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Committee approves bill adding code-enforcement officers to assault protections for public-safety inspectors, staff to review cross-references
Summary
HB 483 adds code-enforcement officers to a statutory list of public-safety officers who receive enhanced penalties for assaulting an inspector; committee members asked staff to review cross-references because the change could affect other code sections.
Representative Prince presented House Bill 483, which extends statutory protections and enhanced penalties for assaulting utility workers and public safety inspectors to include code-enforcement officers. The sponsor said the bill is largely an insertion of code-enforcement officers into existing public-safety protections previously enacted for utility workers. (Representative Prince.)
Committee members and counsel raised a technical concern: inserting "code enforcement officer" into the public-safety officer definition may create cross-reference changes elsewhere in the code where "public safety officer" carries other certification requirements (for example, POST) or triggers additional obligations. Committee counsel recommended reviewing related code sections to ensure the change does not unintentionally broaden requirements or certification obligations. Representative Prince said he was open to adjustments and asked staff to identify cross-references for cleanup. (Committee discussion.)
Members voted to pass HB 483 out of committee, and the chair directed staff and counsel to identify and fix any unintended cross-references before the bill continues to the next stage.
