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Sub. H. B. No. 411As Reported by the House Criminal Justice CommitteeAs Reported by the House Criminal Justice Committee
124th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2001-2002 |
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REPRESENTATIVES White, Clancy, Husted, Setzer, Carmichael, Collier, Faber, Grendell, Hughes, Latta, Metzger, McGregor, Olman, Reidelbach, Roman, Salerno, Schmidt, Schaffer, G. Smith, Williams, Wolpert, Boccieri, Britton, Carano, Cirelli, Distel, Ford, Otterman, Rhine, Seaver, Sferra, Wilson, Womer Benjamin, Sulzer, Seitz, Brown
A BILL
To amend sections 2917.31 and 2917.32 and to enact
section 2917.33 of the Revised
Code to increase the
penalties for inducing panic and making false
alarms involving a purported, threatened, or actual
use
of a weapon of mass destruction
and to prohibit
unlawful possession or use of a
hoax weapon of mass
destruction.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 2917.31 and 2917.32 be amended and
section 2917.33 of the Revised
Code be enacted to read as follows:
Sec. 2917.31. (A) No person shall cause the evacuation of
any public place, or otherwise cause serious public inconvenience
or alarm, by doing any of the following: (1) Initiating or circulating a report or warning of an
alleged or impending fire, explosion, crime, or other
catastrophe,
knowing that such report or warning is false; (2) Threatening to commit any offense of violence; (3) Committing any offense, with reckless disregard of the
likelihood that its commission will cause serious public
inconvenience or alarm. (B) Division (A)(1) of this section does not apply to any
person conducting an authorized fire or emergency drill. (C)(1) Whoever violates this section is guilty of inducing
panic.
(2) Except as otherwise provided in division
(C)(3), (4),
or
(5), (6), (7), (8), or (9) of this section, inducing panic is
a
misdemeanor of
the first degree.
(3)
Except as otherwise provided in division (C)(4)
or, (5),
(6), (7), (8), or (9) of this section, if a violation of this
section
results in physical harm to any person, inducing panic is
a felony
of the fourth degree.
(4) Except as otherwise provided in division (C)(5), (6),
(7), (8), or (9) of
this section, if a violation of this section
results in economic
harm, the
penalty shall be determined as
follows: (a) If the violation results in
economic harm of five
hundred dollars or more but less than five thousand
dollars and if
division
(C)(3) of this
section
does
not apply,
inducing panic is
a felony of the
fifth degree.
(b) If the violation results in economic harm of five
thousand dollars
or more but less
than one hundred thousand
dollars,
inducing panic is a felony of the fourth
degree.
(c) If the violation results in economic harm
of one hundred
thousand dollars or more, inducing panic is a felony of the third
degree. (5)(a) Except as otherwise provided in division
(C)(5)(b)
or
(c)(6), (7), (8), or (9) of this section, if the public
place
involved
in a
violation of division (A)(1) of this section is a
school,
the
penalty shall be determined as follows: (a) Except as otherwise provided in division (C)(5)(b) or (c)
of this section, inducing
panic
is a felony of the fourth degree. (b)
If
the public place involved in a violation of
division
(A)(1) of this section is a school and if the violation
results in
physical harm to any person
and if division (C)(5)(c)(iii) of this
section does not apply, inducing panic is a felony
of the
third
degree. (c)
If
the public place involved in a violation of division
(A)(1) of this section is a school and if the violation results in
economic harm, the penalty shall be determined as follows: (i) If the violation results in economic harm of five
hundred
dollars or more but less than five thousand dollars and if
division
(C)(5)(b) of this
section
does
not apply,
inducing
panic
is a felony of the
fourth
degree. (ii) If the violation results in economic harm of five
thousand
dollars or more but less than one hundred thousand
dollars, inducing panic is
a felony of the third degree. (iii) If the violation results in economic harm of one
hundred
thousand dollars or more, inducing panic is a felony of
the second degree.
(6) If the violation pertains to a purported, threatened, or
actual use of a weapon of mass destruction, and except as
otherwise provided in division (C)(7),
(8), or (9) of this
section,
inducing panic is a felony of the fourth
degree. (7) If the violation pertains to a purported, threatened, or
actual use of a weapon of mass destruction, and except as
otherwise provided in division
(C)(9)(a) or (c) of this section,
if a
violation of this section results
in physical harm to any
person,
inducing panic is a felony of the
third degree. (8) If the violation pertains to a purported, threatened, or
actual use of a weapon of mass destruction, and except as
otherwise provided in division (C)(9)(a) or (c) of this section,
if a violation of this section results in economic harm of one
hundred thousand dollars or more, inducing panic is a felony of
the third degree.
