HB 1938-S - DIGEST

 

                (SUBSTITUTED FOR - SEE 2ND SUB)

 

     Prescribes penalties for sabotage resulting in damage to land, facilities, and property.

     Finds that state, federal, and private facilities increasingly are becoming the target of terrorist activities.  Timber and mining companies, fur farms, recreational, residential, commercial, and industrial development, university research facilities, animal and biotechnology research laboratories, and commercial and private animal production facilities have become targets in a campaign of intimidation, obstruction, and terrorism aimed at the closing of these facilities or industries.

     Declares that these actions are not only illegal but impose extreme suffering and loss on individuals, families, businesses, and communities and pose a serious threat to human life.

     Provides that every person who injures, interferes with, interrupts, intimidates, obstructs, or threatens to injure, interfere with, interrupt, intimidate, or obstruct employees or other authorized persons associated with any research or scientific investigation conducted by a university, private research facility, or a biotechnology laboratory is liable to the injured party for treble the amount of the damages caused by the injury, interference, interruption, intimidation, obstruction, or threat.

     Provides that, whoever, with intent that his or her act shall, or with reason to believe that it may, injure, interfere with, interrupt, supplant, nullify, impair, intimidate, or obstruct employees or other authorized persons associated with any research or scientific investigation conducted by a university or private research facility or biotechnology laboratory, shall willfully injure or intimidate, or threaten to injure or intimidate, employees or other authorized persons associated with any research or scientific investigation conducted by a university or private research facility or biotechnology laboratory, shall be guilty of criminal sabotage.

     Declares that criminal sabotage is a felony.