Plain English Breakdown
The official text contains formatting errors regarding the specific punishment details for minors under 18, making it unclear if they face jail time or only service referrals.
New Law Against Threats at Specific Locations
This law creates a new crime for making serious threats against places like daycares and workplaces, even if the person does not plan to carry out the threat.
What This Bill Does
- Creates a new crime for threatening to commit acts that cause death or great bodily injury at specific locations such as daycares and workplaces.
- Allows threats made through any method, including images posted on internet web pages, to count under this law.
- States that the person making the threat does not need to intend to actually carry out the crime for it to be illegal.
- Requires the threat to be clear, immediate, and specific enough to cause reasonable fear in people at those locations.
- Sets different punishments based on whether the person who made the threat is 18 years of age or older or under 18.
Who It Names or Affects
- People aged 18 or older who make threats against specific locations like daycares and workplaces.
- Minors under 18 years old who commit this new crime.
- Local governments that may have additional duties due to the creation of a state-mandated local program.
Terms To Know
- Wobbler
- A crime that can be punished as either a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the situation and the prosecutor's choice.
- State-mandated local program
- A new rule from the state government that requires local agencies to perform specific tasks or follow new procedures.
Limits and Unknowns
- The bill text does not list every possible location covered, only giving daycares and workplaces as examples.
- It is unclear exactly which services minors will be referred to if they are eligible for that option instead of court wardship.
- The final decision on whether the state must pay local agencies for costs depends on a review by the Commission on State Mandates.