PRINTER'S NO. 3820
No. 2770 Session of 1998
INTRODUCED BY DENT, ARGALL, BATTISTO, BEBKO-JONES, BENNINGHOFF,
BOSCOLA, BROWNE, CLYMER, M. COHEN, DALEY, GEIST, GIGLIOTTI,
GRUPPO, HARHAI, HENNESSEY, MAITLAND, MARSICO, McNAUGHTON,
OLASZ, ORIE, READSHAW, ROSS, SAYLOR, SCHRODER, E. Z. TAYLOR,
TRELLO, M. N. WRIGHT, DALLY, SATHER, EGOLF, MELIO,
C. WILLIAMS, ADOLPH, BARD AND YOUNGBLOOD, SEPTEMBER 14, 1998
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1998
AN ACT
1 Amending Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) of the Pennsylvania
2 Consolidated Statutes, further providing for terroristic
3 threats and for harassment and stalking.
4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5 hereby enacts as follows:
6 Section 1. Section 2706(a) of Title 18 of the Pennsylvania
7 Consolidated Statutes, amended June 18, 1998 (P.L.534, No.76),
8 is amended to read:
9 § 2706. Terroristic threats.
10 (a) Offense defined.--A person is guilty of a misdemeanor of
11 the first degree if he threatens [to commit any crime of
12 violence with intent to terrorize another or to cause evacuation
13 of a building, place of assembly, or facility of public
14 transportation, or otherwise to cause serious public
15 inconvenience, or in reckless disregard of the risk of causing
16 such terror or inconvenience.] in person, by telephone, in
1 writing, electronically, including, but not limited to,
2 electronic mail and communications via the Internet, facsimilie
3 transmission, telex or other similar transmission:
4 (1) to commit any crime of violence against another
5 person which is directly or indirectly received by the other
6 person and which causes annoyance or alarm to the other
7 person; or
8 (2) to commit any crime of violence which causes
9 evacuation of a building, place of assembly or facility of
10 public transportation, or otherwise to cause serious public
11 inconvenience.
12 * * *
13 Section 2. Section 2709(a) of Title 18 is amended to read:
14 § 2709. Harassment and stalking.
15 (a) Harassment.--A person commits the crime of harassment
16 when, with intent to harass, annoy or alarm another person:
17 (1) he strikes, shoves, kicks or otherwise subjects him
18 to physical contact, or attempts or threatens to do the same;
19 or
20 (2) he follows a person in or about a public place or
21 places; or
22 (3) he engages in a course of conduct or repeatedly
23 commits acts which alarm or seriously annoy such other person
24 and which serve no legitimate purpose[.], including, but not
25 limited to:
26 (i) communicating in person, by telephone, in
27 writing or by electronic mail, facsimilie transmission,
28 telex or other similar transmission to or about such
29 other person using any lewd, lascivious, threatening or
30 indecent words, language, drawings or caricatures; and
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1 (ii) communicating anonymously or repeatedly with
2 another person, using any of the means identified in this
3 paragraph.
4 * * *
5 Section 3. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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