(9)(a) If the public place involved in a violation of
division (A)(1) of this section is a school, if the violation
pertains to a purported, threatened, or actual use of a weapon of
mass destruction, and if the
violation results in physical harm to
any person, inducing panic
is a felony of the second degree. (b) If the public place involved in a violation of division
(A)(1) of this section is a school, if the violation pertains to a
purported, threatened, or actual use of a weapon of mass
destruction, and if the violation results in economic harm of five
thousand dollars or more but less than one hundred thousand
dollars, and if division (C)(9)(a) of this section does not apply,
inducing panic is a felony of the third degree.
(c)
If the public place involved in a violation of division
(A)(1) of this section is a school, if the violation pertains to a
purported, threatened, or actual use of a weapon of mass
destruction, and if the violation
results in economic harm of one
hundred thousand dollars or more, inducing
panic is a felony of
the
second degree. (D)(1) It is not a defense to a
charge under this section
that pertains to a purported or
threatened use of a weapon of mass
destruction that the offender
did not possess or have the ability
to use a weapon of mass
destruction or that what was represented
to be a weapon of mass
destruction was not a weapon of mass
destruction. (2) Any act that is a violation of this section and any
other section of the Revised Code may be prosecuted under this
section, the other section, or both sections. (E) As used in this section: (1) "Economic harm" means all direct, incidental,
and
consequential pecuniary harm suffered by a victim as a result of
criminal
conduct. "Economic harm" includes, but is not limited
to, all of the
following: (a) All wages, salaries, or other compensation lost as a
result of the
criminal conduct; (b) The cost of all wages, salaries, or other compensation
paid
to employees for time those employees are prevented from
working
as a result of the criminal conduct; (c) The overhead costs incurred for the time that a
business
is shut down as a result of the criminal conduct; (d) The loss of value to tangible or intangible property
that was damaged as a result of the criminal conduct. (2) "School" means any school operated
by a board of
education or any school for which the state board of education
prescribes minimum standards under
section 3301.07 of the Revised
Code, whether or not any
instruction, extracurricular activities,
or training provided by the school is
being conducted at the time
a violation of this section is committed.
(3) "Weapon of mass destruction" means any of the following: (a) Any weapon that is designed or intended to cause death
or serious physical harm through the release, dissemination, or
impact of toxic or poisonous chemicals, or their precursors; (b) Any weapon involving a disease organism or biological
agent; (c) Any weapon that is designed to release radiation or
radioactivity at a level dangerous to human life; (d) Any of the following, except to the extent that the item
or device in question is expressly excepted from the definition of
"destructive device" pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(4) and
regulations issued under that section: (i) Any explosive, incendiary, or poison gas bomb, grenade,
rocket having a propellant charge of more than four ounces,
missile having an explosive or incendiary charge of more than
one-quarter ounce, mine, or similar device; (ii) Any combination of parts either designed or intended
for
use in converting any item or device into any item or device
described in division (E)(3)(d)(i) of this section and
from which
an item or device described in that division may be readily
assembled. (4) "Biological agent" has the same meaning as in section
2917.33 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 2917.32. (A) No person shall do any of the
following: (1) Initiate or circulate a report or warning of an
alleged
or impending fire, explosion, crime, or other
catastrophe, knowing
that the report or warning is false and
likely to cause public
inconvenience or alarm; (2) Knowingly cause a false alarm of fire or other
emergency
to be transmitted to or within any organization, public
or
private, for dealing with emergencies involving a risk of
physical
harm to persons or property; (3) Report to any law enforcement agency an alleged
offense
or other incident within its concern, knowing that such
offense
did not occur. (B) This section does not apply to any person conducting
an
authorized fire or emergency drill. (C)(1) Whoever violates this section is guilty of making
false alarms.
Except
(2) Except
as otherwise provided in
this
division
(C)(3),
(4), (5), or (6) of this section, making false alarms is a
misdemeanor of the first degree.
If (3) Except as otherwise provided in division (C)(4) of this
section, if a violation of this section results in economic harm
of five hundred dollars
or more but less than five thousand
dollars, making false alarms is a felony
of the fifth degree.
If (4) If a violation of this section pertains to a
purported,
threatened, or actual use of a weapon of mass
destruction, making
false alarms is a felony of the
third degree. (5) If
a violation of this section results in economic harm
of five thousand dollars or more but less than one hundred
thousand dollars
and if division (C)(4) of this section does not
apply,
making false alarms is a felony of the fourth
degree.
