| Passed by the House April 19, 2005 Yeas 97 ________________________________________ Speaker of the House of Representatives Passed by the Senate April 13, 2005 Yeas 44 ________________________________________ President of the Senate | I, Richard Nafziger, Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1934 as passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on the dates hereon set forth. ________________________________________ Chief Clerk | |
| Approved ________________________________________ Governor of the State of Washington | Secretary of State State of Washington |
| State of Washington | 59th Legislature | 2005 Regular Session |
READ FIRST TIME 02/28/05.
AN ACT Relating to assault of a peace officer with a projectile stun gun; amending RCW 9A.36.031 and 9A.04.110; reenacting and amending RCW 9.94A.515; creating a new section; and prescribing penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1 RCW 9A.36.031 and 1999 c 328 s 1 are each amended to read
as follows:
(1) A person is guilty of assault in the third degree if he or she,
under circumstances not amounting to assault in the first or second
degree:
(a) With intent to prevent or resist the execution of any lawful
process or mandate of any court officer or the lawful apprehension or
detention of himself or another person, assaults another; or
(b) Assaults a person employed as a transit operator or driver, the
immediate supervisor of a transit operator or driver, a mechanic, or a
security officer, by a public or private transit company or a
contracted transit service provider, while that person is performing
his or her official duties at the time of the assault; or
(c) Assaults a school bus driver, the immediate supervisor of a
driver, a mechanic, or a security officer, employed by a school
district transportation service or a private company under contract for
transportation services with a school district, while the person is
performing his or her official duties at the time of the assault; or
(d) With criminal negligence, causes bodily harm to another person
by means of a weapon or other instrument or thing likely to produce
bodily harm; or
(e) Assaults a fire fighter or other employee of a fire department,
county fire marshal's office, county fire prevention bureau, or fire
protection district who was performing his or her official duties at
the time of the assault; or
(f) With criminal negligence, causes bodily harm accompanied by
substantial pain that extends for a period sufficient to cause
considerable suffering; or
(g) Assaults a law enforcement officer or other employee of a law
enforcement agency who was performing his or her official duties at the
time of the assault; or
(h) Assaults a peace officer with a projectile stun gun; or
(i) Assaults a nurse, physician, or health care provider who was
performing his or her nursing or health care duties at the time of the
assault. For purposes of this subsection: "Nurse" means a person
licensed under chapter 18.79 RCW; "physician" means a person licensed
under chapter 18.57 or 18.71 RCW; and "health care provider" means a
person certified under chapter 18.71 or 18.73 RCW who performs
emergency medical services or a person regulated under Title 18 RCW and
employed by, or contracting with, a hospital licensed under chapter
70.41 RCW.
(2) Assault in the third degree is a class C felony.
Sec. 2 RCW 9.94A.515 and 2004 c 176 s 2 and 2004 c 94 s 3 are
each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
| TABLE 2 | ||
| CRIMES INCLUDED WITHIN EACH SERIOUSNESS LEVEL | ||
| XVI | ||
| XV | ||
| XIV | ||
| XIII | ||
| XII | ||
| XI | ||
| X | ||
| IX | ||
| VIII | ||
| VII | ||
| VI | ||
| V | ||
| IV | ||
| III | ||
| Escape 2 (RCW 9A.76.120) | ||
| II | ||
| I | ||
Sec. 3 RCW 9A.04.110 and 1988 c 158 s 1 are each amended to read
as follows:
In this title unless a different meaning plainly is required:
(1) "Acted" includes, where relevant, omitted to act;
(2) "Actor" includes, where relevant, a person failing to act;
(3) "Benefit" is any gain or advantage to the beneficiary,
including any gain or advantage to a third person pursuant to the
desire or consent of the beneficiary;
(4)(a) "Bodily injury," "physical injury," or "bodily harm" means
physical pain or injury, illness, or an impairment of physical
condition;
(b) "Substantial bodily harm" means bodily injury which involves a
temporary but substantial disfigurement, or which causes a temporary
but substantial loss or impairment of the function of any bodily part
or organ, or which causes a fracture of any bodily part;
(c) "Great bodily harm" means bodily injury which creates a
probability of death, or which causes significant serious permanent
disfigurement, or which causes a significant permanent loss or
impairment of the function of any bodily part or organ;
(5) "Building", in addition to its ordinary meaning, includes any
dwelling, fenced area, vehicle, railway car, cargo container, or any
other structure used for lodging of persons or for carrying on business
therein, or for the use, sale or deposit of goods; each unit of a
building consisting of two or more units separately secured or occupied
is a separate building;
(6) "Deadly weapon" means any explosive or loaded or unloaded
firearm, and shall include any other weapon, device, instrument,
article, or substance, including a "vehicle" as defined in this
section, which, under the circumstances in which it is used, attempted
to be used, or threatened to be used, is readily capable of causing
death or substantial bodily harm;
(7) "Dwelling" means any building or structure, though movable or
temporary, or a portion thereof, which is used or ordinarily used by a
person for lodging;
(8) "Government" includes any branch, subdivision, or agency of the
government of this state and any county, city, district, or other local
governmental unit;
(9) "Governmental function" includes any activity which a public
servant is legally authorized or permitted to undertake on behalf of a
government;
(10) "Indicted" and "indictment" include "informed against" and
"information", and "informed against" and "information" include
"indicted" and "indictment";
(11) "Judge" includes every judicial officer authorized alone or
with others, to hold or preside over a court;
(12) "Malice" and "maliciously" shall import an evil intent, wish,
or design to vex, annoy, or injure another person. Malice may be
inferred from an act done in wilful disregard of the rights of another,
or an act wrongfully done without just cause or excuse, or an act or
omission of duty betraying a wilful disregard of social duty;
(13) "Officer" and "public officer" means a person holding office
