Rep. Norm Thurston — Voting Record

Bill

Number

H.B. 353 (2022GS)

Sponsor

Rep. Matthews, A.

Final action

Governor Signed 3/22/2022

Outcome

Became law — signed by Gov. Spencer J. Cox

Summary

What it does

• This bill:
• amends provisions and penalties relating to the offense of emergency reporting abuse; and
• makes technical and conforming changes.

Every vote on this bill

Bill text

FALSE EMERGENCY REPORTING AMENDMENTS
GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Ashlee Matthews
Senate Sponsor: 
Wayne A. Harper
Cosponsors:
Gay Lynn Bennion
Joel K. Briscoe
Jennifer Dailey-Provost
Carol Spackman Moss
Travis M. Seegmiller
Andrew Stoddard
Jordan D. Teuscher
Elizabeth Weight
Mike Winder
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill concerns the offense of emergency reporting abuse.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
▸ amends provisions and penalties relating to the offense of emergency reporting
abuse; and
▸ makes technical and conforming changes.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
76-9-202
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2017, Chapter 462
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 
76-9-202
 is amended to read:
76-9-202.
Emergency reporting -- Interference -- False report.
(1) As used in this section:
(a) "Emergency" means a situation in which property or human life is in jeopardy and
the prompt summoning of aid is essential to the preservation of human life or property.
(b) "Party line" means a subscriber's line or telephone circuit:
(i) that consists of two or more connected main telephone stations; and
(ii) where each telephone station has a distinctive ring or telephone number.
(2) [
A person
] 
An actor
 is guilty of emergency reporting abuse if the [
person
] 
actor
:
(a) intentionally refuses to yield or surrender the use of a party line or a public pay
telephone to another [
person
] 
individual
 upon being informed that the telephone is needed to
report a fire or summon police, medical, or other aid in case of emergency, unless the telephone
is likewise being used for an emergency call;
(b) asks for or requests the use of a party line or a public pay telephone on the pretext
that an emergency exists, knowing that no emergency exists;
(c) reports an emergency or causes an emergency to be reported to any public, private,
or volunteer entity whose purpose is to respond to fire, police, or medical emergencies, when
the [
person
] 
actor
 knows the reported emergency does not exist; or
(d) makes a false report, or intentionally aids, abets, or causes a third party to make a
false report, to an emergency response service, including a law enforcement dispatcher or a 911
emergency response service, if the false report claims that:
(i) an ongoing emergency exists;
(ii) the emergency described in Subsection (2)(d)(i) currently involves, or involves an
imminent threat of, serious bodily injury, serious physical injury, or death; and
(iii) the emergency described in Subsection (2)(d)(i) is occurring at a specified
location.
(3) (a) A violation of Subsection (2)(a) or (b) is a class C misdemeanor.
(b) A violation of Subsection (2)(c) is a class B misdemeanor, except as provided
under Subsection (3)(c).
(c) A violation of Subsection (2)(c) is a second degree felony if the report is regarding
a weapon of mass destruction, as defined in Section 
76-10-401
.
(d) A violation of Subsection (2)(d):
(i) except as provided in Subsection (3)(d)(ii), is a third degree felony; or
(ii) is a second degree felony if[
,
]
:
(A)
 while acting in response to the report, the emergency [
responders cause
] 
responder
causes
 physical injury to [
a person
] 
an individual
 at the location described in Subsection
(2)(d)(iii)[
.
]
; or
(B) the actor makes the false report or aids, abets, or causes a third party to make the
false report with intent to ambush, attack, or otherwise harm a responding law enforcement
officer or emergency responder.
(4) (a) In addition to any other penalty authorized by law, a court shall order [
any
person
] 
an actor
 convicted of a violation of this section to reimburse:
(i) any federal, state, or local unit of government, or any private business, organization,
individual, or entity for all expenses and losses incurred in responding to the violation; and
(ii) [
any person
] 
an individual
 described in Subsection (3)(d)(ii) for the costs for the
treatment of the physical injury and any psychological injury caused by the offense.
(b) The court may order that the defendant pay less than the full amount of the costs
described in Subsection (4)(a) only if the court states on the record the reasons why the
reimbursement would be inappropriate.