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Representative Edwards urges felony penalties for 'swatting,' seeks hearing for HB 3935
Summary
On the House floor Representative Edwards described swatting as a serious public-safety threat and urged the Legislature to hear House Bill 3935, which would allow certain false-reporting offenses to be charged as felonies rather than misdemeanors.
Representative Edwards addressed the Oregon House of Representatives during a floor remonstrance and urged lawmakers to schedule a hearing on House Bill 3935, legislation that would increase penalties for certain false emergency reports commonly known as "swatting."
"It is not a prank. It is called swatting," Representative Edwards said, describing incidents in which false, detailed reports prompt armed law-enforcement responses that can injure, traumatize or kill innocent people. Edwards told colleagues the current statute in Oregon allows false reporting to be charged as a misdemeanor even when someone is killed as a direct result and said HB 3935 would align Oregon with states such as California and Washington by allowing certain false-reporting offenses to be charged as felonies.
In his floor remarks, Edwards described how swatting can include fabricated claims of bombs or active shooters, divert emergency resources from real incidents and put both officers and the public at risk. He said swatting has targeted a range of locations, including schools, places of worship and the homes of public officials, and argued that adults who knowingly make false reports that cause injury or target protected locations should face felony charges. "This bipartisan bill deserves a hearing because everyday delay puts lives at risk and wastes emergency resources," Edwards said.
The speech was a floor appeal for committee action; the transcript records no formal motion or committee referral for HB 3935 during the same session excerpt. Edwards framed the issue as a public-safety and resource-allocation problem and recommended the Legislature act promptly to change the criminal classification for certain false-reporting offenses.
Representative Edwards's remarks drew no recorded vote in the transcript excerpt; the record shows his request for a hearing but does not indicate whether a committee scheduled one before adjournment.
Representative Edwards is identified in the floor transcript only by title and last name; the transcript excerpt does not include a bill text or committee response in this session's excerpt.
