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.