall be in addition to the authority
conferred upon the Attorney General by the act of October 15,
1980 (P.L.950, No.164), known as the Commonwealth Attorneys Act.
A person charged with any violation or series of violations of
this section by the Attorney General shall not have standing to
challenge the authority of the Attorney General to investigate
or prosecute the case, and, if a challenge is made, the
challenge shall be dismissed and no relief shall be made
available in the courts of this Commonwealth to the person
making the challenge.
(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).
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"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).
"Law enforcement agency." As follows:
(1) Any of the following:
(i) A full-time or part-time employee assigned to
criminal or traffic law enforcement duties of any of the
following:
(A) A police department of a county, city,
borough, town or township.
(B) A railroad or street railway police
department.
(C) A campus or university police department,
including the State System of Higher Education and
its member institutions.
(D) The Capitol Police.
(E) The Harrisburg International Airport Police.
(F) An airport authority police department.
(ii) A deputy sheriff of a county of the second
class.
(iii) A security officer of a first class city
housing authority or a police officer of a second class
city housing authority.
(iv) A county park police officer.
(2) The term does not include a person employed to check
parking meters or to perform only administrative duties and
auxiliary and fire police.
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Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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