under a city, county, or state government, or the federal government
who performs a public function and in so doing is vested with the
exercise of some sovereign power of government, and includes all
assistants, deputies, clerks, and employees of any public officer and
all persons lawfully exercising or assuming to exercise any of the
powers or functions of a public officer;
(14) "Omission" means a failure to act;
(15) "Peace officer" means a duly appointed city, county, or state
law enforcement officer;
(16) "Pecuniary benefit" means any gain or advantage in the form of
money, property, commercial interest, or anything else the primary
significance of which is economic gain;
(17) "Person", "he", and "actor" include any natural person and,
where relevant, a corporation, joint stock association, or an
unincorporated association;
(18) "Place of work" includes but is not limited to all the lands
and other real property of a farm or ranch in the case of an actor who
owns, operates, or is employed to work on such a farm or ranch;
(19) "Prison" means any place designated by law for the keeping of
persons held in custody under process of law, or under lawful arrest,
including but not limited to any state correctional institution or any
county or city jail;
(20) "Prisoner" includes any person held in custody under process
of law, or under lawful arrest;
(21) "Projectile stun gun" means an electronic device that projects
wired probes attached to the device that emit an electrical charge and
that is designed and primarily employed to incapacitate a person or
animal;
(22) "Property" means anything of value, whether tangible or
intangible, real or personal;
(((22))) (23) "Public servant" means any person other than a
witness who presently occupies the position of or has been elected,
appointed, or designated to become any officer or employee of
government, including a legislator, judge, judicial officer, juror, and
any person participating as an advisor, consultant, or otherwise in
performing a governmental function;
(((23))) (24) "Signature" includes any memorandum, mark, or sign
made with intent to authenticate any instrument or writing, or the
subscription of any person thereto;
(((24))) (25) "Statute" means the Constitution or an act of the
legislature or initiative or referendum of this state;
(((25))) (26) "Threat" means to communicate, directly or indirectly
the intent:
(a) To cause bodily injury in the future to the person threatened
or to any other person; or
(b) To cause physical damage to the property of a person other than
the actor; or
(c) To subject the person threatened or any other person to
physical confinement or restraint; or
(d) To accuse any person of a crime or cause criminal charges to be
instituted against any person; or
(e) To expose a secret or publicize an asserted fact, whether true
or false, tending to subject any person to hatred, contempt, or
ridicule; or
(f) To reveal any information sought to be concealed by the person
threatened; or
(g) To testify or provide information or withhold testimony or
information with respect to another's legal claim or defense; or
(h) To take wrongful action as an official against anyone or
anything, or wrongfully withhold official action, or cause such action
or withholding; or
(i) To bring about or continue a strike, boycott, or other similar
collective action to obtain property which is not demanded or received
for the benefit of the group which the actor purports to represent; or
(j) To do any other act which is intended to harm substantially the
person threatened or another with respect to his health, safety,
business, financial condition, or personal relationships;
(((26))) (27) "Vehicle" means a "motor vehicle" as defined in the
vehicle and traffic laws, any aircraft, or any vessel equipped for
propulsion by mechanical means or by sail;
(((27))) (28) Words in the present tense shall include the future
tense; and in the masculine shall include the feminine and neuter
genders; and in the singular shall include the plural; and in the
plural shall include the singular.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4 (1) The projectile stun gun study committee
is established to review the sale and use of projectile stun guns
within Washington state. The committee shall be composed of:
(a) Two senators, one from each caucus in the senate;
(b) Two representatives, one from each caucus in the house of
representatives;
(c) One police chief appointed by the Washington association of
sheriffs and police chiefs;
(d) One elected sheriff appointed by the Washington association of
sheriffs and police chiefs;
(e) One representative appointed by the association of Washington
cities;
(f) One representative appointed by the Washington state
association of counties; and
(g) One representative appointed by the department of health.
(2) The committee shall evaluate public safety issues created by
projectile stun guns and make recommendations regarding whether they
should be regulated and, if so, how. Specifically, the committee shall
review:
(a) Public safety issues related to projectile stun guns when used
by the general public;
(b) Ownership limitations, such as age and criminal record
restrictions;
(c) The practicality of requiring criminal background checks prior
to allowing the purchase of a projectile stun gun and who would perform
such criminal background checks;
(d) Manufacturing requirements, such as voltage limits and whether
to require that projectile stun guns disperse traceable coded
materials;
(e) What use and possession limitations should be placed on
projectile stun guns;
(f) Whether mandatory training should be required to purchase a
projectile stun gun;
(g) What penalties shall be assessed to individuals that unlawfully
sell, possess, or use projectile stun guns;
(h) The feelings of the general public about the use of projectile
stun guns as an alternative to traditional firearms as means of
self-protection; and
(i) Any other issue the committee finds relevant to the regulation
of projectile stun guns in Washington.
(3) Staff support shall be provided by senate committee services
and the office of program research.
(4) Legislative members of the study committee shall be reimbursed
for travel expenses in accordance with RCW 44.04.120. Nonlegislative
members, except those representing an employer or organization, are
entitled to be reimbursed for travel expenses in accordance with RCW
43.03.050 and 43.03.060.
(5) A committee report, containing findings and proposed
legislation, if any, shall be delivered to the full legislature, not
later than December 31, 2005.