| 1 | 1 | | |
|---|
| 2 | 2 | | |
|---|
| 3 | 3 | | |
|---|
| 4 | 4 | | |
|---|
| 5 | 5 | | 2025 -- H 5262 |
|---|
| 6 | 6 | | ======== |
|---|
| 7 | 7 | | LC000926 |
|---|
| 8 | 8 | | ======== |
|---|
| 9 | 9 | | S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D |
|---|
| 10 | 10 | | IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
|---|
| 11 | 11 | | JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025 |
|---|
| 12 | 12 | | ____________ |
|---|
| 13 | 13 | | |
|---|
| 14 | 14 | | A N A C T |
|---|
| 15 | 15 | | RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- THREATS AND EXTORTION |
|---|
| 16 | 16 | | Introduced By: Representatives Noret, Cortvriend, Speakman, Donovan, Messier, |
|---|
| 17 | 17 | | Phillips, McNamara, Craven, Shallcross Smith, and Casimiro |
|---|
| 18 | 18 | | Date Introduced: January 31, 2025 |
|---|
| 19 | 19 | | Referred To: House Judiciary |
|---|
| 20 | 20 | | |
|---|
| 21 | 21 | | |
|---|
| 22 | 22 | | It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
|---|
| 23 | 23 | | SECTION 1. Section 11-42-4 of the General Laws in Chapter 11-42 entitled "Threats and 1 |
|---|
| 24 | 24 | | Extortion" is hereby amended to read as follows: 2 |
|---|
| 25 | 25 | | 11-42-4. Threats to public officials. 3 |
|---|
| 26 | 26 | | (a) Whoever knowingly and willfully delivers or conveys, directly or indirectly, a verbal 4 |
|---|
| 27 | 27 | | or written threat to take the life of, or to inflict bodily harm upon, a public official or a member of 5 |
|---|
| 28 | 28 | | his or her immediate family because of the performance or nonperformance of some public duty; 6 |
|---|
| 29 | 29 | | because of hostility of the person making the threat toward the status or position of the public 7 |
|---|
| 30 | 30 | | official; or because of some other factor related to the official’s public existence, shall be guilty of 8 |
|---|
| 31 | 31 | | a felony and shall be imprisoned for not more than five (5) years, or fined not more than five 9 |
|---|
| 32 | 32 | | thousand dollars ($5,000), or both. 10 |
|---|
| 33 | 33 | | (b) For purposes of this section: 11 |
|---|
| 34 | 34 | | (1) “Public official” means a person who is elected or appointed to office in accordance 12 |
|---|
| 35 | 35 | | with the constitution, a statute, or a city or town charter, or who is a judge, magistrate, assistant 13 |
|---|
| 36 | 36 | | attorney general, special assistant attorney general, or law enforcement officer, or in the case of 14 |
|---|
| 37 | 37 | | schools, a school superintendent, central office official, school principal, and all other school 15 |
|---|
| 38 | 38 | | employees, or in the case of an elective office, any person who has filed the required documents 16 |
|---|
| 39 | 39 | | for nomination or election to that office or who is appointed by the governor to serve as the director 17 |
|---|
| 40 | 40 | | or his or her designee of a state department that is established and the qualifications and duties of 18 |
|---|
| 41 | 41 | | which are prescribed by statute to discharge a public duty for the state of Rhode Island; 19 |
|---|
| 42 | 42 | | |
|---|
| 43 | 43 | | |
|---|
| 44 | 44 | | LC000926 - Page 2 of 3 |
|---|
| 45 | 45 | | (2) “Immediate family” means a public official’s spouse, child, or children. 1 |
|---|
| 46 | 46 | | SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. 2 |
|---|
| 47 | 47 | | ======== |
|---|
| 48 | 48 | | LC000926 |
|---|
| 49 | 49 | | ======== |
|---|
| 50 | 50 | | |
|---|
| 51 | 51 | | |
|---|
| 52 | 52 | | LC000926 - Page 3 of 3 |
|---|
| 53 | 53 | | EXPLANATION |
|---|
| 54 | 54 | | BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL |
|---|
| 55 | 55 | | OF |
|---|
| 56 | 56 | | A N A C T |
|---|
| 57 | 57 | | RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- THREATS AND EXTORTION |
|---|
| 58 | 58 | | *** |
|---|
| 59 | 59 | | This act would add school superintendents, central office officials, school principals, and 1 |
|---|
| 60 | 60 | | all other school employees, to the definition of a “public official” for purposes of the criminal 2 |
|---|
| 61 | 61 | | prohibition against making threats to public officials. 3 |
|---|
| 62 | 62 | | This act would take effect upon passage. 4 |
|---|
| 63 | 63 | | ======== |
|---|
| 64 | 64 | | LC000926 |
|---|
| 65 | 65 | | ======== |
|---|