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H 7554Violent Crime Penalties

Criminal Offenses - Public Utilities

This bill expands false bomb threat laws to include fake active shooter reports and allows judges to order mental health treatment.

Introduced59 Yea6 Nay10 Not voting
Population
Affected
15
Email Legislator
Introduced Feb 6, 2026Committee House Judiciary

Plain-English Summary

This legislation updates the existing law regarding false bomb threats to also include false reports of shootings or other dangerous events, commonly known as "swatting." It clarifies that knowingly making a false report which causes terror, anxiety, or necessitates a police response (like a lockdown) is a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine. Furthermore, it grants judges specific authority during bail hearings to impose conditions such as Extreme Risk Protection Orders (confiscating firearms), no-trespass orders for schools or religious buildings, and mandatory mental health or substance abuse assessments.

For younger readers

Sometimes people tell lies to the police to scare others or make the police come when there is no real emergency. This bill says that if someone lies about a shooting or a bomb to scare people or make a school lock down, they can get in very big trouble and go to jail. It also lets a judge tell the person they are not allowed to go near schools or that they have to talk to a doctor to help them behave better.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
Law Enforcement AgenciesJudiciary and CourtsEducational InstitutionsReligious InstitutionsCriminal Defendants
Impacted communities
All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

Moderate risk

Low to Moderate. While false reports of crimes generally fall outside First Amendment protection (similar to shouting "fire" in a crowded theater), the bill's inclusion of causing "anxiety" or "personal discomfort" is vague. This subjectivity could lead to a "void for vagueness" challenge or an overbreadth challenge regarding free speech. Additionally, the inclusion of Extreme Risk Protection Orders may invite Second Amendment challenges regarding due process, though these orders generally rely on existing statutes.

Estimated cost
Amount unknown
Estimated revenue
Amount unknown

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints
For Progressives
  • Acknowledges the root causes of disruptive behavior by empowering courts to mandate mental health assessments and substance abuse counseling rather than relying solely on incarceration.
  • Enhances community safety by explicitly utilizing Extreme Risk Protection Orders (Red Flag laws) to temporarily remove firearms from individuals who have demonstrated unstable and threatening behavior.
  • Protects vulnerable community spaces, such as schools and religious institutions, from the trauma and disruption caused by "swatting" and malicious hoaxes.
  • Expands the carceral state by maintaining a ten-year felony sentence for non-violent verbal acts, contributing to mass incarceration rather than utilizing restorative justice models.
  • Uses vague and subjective language such as "anxiety" and "personal discomfort," which could be weaponized by law enforcement to disproportionately target and overcharge marginalized groups.
  • Increases the power of the court to impose restrictive pre-trial conditions, which could be used to unfairly penalize low-income defendants who cannot afford legal challenges to these mandates.
For Conservatives
  • Reinforces law and order by ensuring that individuals who waste police resources and create public chaos through "swatting" face severe felony penalties.
  • Provides specific legal tools to issue "no trespass" orders, helping to protect churches and private religious schools from individuals who harass them with threats.
  • Empowers judges to consider the danger a defendant poses to the community when setting bail, ensuring that those who threaten public peace are not immediately released without restrictions.
  • Explicitly promotes the use of Extreme Risk Protection Orders (Red Flag laws), which are viewed by many as a violation of Second Amendment rights and due process.
  • Utilizes vague terms like causing "personal discomfort" as a basis for a felony charge, creating a slippery slope where the government could criminalize protected speech that is merely annoying or controversial.
  • Allows the state to mandate mental health assessments and counseling, which can be seen as government overreach into personal medical privacy and individual liberty.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 19 additions · 1 deletion

SECTION 1. Section 11-35-18 of the General Laws in Chapter 11-35 entitled "Public Utilities" is hereby amended to read as follows: 11-35-18. Bomb threats and similar false reports.

(a) Whoever, knowing the report to be false, transmits or causes to be transmitted to any person by telephone or other means a communication falsely reporting , warning, or threatening either the location existence of any explosive or other dangerous substance or contrivance, or a shooting or other dangerous event or happening, at a location, causing terror, anxiety, unrest, fear, or personal discomfort by that false report, warning, or threat to any person or group of persons, or prompting an evacuation or lockdown of a location or other law enforcement response, shall be guilty of a felony and shall be punished by imprisonment at the adult correctional institutions for not more than ten (10) years, or by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both fine and imprisonment.

(b) For any person charged under subsection (a) of this section, the court may consider any factors, including whether the person poses a danger to any individual, the community, or the defendant, when making bail determinations, and may impose any reasonable conditions or court order, including, but not limited to:

(1) An extreme risk protection order pursuant to the provisions of chapter 8.3 of title 8;

(2) A no trespass order for any educational, religious, or public institution or building;

(3) A mental health assessment and/or a referral for mental health treatment; and/or

(4) Substance abuse counseling.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.