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Committee reclassifies discharge-of-firearm-at-train offense as Class A misdemeanor
Summary
Rep. Ryan Rose told the House committee that Senate Bill 16 modernizes an 1893 statute to update penalties for firing at or throwing objects at trains; the committee approved the bill by voice vote.
Representative Ryan Rose, R-48, told the House Public Transportation Committee that Senate Bill 16 would modernize state law on discharging a firearm at a train and related conduct and would reclassify the offense as a Class A misdemeanor.
The bill “updates penalties to reflect inflation since the law’s original passage in 1893 and aligns enforcement with modern standards,” Rose said, adding the change came from recommendations by a Game and Fish subcommittee and a Second Amendment task force reviewing firearm statutes. “The long and short of it … the fine for this crime originally was $25 to $250 and we're just aligning it with a Class A misdemeanor,” he said.
The measure, Rose said, covers the discharge of firearms and the throwing of objects at “trains, streetcars, or locomotives.” During committee questions, Representative Hall asked how often such incidents occur. Rose said they are rare but can be deadly, citing incidents in other states: “There's one incident where three trains in Pennsylvania in a close period of time were shot at, had objects thrown at them, and it ended up in the derailment of one, so people died.” He added the change aims to provide an appropriate deterrent while preserving prosecutorial discretion for lesser incidents.
No members of the public spoke for or against the bill at the committee hearing. After brief discussion, committee members approved the bill by voice vote.
Votes at this hearing were taken by voice; no roll-call tally was recorded in the transcript.
