2019 -- H 5085

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LC000194

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2019

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS - 911 EMERGENCY TELEPHONE

NUMBER ACT

     Introduced By: Representatives Lombardi, Cassar, Hull, and Walsh

     Date Introduced: January 10, 2019

     Referred To: House Judiciary

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Section 39-21.1-16 of the General Laws in Chapter 39-21.1 entitled "911

Emergency Telephone Number Act" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     39-21.1-16. Providing false information.

     (a) No person shall call or otherwise cause the number nine-one-one (911) to be called

for the purpose of knowingly making a false alarm or complaint or reporting false information

which could result in the dispatch of emergency services from any public agency as defined in §

39-21.1-3(6) of this chapter. Any person violating the provisions of this section, upon conviction,

shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars

($1,000) or imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or both.

     (b) Any person who reports, or causes any report to be made, to any city, town, state

department, district, agency, division, commission, or board, that an "emergency" exists, who

knows that the report is false, and who knows or should know that the response to the report is

likely to cause death or serious bodily injury, and serious bodily injury or death is sustained by

any person as a result of the false report, is guilty of a felony, and upon conviction shall be

punished by imprisonment for not less than sixteen (16) months, nor more than three (3) years, or

by a fine of not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or both.

     (c) "Emergency" as used in this section means any condition that results in, or could

result in, the response of a public official in an authorized emergency vehicle, aircraft, or vessel,

any condition that jeopardizes or could jeopardize public safety and results in, or could result in,

the evacuation of any area, building, structure, vehicle, or of any other place that any individual

may enter, or any situation that results in or could result in activation of the Rhode Island

America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response Plan (Amber Alert/Senior Citizen Alert)

pursuant to §§ 42-28-3.1 and 42-28-3.3. An activation or possible activation of the Rhode Island

America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response Plan (Amber Alert/Senior Citizen Alert)

pursuant to §§ 42-28-3.1 and 42-28-3.3 shall not constitute an "emergency" for purposes of this

section if it occurs as the result of a report made or caused to be made by a parent, guardian, or

lawful custodian of a child or senior citizen that is based on a good faith belief that the child or

the senior citizen are missing.

     (d) Nothing in this section precludes punishment for the conduct described in subsection

(a) or (b) of this section under any other provision of the general law providing for greater

punishment for that conduct.

     (e) Any individual convicted of violating this section, based upon a report that resulted in

an emergency response, is liable to the city, town, state department, district, agency, division,

commission, board or public agency for the reasonable costs of the emergency response by that

public agency.

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS - 911 EMERGENCY TELEPHONE

NUMBER ACT

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     This act would make knowingly filing a false alarm or reporting false information using

the 911 emergency telephone number a felony when the individual knows the report is false and

knows or should know that the emergency response is likely to and does cause death or serious

bodily injury as a result of the report punishable by imprisonment of not less than sixteen (16)

months nor more than three (3) years, or by a fine of not more than ten thousand dollars

($10,000).

     The act would make any individual convicted of violating this section resulting in an

emergency response liable to a public agency for the reasonable costs of the emergency response.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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