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Committee advances measure to criminalize dangerous 'swatting' false emergency reports
Summary
The Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee voted to send RS31967 to print after sponsor Sen. Tammy Nichols said the measure would modernize Idaho law to explicitly criminalize false reports of violence or emergencies—commonly called "swatting"—and align penalties with similar offenses in code.
Boise — The Idaho Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee voted to send RS31967 to print after Sen. Tammy Nichols told the committee the measure would explicitly criminalize "swatting"—the practice of making false reports of violence or emergencies to prompt a large-scale police response.
Senator Tammy Nichols, the bill sponsor, said the proposal revises Idaho Code section 18-333 to address what she called the "dangerous and escalating issues of swatting," and would add definitions and penalties tailored to incidents that involve threats of violence or that trigger large emergency responses. "This bill is a proactive measure," Nichols said. "It ... deters false emergency reports, protect[s] the public and private safety, and prevent[s] the waste of law enforcement resources."
The bill, Nichols told the committee, aims to modernize current false‑report statutes, which she said do not sufficiently distinguish swatting from more routine false‑police‑report cases. She said the RS includes penalties "very comparable to other crimes that are similar" and that there would be no additional cost to the state. Nichols also noted a packet previously provided to the committee recording 15 swatting incidents the prior year that affected churches, businesses, synagogues and even the Capitol.
Committee members asked technical and drafting questions. Senator Ricks asked whether the current RS differed from a prior version; Nichols said the bill is "pretty much the same thing except for we did change the penalties" and that the language was refined after House concerns in the prior session. Senator Foreman asked about the use of the term "caused" in the penalty provision; Nichols responded that the language mirrors existing code for comparable crimes such as involuntary or voluntary manslaughter and was adopted for consistency.
Senator Ricks moved to send RS31967 to print; Senator Foreman seconded. The committee approved the motion by voice vote. The measure will be printed for further consideration.
The committee record does not include a roll‑call tally in transcript; the motion was approved by voice vote and recorded in the minutes as carrying.
