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Judiciary committee sends anti-swatting bill to Senate floor after law-enforcement testimony
Summary
The Idaho Senate Judiciary & Rules Committee voted to send Senate Bill 1019, which would create a distinct criminal offense for malicious false reports of violence or large-scale emergencies, to the full Senate with a due-pass recommendation after testimony from law enforcement and advocates.
Senate Bill 1019, a measure to criminalize and increase penalties for malicious false emergency reports commonly called "swatting," was sent to the Idaho Senate floor with a due-pass recommendation after testimony Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary & Rules Committee.
The bill’s sponsor, Senator Tammy Nichols, State Senator from District 10, told the committee the measure aims to deter false reports that prompt large emergency responses and to better protect public safety and government resources. "The primary goals in this bill is to deter false emergency reports, protecting public and private safety, and preventing the waste of law enforcement resources," Nichols said.
Committee members heard testimony from representatives of law-enforcement organizations and a policy group. Chief Tracy Pastorechaia of the Meridian Police Department, representing the Idaho Chiefs of Police Association, described swatting as a recurring and dangerous problem. "These aren't calls that are called in that this might happen. They come in as if they are occurring in real time," Pastorechaia said, adding that some jurisdictions lack the resources to verify calls before officers respond. Rex Ingram, president of the Idaho Chiefs of Police Association and Caldwell police chief, said Idaho has seen swatting incidents escalate, including calls that forced school closures and large law-enforcement deployments.
Fred Birnbaum of the Idaho Freedom Foundation said he supported the revised bill language and emphasized the importance of the bill's knowing-knowledge element in the statute. "If you look... knowing that such report is false is extended to the new section. So I think that's important," Birnbaum said.
Nichols told the committee the bill revises Idaho Code section 18-333 to explicitly address false reports of violence or emergencies in public or private places and establishes a range of penalties she said are intended to match the severity of the offense. She said the proposal does not create new state expenditures and that each swatting incident averages about $20,000 in public-cost impacts. "From 2023 through April of 2024 in Idaho, we've had 21 known incidences," Nichols said.
After public testimony and brief committee discussion, Senator Foreman moved that SB 1019 be sent to the Senate floor with a due-pass recommendation; Senator Ricks seconded the motion. The committee adopted the motion by voice vote. The meeting record does not show a roll-call tally.
The bill would make reporting or causing a false report of violence or a large-scale emergency a distinct criminal offense in state law; the committee materials and testimony referenced Idaho Code § 18-333 as the statute the bill would revise. The committee opted not to include mandatory minimum sentences, a choice witness Fred Birnbaum noted as preserving judicial discretion.
The bill now moves to the full Senate for further consideration.
