SB 96 — An Act amending Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in assault, further providing for the offense of terroristic threats.

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
 1   Amending Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) of the Pennsylvania
 2      Consolidated Statutes, in assault, further providing for the
 3      offense of terroristic threats.
 4      The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
 5   hereby enacts as follows:
 6      Section 1.     Section 2706 of Title 18 of the Pennsylvania
 7   Consolidated Statutes is amended to read:
 8   § 2706.    Terroristic threats.
 9      (a)    Offense defined.--A person commits the crime of
10   terroristic threats if the person communicates, either directly
11   or indirectly, a threat to:
12             (1)   commit any crime of violence with intent to
13      terrorize another;
14             (2)   cause evacuation of a building, place of assembly or
15      facility of public transportation; or
16             (3)   otherwise cause serious public inconvenience, or
17      cause terror or serious public inconvenience with reckless
18      disregard of the risk of causing such terror or
 1      inconvenience.
 2      (b)   [Restitution.--A person convicted of violating this
 3   section shall, in addition to any other sentence imposed or
 4   restitution ordered under 42 Pa.C.S. § 9721(c) (relating to
 5   sentencing generally), be sentenced to pay restitution in an
 6   amount equal to the cost of the evacuation, including, but not
 7   limited to, fire and police response; emergency medical service
 8   or emergency preparedness response; and transportation of an
 9   individual from the building, place of assembly or facility.]
10   Costs of responding to threat.--A person convicted of or
11   adjudicated delinquent for violating this section shall be
12   sentenced to pay any costs of an evacuation or other response
13   resulting from the threat that gave rise to the violation of
14   this section, including, but not limited to:
15            (1)   The costs of supplies, equipment or materials used
16      by an emergency medical services agency, fire company, law
17      enforcement agency, school entity or institution of higher
18      education or other governmental entity to respond to the
19      threat.
20            (2)   The costs of prepared and unprepared food that went
21      unused as a result of an evacuation or diversion from the
22      normal or customary operations of a school entity or
23      institution of higher education that responded to the threat.
24            (3)   The salary or other wages, including overtime pay,
25      of any employee of a law enforcement agency, police
26      department, fire company, medical services agency, school
27      entity or institution of higher education or other
28      governmental entity for the time spent responding to the
29      threat.
30            (4)   The salary or other wages, including overtime pay,

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 1      of any teacher, administrator, aide or other employee of a
 2      school entity or institution of higher education who was paid
 3      despite the diversion of normal or customary operations of
 4      the school entity or institution of higher education.
 5      (c)   Preservation of private remedies.--No judgment or order
 6   of [restitution] costs shall debar a person, by appropriate
 7   action, to recover from the offender as otherwise provided by
 8   law, provided that any civil award shall be reduced by the
 9   amount paid under the criminal judgment.
10      (d)   Grading.--[An]
11            (1)   Except as provided under paragraph (2), an offense
12      under subsection (a) constitutes a misdemeanor of the first
13      degree [unless the].
14            (2)   An offense under subsection (a) constitutes a felony
15      of the third degree if:
16                  (i)    the threat causes the occupants of the building,
17            place of assembly or facility of public transportation to
18            be diverted from their normal or customary operations[,
19            in which case the offense constitutes a felony of the
20            third degree.]; or
21                  (ii)   the threat relates to a school entity or
22            institution of higher education.
23      (e)   Definition.--[As used in this section, the term
24   "communicates" means conveys in person or by written or
25   electronic means, including telephone, electronic mail,
26   Internet, facsimile, telex and similar transmissions.] As used
27   in this section, the following words and phrases shall have the
28   meanings given to them in this subsection unless the context
29   clearly indicates otherwise:
30      "Communicates."       Conveys in person or by written or

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 1   electronic means, including telephone, electronic mail,
 2   Internet, facsimile, telex and similar transmissions.
 3      "Institution of higher education."    The term includes any of
 4   the following:
 5          (1)   A community college operating under Article XIX-A of
 6      the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known as the
 7      Public School Code of 1949.
 8          (2)   A university within the State System of Higher
 9      Education.
10          (3)   The Pennsylvania State University.
11          (4)   The University of Pittsburgh.
12          (5)   Temple University.
13          (6)   Lincoln University.
14          (7)   Any other institution that is designated as "State-
15      related" by the Commonwealth.
16          (8)   An accredited private or independent college or
17      university.
18          (9)   A private licensed school as defined in the act of
19      December 15, 1986 (P.L.1585, No.174), known as the Private
20      Licensed Schools Act.
21      "School entity."    A public school, including a charter school
22   or cyber charter school, private school, nonpublic school,
23   intermediate unit or area career and technical school operating
24   within this Commonwealth.
25      Section 2.    This act shall take effect in 60 days.




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