Legislature(2001 - 2002)
03/18/2002 03:38 PM Senate RES
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
SB 240-TERRORISTIC THREATENING/PIPELINE DAMAGE
CHAIRMAN TORGERSON announced SB 240 to be up for consideration.
MS. ANNIE CARPENETI, Department of Law, said that most of the
bill consists of conforming amendments. She explained:
The bill first makes conspiracy to damage an oil or gas
pipeline or a supporting facility or commit other forms
of criminal mischief in the first degree a class B
felony. It also makes conspiracy to commit terroristic
threatening in the first degree, which is added in this
bill and which prohibits sending real or imitation
chemical or biological substances and causing fear or
other harm, a Class C felony. It provides that a person
commits murder in the first degree, who commits or
attempts to commit intentional damage to an oil or gas
pipeline or supporting facilities and in the course of
the offense or in the immediate flight from the offense
another person is killed it provides that that person
commits murder in the first degree. These levels would
probably be murder in the second degree under existing
law because it would be committing a knowing act with
disregard of the consequences, but this raises them to
murder in the first degree. It does the same thing -
provides that person commits murder in the first degree
or who attempts to commit terroristic threatening in
the first degree by sending a real or imitation
chemical or biological substance and causing fear or
other harm. It raises the crime of intentionally
causing damage to an oil or gas pipeline from a class B
felony to a class A felony. In those levels, the
maximum penalties for a class B felony [are] 10 years
incarceration and, for a class A felony, it is 20 years
incarceration.
It also raises tampering with an oil or gas pipeline or
supporting facility from a class C felony to a class B
felony. A class C felony has a maximum term of
imprisonment of five years. It adds tampering with the
water supply or air, atmosphere, with intent to cause
physical injury to criminal mischief in the first
degree. Current law prohibits tampering with food
supply, cosmetics or drugs with the intent to cause
physical injury to another. This adds tampering with
water or with air.
It makes a class B felony to send a real or an
imitation biological substance with intent to frighten
people or cause serious public inconvenience. Depending
on the circumstances under current law this would
either not be a crime or it would be a class C felony.
It also adds to terroristic threatening in current law,
which would be changed to second degree terroristic
threatening conduct, such as making a false report that
anthrax or another type of biological or chemical
substance is being mailed and thus causing public
inconvenience or fear. It also adds to terroristic
threatening in the second degree making threats against
an oil or a gas pipeline. So, those are the major
highlights of what it does to Title 11.
There are a number of conforming amendments. The bill,
when it was originally introduced, made intentional
damage to an oil or gas pipeline a separate offense, a
class A felony. Senate State Affairs decided that they
preferred making criminal mischief in the first degree
all forms of that conduct - changing it from a class B
to a class A felony - which then necessitated changing
all of the other forms of criminal mischief so that
now, under this version of the bill, there are five
levels of criminal mischief. Although the main changes
are the ones at the high end, making intentional damage
to an oil or gas pipeline and similar activities. Under
that section, a class A felony rather than a class B
felony.
SENATOR TAYLOR asked, regarding sections 21 and 22, if they
picked up domestic violence when they notched everything up.
MS. CARPENETI replied that section 21 is for victim and witness
confidentiality. It adds terroristic threatening to those crimes
where if a victim wants his or her identity and phone number and
address kept confidential and the defendant is representing him
or herself, they have to have some sort of procedures so that...
[THE TELECONFERENCING WAS CUT OFF AT THIS POINT AND SOME
TESTIMONY WAS MISSED.]
SENATOR TAYLOR moved to pass CSSB 240(STA) from committee with
individual recommendations. There were no objections and it was
so ordered.
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