Bill H.1899

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2823 FILED ON: 2/18/2021

HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1899

By Ms. Tyler of Boston, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1899) of Chynah Tyler and Bud L. Williams relative to false reporting of emergencies. The Judiciary.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Second General Court
(2021-2022)

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An Act relative to false reporting of an emergency.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

Section 14B of Chapter 269 of the Massachusetts General Laws is hereby amended by 2 striking the section in its entirety and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 14B. Willful and malicious communication of false information to public safety 4 answering points; penalty; restitution

As used in this section, the following words shall have the following meanings:--

“Emergency response services provider”, a police department, fire department, 7 emergency medical service provider, PSAP, public safety department, private safety department

or other public safety agency.

“PSAP”, a facility assigned the responsibility of receiving 911 calls and, as appropriate,

directly dispatching emergency response services or transferring or relaying emergency 911 calls

to other public or private safety agencies or other PSAPs.

“Silent call”, a call or other communication made to a PSAP in which the initiating party

fails to provide information regarding his or her identity or location or the nature of the

emergency. The initiating party shall not be considered to have provided any information that is

automatically transmitted by a communication device or network upon connection with a PSAP

including, but not be limited to, automatic location information and automatic number

information.

“Emergency”, a condition or situation in which an individual has a need for an

emergency response services provider or immediate medical attention, or where the potential for

such need is perceived by the individual, a bystander or an emergency medical services provider.

“ Substantial bodily injury” bodily injury which creates a permanent disfigurement,

protracted loss or impairment of a function of a body member, limb or organ, or substantial risk

of death.

(a) Any person who willfully and maliciously communicates with a PSAP, or an

emergency response services provider, or causes a communication to be made to a PSAP, which

communication transmits information which the person knows or has reason to know that it is a

false report and which results in the dispatch of emergency services to a nonexistent emergency

or to the wrong location of an actual emergency is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction

shall be punishable by imprisonment in a jail or house of correction for not more than 6 months,

or by a fine of not more than two hundred ($200), or by both such fine and imprisonment.;

(b) Any person who willfully and maliciously, makes or causes a second or sub-sequent

false report(s) to be made or a second or subsequent silent call(s) to be made to any PSAP and

thereby causes emergency services to be dispatched, shall be punishable by imprisonment in the

house of correction for not more than 1 year or by a fine of not more than $1,000.

emergency response services provider, or causes a communication to be made to a PSAP, or an

emergency services provider, which communication transmits information which the person

knows or has reason to know that it is a false report and which results in the dispatch of

emergency services to a nonexistent emergency or to the wrong location of an actual emergency,

who knows or should know, or recklessly disregards that the response to the report is likely to

cause great bodily harm or death, and death or great bodily harm is sustained by any individual

as a result of the false report, is guilty of a felony and upon conviction shall be punishable by

imprisonment in the state prison for not more than 5 years or in the house of correction for not

more than 2 ½ years, or by a fine of not more than five thousand ($5,000), or by both that fine

and imprisonment.

(d) Any person who willfully and maliciously communicates with a PSAP, or an

emergency response services provider, or causes a communication to be made to a PSAP, or an

emergency services provider, which communication transmits information which the person

knows or has reason to know that it is a false report and which results in the dispatch of

emergency services to a nonexistent emergency, where the report was motivated by bigotry and

bias including, but not limited to, a threatened, attempted or completed overt act motivated at

least in part by racial, religious, ethnic, handicap, gender, gender identity or sexual orientation

prejudice, or which otherwise deprives another person of their constitutional rights by threats,

intimidation or coercion, or which seek to interfere with or disrupt a person's exercise of

constitutional rights through harassment or intimidation, is guilty of a misdemeanor and if

convicted shall be punished by imprisonment up to 2 ½ years in a jail, or a fine up to five

thousand ($5,000), or by both imprisonment and fine. A person convicted of this section shall

also complete a diversity awareness program designed by the secretary of the executive office of

public safety in consultation with the Massachusetts commission against discrimination and

approved by the chief justice of the trial court. A person convicted shall complete such program

prior to release from incarceration or prior to completion of the terms of probation, whichever is

applicable.

(e) Any person who willfully and maliciously communicates with a PSAP, or an

emergency response services provider, or causes a communication to be made to a PSAP, or an

emergency services provider, which communication transmits information, which the person

knows, or has reason to know that it is a false report, and which results in the dispatch of

emergency services to a nonexistent emergency, where the report was motivated by bigotry and

bias including, but not limited to, a threatened, attempted or completed overt act motivated at

least in part by racial, religious, ethnic, handicap, gender, gender identity or sexual orientation

prejudice, or which otherwise deprives another person of their constitutional rights by threats,

intimidation or coercion, or which seek to interfere with or disrupt a person's exercise of

constitutional rights through harassment or intimidation, that is likely to cause great bodily harm

or death is guilty of a felony and if convicted shall be punished by a fine of not more than ten

thousand ($10,000) or by imprisonment for not more than ten years, or by both imprisonment

and fine. A person convicted shall also complete a diversity awareness program designed by the

secretary of the executive office of public safety in consultation with the Massachusetts

commission against discrimination and approved by the chief justice of the trial court. A person

convicted shall complete such program prior to release from incarceration or prior to completion

of the terms of probation, whichever is applicable.

(f) Upon any conviction under this section, the court shall conduct a hearing to ascertain

the ex-tent of costs incurred, and damages and financial loss sustained by any emergency

response services provider as a result of the violation and shall order the defendant to make

restitution to the emergency response services provider or providers for any such costs, damages

or loss. The court shall consider the defendant's present and future ability to pay restitution in its

de-terminations relative to the imposition of a fine. In determining the amount, time and method

of payment of restitution, the court shall consider the defendant’s employment status, earning

ability, financial resources, living expenses, dependents and any special circumstances that may

have bearing on their ability to pay. The court may waive restitution or modify the amount, time

or method of payment if such restitution payment would cause a substantial financial hardship to

the defendant or the defendant’s immediate family or the defendant’s dependents.

(g) Any individual who was the target of a false report in violation of any of these

sections, may bring a civil action against the person who violated this act or any other individual

that knowingly benefits financially or receiving anything of value in result of the false

emergency, and may recover damages or any other appropriate relief, which may include

attorney’s fees. If a victim of a false emergency call suffers a financial loss, then a judge can and

may order restitution.

Name:	District/Address:	Date Added:
Chynah Tyler	7th Suffolk	2/17/2021
Bud L. Williams	11th Hampden	3/15/2021