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PRINTER'S NO. 51
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No. 96
Session of
2025
INTRODUCED BY BROOKS, LANGERHOLC, FONTANA, ROTHMAN, SCHWANK AND
STEFANO, JANUARY 22, 2025
REFERRED TO JUDICIARY, JANUARY 22, 2025
AN ACT
Amending Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes, in assault, further providing for the
offense of terroristic threats.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 2706 of Title 18 of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes is amended to read:
§ 2706. Terroristic threats.
(a) Offense defined.--A person commits the crime of
terroristic threats if the person communicates, either directly
or indirectly, a threat to:
(1) commit any crime of violence with intent to
terrorize another;
(2) cause evacuation of a building, place of assembly or
facility of public transportation; or
(3) otherwise cause serious public inconvenience, or
cause terror or serious public inconvenience with reckless
disregard of the risk of causing such terror or
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inconvenience.
(b) [Restitution.--A person convicted of violating this
section shall, in addition to any other sentence imposed or
restitution ordered under 42 Pa.C.S. § 9721(c) (relating to
sentencing generally), be sentenced to pay restitution in an
amount equal to the cost of the evacuation, including, but not
limited to, fire and police response; emergency medical service
or emergency preparedness response; and transportation of an
individual from the building, place of assembly or facility.]
Costs of responding to threat.--A person convicted of or
adjudicated delinquent for violating this section shall be
sentenced to pay any costs of an evacuation or other response
resulting from the threat that gave rise to the violation of
this section, including, but not limited to:
(1) The costs of supplies, equipment or materials used
by an emergency medical services agency, fire company, law
enforcement agency, school entity or institution of higher
education or other governmental entity to respond to the
threat.
(2) The costs of prepared and unprepared food that went
unused as a result of an evacuation or diversion from the
normal or customary operations of a school entity or
institution of higher education that responded to the threat.
(3) The salary or other wages, including overtime pay,
of any employee of a law enforcement agency, police
department, fire company, medical services agency, school
entity or institution of higher education or other
governmental entity for the time spent responding to the
threat.
(4) The salary or other wages, including overtime pay,
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of any teacher, administrator, aide or other employee of a
school entity or institution of higher education who was paid
despite the diversion of normal or customary operations of
the school entity or institution of higher education.
(c) Preservation of private remedies.--No judgment or order
of [restitution] costs shall debar a person, by appropriate
action, to recover from the offender as otherwise provided by
law, provided that any civil award shall be reduced by the
amount paid under the criminal judgment.
(d) Grading.--[An]
(1) Except as provided under paragraph (2), an offense
under subsection (a) constitutes a misdemeanor of the first
degree [unless the].
(2) An offense under subsection (a) constitutes a felony
of the third degree if:
(i) the threat causes the occupants of the building,
place of assembly or facility of public transportation to
be diverted from their normal or customary operations[,
in which case the offense constitutes a felony of the
third degree.]; or
(ii) the threat relates to a school entity or
institution of higher education.
(e) Definition.--[As used in this section, the term
"communicates" means conveys in person or by written or
electronic means, including telephone, electronic mail,
Internet, facsimile, telex and similar transmissions.] As used
in this section, the following words and phrases shall have the
meanings given to them in this subsection unless the context
clearly indicates otherwise:
"Communicates." Conveys in person or by written or
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electronic means, including telephone, electronic mail,
Internet, facsimile, telex and similar transmissions.
"Institution of higher education." The term includes any of
the following:
(1) A community college operating under Article XIX-A of
the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known as the
Public School Code of 1949.
(2) A university within the State System of Higher
Education.
(3) The Pennsylvania State University.
(4) The University of Pittsburgh.
(5) Temple University.
(6) Lincoln University.
(7) Any other institution that is designated as "State-
related" by the Commonwealth.
(8) An accredited private or independent college or
university.
(9) A private licensed school as defined in the act of
December 15, 1986 (P.L.1585, No.174), known as the Private
Licensed Schools Act.
"School entity." A public school, including a charter school
or cyber charter school, private school, nonpublic school,
intermediate unit or area career and technical school operating
within this Commonwealth.
Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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