PRINTER'S NO. 3112
No. 2233 Session of 2005
INTRODUCED BY CIVERA, BARRAR, BEYER, CLYMER, CRAHALLA, FRANKEL,
GERGELY, HENNESSEY, KIRKLAND, MICOZZIE, R. MILLER, NAILOR,
O'NEILL, PAYNE, PHILLIPS, READSHAW, SCAVELLO, SONNEY,
E. Z. TAYLOR AND THOMAS, NOVEMBER 15, 2005
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, NOVEMBER 15, 2005
AN ACT
1 Amending Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) of the Pennsylvania
2 Consolidated Statutes, further providing for the offense of
3 theft of services.
4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5 hereby enacts as follows:
6 Section 1. Section 3926(a), (g) and (h) of Title 18 of the
7 Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes are amended and the section
8 is amended by adding subsections to read:
9 § 3926. Theft of services.
10 (a) Acquisition of services.--
11 (1) A person is guilty of theft if he intentionally
12 obtains services for himself or for another which he knows
13 are available only for compensation, by deception or threat,
14 by altering or tampering with the public utility meter or
15 measuring device by which such services are delivered or by
16 causing or permitting such altering or tampering, by making
17 or maintaining any unauthorized connection, whether
1 physically, electrically or inductively, to a distribution or
2 transmission line, by attaching or maintaining the attachment
3 of any unauthorized device to any cable, wire or other
4 component of an electric, telephone or cable television
5 system or to a television receiving set connected to a cable
6 television system, by making or maintaining any unauthorized
7 modification or alteration to any device installed by a cable
8 television system, or by false token or other trick or
9 artifice to avoid payment for the service.
10 (1.1) A person is guilty of theft if he intentionally
11 obtains or attempts to obtain telecommunication service by
12 the use of an unlawful telecommunication device or without
13 the consent of the telecommunication service provider.
14 (3) A person is not guilty of theft of cable television
15 service under this section who subscribes to and receives
16 service through an authorized connection of a television
17 receiving set at his dwelling and, within his dwelling, makes
18 an unauthorized connection of an additional television
19 receiving set or sets or audio system which receives only
20 basic cable television service obtained through such
21 authorized connection.
22 (4) Where compensation for service is ordinarily paid
23 immediately upon the rendering of such service, as in the
24 case of hotels and restaurants, refusal to pay or absconding
25 without payment or offer to pay gives rise to a presumption
26 that the service was obtained by deception as to intention to
27 pay.
28 (5) A parent or guardian of a public school student who
29 avoids payment of tuition or other compensation for
30 educational services, which educational services are
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1 available without payment of such tuition or compensation
2 only to residents of the school district, is guilty of theft
3 if the parent or guardian intentionally:
4 (i) Creates or reinforces a false impression with
5 the school district as to the true residency of the
6 student.
7 (ii) Fails to correct a false impression which the
8 parent or guardian knows the school district to be under
9 as to the true residency of the student.
10 (iii) Prevents another from acquiring information
11 which would affect his judgment of a transaction relating
12 to the provision of an educational service.
13 * * *
14 (g) Civil action.--A telecommunication service provider or
15 the provider of an educational service aggrieved by a violation
16 of this section may in a civil action in any court of competent
17 jurisdiction obtain appropriate relief, including preliminary
18 and other equitable or declaratory relief, compensatory and
19 punitive damages, reasonable investigation expenses, costs of
20 suit and attorney fees.
21 (g.1) Presumptions.--A parent or guardian of a public school
22 student who signs enrollment forms indicating residency at an
23 address in a school district even though the name of the parent
24 or guardian appears on mailings or legal documents that are
25 addressed to the parent or guardian at a residence outside the
26 school district shall be prima facie presumed to have created or
27 reinforced a false impression as to true residency.
28 (g.2) Nonapplicability.--The provisions of this section
29 shall not apply to the parent or guardian of any public school
30 student on the sole basis of the student having status as
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1 homeless as defined by applicable Federal or State law or
2 regulation.
3 (h) Definitions.--As used in this section, the following
4 words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this
5 subsection:
6 "Guardian." Any person not a parent who acts to enroll a
7 child in a school district, irrespective of such person having
8 been named a guardian of such child by a court.
9 "Service." Includes, but is not limited to, educational
10 services, labor, professional service, transportation service,
11 the supplying of hotel accommodations, restaurant services,
12 entertainment, cable television service, the supplying of
13 equipment for use and the supplying of commodities of a public
14 utility nature such as gas, electricity, steam and water, and
15 telephone or telecommunication service. The term "unauthorized"
16 means that payment of full compensation for service has been
17 avoided, or has been sought to be avoided, without the consent
18 of the supplier of the service.
19 "Telecommunication service provider." A person or entity
20 providing telecommunication service, including, but not limited
21 to, a cellular, paging or other wireless communications company
22 or other person or entity which, for a fee, supplies the
23 facility, cell site, mobile telephone switching office or other
24 equipment or telecommunication service.
25 "Telephone service" or "telecommunication service."
26 Includes, but is not limited to, any service provided for a
27 charge or compensation to facilitate the origination,
28 transmission, emission or reception of signs, signals, data,
29 writings, images and sounds or intelligence of any nature by
30 telephone, including cellular telephones, wire, radio,
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1 electromagnetic, photoelectronic or photo-optical system.
2 "Unlawful telecommunication device." Any electronic serial
3 number, mobile identification number, personal identification
4 number or any telecommunication device that is capable or has
5 been altered, modified, programmed or reprogrammed alone or in
6 conjunction with another access device or other equipment so as
7 to be capable of acquiring or facilitating the acquisition of a
8 telecommunication service without the consent of the
9 telecommunication service provider. The term includes, but is
10 not limited to, phones altered to obtain service without the
11 consent of the telecommunication service provider, tumbler
12 phones, counterfeit or clone phones, tumbler microchips,
13 counterfeit or clone microchips, scanning receivers of wireless
14 telecommunication service of a telecommunication service
15 provider and other instruments capable of disguising their
16 identity or location or of gaining access to a communications
17 system operated by a telecommunication service provider.
18 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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