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House panel advances bill making intentional disruption of worship a felony after heated debate
Summary
A House committee advanced HB363, which would make knowingly entering a church to disrupt worship a class C felony for specified misdemeanors; prosecutors said intent-based elements would narrow application but several members warned the change could chill speech and complicate prosecution.
A House committee voted to advance HB363 after extended debate over whether elevating certain misdemeanors to a class C felony is the right enforcement approach for disruptions of worship.
Representative Barnes, sponsor of the bill, presented a substituted version that narrows the statute to apply when a person knowingly enters church property "with the intent to disrupt the worship service," and makes specified underlying offenses — riot, disorderly conduct and harassment — felonies if committed with that intent. Katie Langer of the Office of Prosecution Services told the committee the bill "takes existing crimes...and it says that if you enter a church building or church property with the intent to do those things, it then would elevate it...to a C felony." She described the change as elevating certain misdemeanors to felonies when the actor's intent is to disrupt worship.
Committee members pressed on practical and constitutional implications. Representative England and others asked who would determine what constitutes "abusive or obscene language" or political speech inside a church; England warned that converting disorderly conduct to a felony risks chilling protected expression and could shift enforcement dynamics. Representative Faulkner said in some cases raising penalties from misdemeanor to felony could make timely prosecution less likely because the felony process often slows cases and requires grand-jury presentation, potentially working against the bill’s stated deterrent goal.
Sponsor and prosecutors said intent is the key limiting element and argued the law is tailored to outsiders who go to churches specifically to disrupt services rather than intra-church disputes. Representative Chestnut raised hypotheticals about intra-church disagreements; prosecutors replied the bill requires proof the defendant entered with the intent to disrupt, analogous to burglary’s intent element.
The committee adopted a short amendment to clarify language and proceeded to a roll-call vote. The chair announced the motion carried and the bill received a favorable report; the transcript records a roll-call tally with multiple yes and no votes (roll-call recorded in committee transcript).
The bill will next follow the House procedures for bills reported favorably out of committee.
Sources: Sponsor presentation, Office of Prosecution Services testimony, committee roll-call vote.
