A05582
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
2016
Session of
2019
INTRODUCED BY SCHMITT, MOUL, GREINER, RYAN, JONES, MIZGORSKI,
STRUZZI, CIRESI, BURGOS, BERNSTINE, READSHAW, JOZWIAK, GABLER
AND GOODMAN, OCTOBER 30, 2019
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, OCTOBER 30, 2019
AN ACT
Amending Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes, in assault, providing for the offense
of harassment of law enforcement officer; and imposing
penalties. further providing for the offense of simple
assault and for the offense of aggravated assault.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Title 18 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
Statutes is amended by adding a section to read:
§ 2703.2 Harassment of law enforcement officer.
(a) Offense defined.--Except as provided in sections 2703
(relating to assault by prisoner), 2703.1 (relating to
aggravated harassment by prisoner) and 2704 (relating to assault
by life prisoner), a person is guilty of harassment of law
enforcement officer if the person intentionally or knowingly
causes or attempts to cause a law enforcement officer to come
into contact with blood, seminal fluid, saliva, urine or feces
by throwing, tossing, spitting or expelling such fluid or
material.
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(b) Grading.--An offense under this section is a felony of
the third degree if, at the time of the offense, the person
knew, had reason to know, should have known or believed such
fluid or material to have been obtained from an individual,
including the person charged under this section, infected by a
communicable disease, including, but not limited to, human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or hepatitis B. Otherwise, the
offense constitutes a misdemeanor of the first degree.
(c) Definition.--As used in this section, the term "law
enforcement officer" shall have the same meaning as the term
"peace officer" is given under section 501 (relating to
definitions).
Section 1. Sections 2701 and 2702(a), (b) and (d) of Title
18 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes are amended to
read:
§ 2701. Simple assault.
(a) Offense defined.--Except as provided under section 2702
(relating to aggravated assault), a person is guilty of assault
if he:
(1) attempts to cause or intentionally, knowingly or
recklessly causes bodily injury to another;
(2) negligently causes bodily injury to another with a
deadly weapon;
(3) attempts by physical menace to put another in fear
of imminent serious bodily injury; [or]
(4) conceals or attempts to conceal a hypodermic needle
on his person and intentionally or knowingly penetrates a law
enforcement officer or an officer or an employee of a
correctional institution, county jail or prison, detention
facility or mental hospital during the course of an arrest or
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any search of the person[.] or
(5) intentionally or knowingly causes or attempts to
cause another person to come into contact with blood, seminal
fluid, saliva, urine or feces of an individual, by throwing,
tossing, spitting or expelling the fluid or material, subject
to the following:
(i) at the time of the offense, the person did not
know, had no reason to know, should not have known or did
not believe the fluid or material to have been obtained
from an individual, including the person charged under
this section, infected by a communicable disease,
including, but not limited to, human immunodeficiency
virus (HIV) or hepatitis B;
(ii) except as provided i n sections 2703 (relating
to assault by prisoner), 2703.1 (relating to aggravated
harassment by prisoner) and 2704 (relating to assault by
life prisoner); and
(iii) except that s aliva expelled unintentionally
through the exercise of constitutionally protected speech
shall not be prohibited if the person did not know, had
no reason to know, should not have known or did not
believe the saliva to have been obtained from an
individual, including the person charged under this
section, infected by a communicable disease, including,
but not limited to, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or
hepatitis B.
(b) Grading.--[Simple] Except as provided in subsection (c),
simple assault is a misdemeanor of the second degree unless
committed:
(1) in a fight or scuffle entered into by mutual
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consent, in which case it is a misdemeanor of the third
degree; or
(2) against a child under 12 years of age by a person 18
years of age or older, in which case it is a misdemeanor of
the first degree.
(c) Grading for assault by bodily fluid.--Simple assault
under subsection (a)(5) is a misdemeanor of the first degree.
(d) Definition.--As used in this section, the term
"communicable disease" shall mean an illness that is:
(1) capable of being spread to a susceptible host
through the direct or indirect transmission of an infectious
agent or its toxic product by an infected person, animal or
arthropod or through the inanimate environment; and
(2) listed under law as a disease that must be reported
to the Department of Health if discovered by a health care
provider, health care facility or clinical laboratory.
