BILL REQ. #:  H-1310.1 

Read first time 01/29/09.   Referred to Committee on Public Safety & Emergency Preparedness.

     AN ACT Relating to protecting persons with disabilities from harassment; and amending RCW 9A.46.020.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1   RCW 9A.46.020 and 2003 c 53 s 69 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) A person is guilty of harassment if:
     (a) Without lawful authority, the person knowingly threatens:
     (i) To cause bodily injury immediately or in the future to the person threatened or to any other person; or
     (ii) To cause physical damage to the property of a person other than the actor; or
     (iii) To subject the person threatened or any other person to physical confinement or restraint; or
     (iv) To commit a sex offense against a person with a disability; or
     (v) Maliciously to do any other act which is intended to substantially harm the person threatened or another with respect to his or her physical or mental health or safety; and
     (b) The person by words or conduct places the person threatened in reasonable fear that the threat will be carried out. "Words or conduct" includes, in addition to any other form of communication or conduct, the sending of an electronic communication.
     (2)(a) Except as provided in (b) of this subsection, a person who harasses another is guilty of a gross misdemeanor.
     (b) A person who harasses another is guilty of a class C felony if either of the following applies: (i) The person has previously been convicted in this or any other state of any crime of harassment, as defined in RCW 9A.46.060, of the same victim or members of the victim's family or household or any person specifically named in a no-contact or no-harassment order; or (ii) the person harasses another person under subsection (1)(a)(i) of this section by threatening to kill the person threatened or any other person.
     (3) The penalties provided in this section for harassment do not preclude the victim from seeking any other remedy otherwise available under law.
     (4) For the purposes of this section:
     (a) "Person with a disability" means a person who:
     (i) Has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; and
     (ii) Either:
     (A) Has a record of the impairment; or
     (B) Was regarded by the perpetrator as having the impairment.
     (b) "Sex offense" has the same meaning as in RCW 9.94A.030.