If
(6) If
a violation of this
section results in economic harm
of one hundred thousand dollars or more,
making false alarms is a
felony of the third degree. (D)(1) It is not a defense to a
charge under this section
that pertains to a purported or
threatened use of a weapon of mass
destruction that the offender
did not possess or have the ability
to use a weapon of mass
destruction or that what was represented
to be a weapon of mass
destruction was not a weapon of mass
destruction.
(2) Any act that is a violation of this section and any
other section of the Revised Code may be prosecuted under this
section, the other section, or both sections.
(E) As used in this section, "economic harm"
means all
direct, incidental,
and
consequential pecuniary harm suffered by a
victim as a result of
criminal
conduct. "Economic harm" includes,
but is not limited
to, all of the
following: (1) All wages, salaries, or other compensation lost as a
result of the
criminal conduct; (2) The cost of all wages, salaries, or other compensation
paid to employees
for time those employees are prevented from
working as a result of the
criminal conduct; (3) The overhead costs incurred for the time that a business
is shut down as
a result of the criminal conduct; (4) The loss of value to tangible or intangible property
that was
damaged as a result of the criminal conduct
and "weapon
of mass destruction" have the
same meanings as in section 2917.31
of the Revised Code.
Sec. 2917.33. (A) No person, without privilege to do so,
shall manufacture, possess, sell, deliver, display, use, threaten
to use, attempt to use, conspire to use, or make readily
accessible to others a hoax weapon of mass destruction with the
intent to deceive or otherwise mislead one or more persons into
believing that the hoax weapon of mass destruction will cause
terror, bodily harm, or property damage. (B) This section does not apply to any member or employee of
the armed forces of the United States, a governmental agency of
this state, another state, or the United States, or a private
entity, to whom all of the following apply: (1) The member or employee otherwise is engaged in lawful
activity within the scope of the member's or employee's duties or
employment. (2) The member or employee otherwise is duly authorized or
licensed to manufacture, possess, sell, deliver, display, or
otherwise engage in activity as described in division (A) of this
section. (3) The member or employee is in compliance with applicable
federal and state law. (C) Whoever violates this section is guilty of unlawful
possession or use of a hoax weapon of mass destruction, a felony
of the fourth degree. (D) Any act that is a violation of this section and any
other section of the Revised Code may be prosecuted under this
section, the other section, or both sections. (E) As used in this section: (1) "Hoax weapon of mass destruction" means any device or
object that by its design, construction, content, or
characteristics appears to be, appears to constitute, or appears
to contain, or is
represented as being, constituting, or
containing, a weapon of
mass destruction and to which either of
the following applies: (a) It is, in fact, an inoperative facsimile, imitation,
counterfeit, or representation of a weapon of mass destruction
that does not meet the definition of a weapon of mass destruction. (b) It does not actually contain or constitute a weapon,
biological agent, toxin, vector, or delivery system. (2) "Biological agent" means any microorganism, virus,
infectious substance, or biological product that may be engineered
through biotechnology, or any naturally occurring or bioengineered
component of any microorganism, virus, infectious substance, or
biological product that may be engineered through biotechnology,
capable of causing any of the following: (a) Death, disease, or other biological malfunction in a
human, an animal, a plant, or another living organism;
(b) Deterioration of food, water, equipment, supplies, or
material of any kind; (c) Deleterious alteration of the environment. (3) "Toxin" means the toxic material of plants, animals,
microorganisms, viruses, fungi, or infectious substances or a
recombinant molecule, whatever its origin or method of
reproduction, including, but not limited to, any of the following: (a) Any poisonous substance or biological product that may
be engineered through biotechnology and that is produced by a
living organism; (b) Any poisonous isomer or biological product, homolog, or
derivative of any substance or product described in division
(D)(3)(a) of this section. (4) "Delivery system" means any of the following: (a) Any apparatus, equipment, device, or means of delivery
specifically designed to deliver or disseminate a biological
agent, toxin, or vector; (5) "Vector" means a living organism or molecule, including
a recombinant molecule or biological product that may be
engineered through biotechnology, capable of carrying a biological
agent or toxin to a host. (6) "Weapon of mass destruction" has the same meaning as in
section 2917.31 of the Revised Code.
Section 2. That existing sections 2917.31 and 2917.32 of the
Revised Code are hereby repealed.
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