§ 2702. Aggravated assault.
(a) Offense defined.--A person is guilty of aggravated
assault if he:
(1) attempts to cause serious bodily injury to another,
or causes such injury intentionally, knowingly or recklessly
under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the
value of human life;
(2) attempts to cause or intentionally, knowingly or
recklessly causes serious bodily injury to any of the
officers, agents, employees or other persons enumerated in
subsection (c) or to an employee of an agency, company or
other entity engaged in public transportation, while in the
performance of duty;
(3) attempts to cause or intentionally or knowingly
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causes bodily injury to any of the officers, agents,
employees or other persons enumerated in subsection (c), in
the performance of duty;
(4) attempts to cause or intentionally or knowingly
causes bodily injury to another with a deadly weapon;
(5) attempts to cause or intentionally or knowingly
causes bodily injury to a teaching staff member, school board
member or other employee, including a student employee, of
any elementary or secondary publicly-funded educational
institution, any elementary or secondary private school
licensed by the Department of Education or any elementary or
secondary parochial school while acting in the scope of his
or her employment or because of his or her employment
relationship to the school;
(6) attempts by physical menace to put any of the
officers, agents, employees or other persons enumerated in
subsection (c), while in the performance of duty, in fear of
imminent serious bodily injury;
(7) uses tear or noxious gas as defined in section
2708(b) (relating to use of tear or noxious gas in labor
disputes) or uses an electric or electronic incapacitation
device against any officer, employee or other person
enumerated in subsection (c) while acting in the scope of his
employment;
(8) attempts to cause or intentionally, knowingly or
recklessly causes bodily injury to a child less than six
years of age, by a person 18 years of age or older; [or]
(9) attempts to cause or intentionally, knowingly or
recklessly causes serious bodily injury to a child less than
13 years of age, by a person 18 years of age or older[.] or
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(10) intentionally or knowingly causes or attempts to
cause another person to come into contact with blood, seminal
fluid, saliva, urine or feces of an individual, by throwing,
tossing, spitting or expelling the fluid or material, subject
to the following:
(i) at the time of the offense, the person knew, had
reason to know, should have known or believed the fluid
or material to have been obtained from an individual,
including the person charged under this section, infected
by a communicable disease, including, but not limited to,
human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or hepatitis B;
(ii) except as provided i n sections 2703 (relating
to assault by prisoner), 2703.1 (relating to aggravated
harassment by prisoner) and 2704 (relating to assault by
life prisoner); and
(iii) except that saliva expelled unintentionally
through the exercise of constitutionally protected speech
shall not be prohibited, unless the person knew, had
reason to know, should have known or believed the saliva
to have been obtained from an individual, including the
person charged under this section, infected by a
communicable disease, including, but not limited to,
human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or hepatitis B.
(b) Grading.--Aggravated assault under subsection (a)(1),
(2) and (9) is a felony of the first degree. Aggravated assault
under subsection (a)(3), (4), (5), (6), (7) and (8) is a felony
of the second degree. Aggravated assault under subsection (a)
(10) is a felony of the third degree.
* * *
(d) Definitions.--As used in this section, the following
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words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this
subsection:
"Communicable disease." An illness that is:
(1) capable of being spread to a susceptible host
through the direct or indirect transmission of an infectious
agent or its toxic product by an infected person, animal or
arthropod or through the inanimate environment; and
(2) listed under law as a disease that must be reported
to the Department of Health if discovered by a health care
provider, health care facility or clinical laboratory.
"Electric or electronic incapacitation device." A portable
device which is designed or intended by the manufacturer to be
used, offensively or defensively, to temporarily immobilize or
incapacitate persons by means of electric pulse or current,
including devices operated by means of carbon dioxide
propellant. The term does not include cattle prods, electric
fences or other electric devices when used in agricultural,
animal husbandry or food production activities.
"Emergency medical services personnel." The term includes,
but is not limited to, doctors, residents, interns, registered
nurses, licensed practical nurses, nurse aides, ambulance
attendants and operators, paramedics, emergency medical
technicians and members of a hospital security force while
working within the scope of their employment.
Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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