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Committee advances Senate Bill 18 to criminalize ‘swatting’ as fourth-degree felony
Summary
The Senate Judiciary Committee gave a due-pass recommendation to a committee substitute for Senate Bill 18, which isolates “swatting” into the false-reporting section of law and makes the conduct a fourth-degree felony; committee members noted the change separates swatting from other false-reporting provisions.
Senate Judiciary Committee members advanced a committee substitute for Senate Bill 18 on a due-pass recommendation after brief discussion Tuesday.
Senator Brandt, who presented the measure, said the bill now focuses only on “swatting” and moves the offense into the false-reporting section of law. "Swatting is when, you know, they call law enforcement or 911 and say that they heard gunshots in someone's home ... to get a response from a SWAT team," Brandt said. The substitute makes the conduct described in subsection B a fourth-degree felony.
The committee recorded no public sign-ups for or against the bill. A committee member moved "do not pass on senate bill 18 and a do pass for discussion on senate judiciary committee substitute for senate bill 18," and the chair asked for objections. With none raised, the committee announced the substitute has a due-pass recommendation.
Why it matters: lawmakers said the committee substitute separates traditional false-reporting offenses (handled as misdemeanors) from the more dangerous and purposeful practice of swatting, which seeks to provoke armed emergency responses and carries greater public-safety risk.
Next steps: the committee will forward the committee substitute to the next stage with a due-pass recommendation; no floor vote or effective date was recorded in the transcript.
