The House Committee on Courts and Criminal Code heard HB 1258 on crimes of violence authored by Rep. Jeter. The bill revises the definition of "crime of violence" to include arson, escape, criminal stalking, and offenses related to regulated explosives. The bill also amends the definition of violent offender to mean a person who is convicted of an offense or attempted offense that … [Read more...] about Crimes of violence
Criminal
Child sexual abuse material crimes
The House Committee on Courts and Criminal Code heard HB 1303 on child sexual abuse material crimes authored by Rep. McNamara. The bill removes provisions concerning possession of child sex abuse material (CSAM) from the statute containing the offense of child exploitation, and makes a new section for CSAM offenses. The bill creates a new crime for distribution of CSAM and … [Read more...] about Child sexual abuse material crimes
Death sentence and intellectual disabilities
The House Committee on Courts and Criminal Code heard HB 1432 on death sentence and intellectual disabilities authored by Rep. Bascom. The bill prohibits the State from seeking the death penalty against a defendant if a court determines at any time before trial that the defendant has an intellectual disability. (Under current law, the court must make this determination at … [Read more...] about Death sentence and intellectual disabilities
Residency of prosecutors and public defenders
The House Committee on Courts and Criminal Code heard HB 1025 by Rep. Zimmerman on residency of prosecutors and public defenders. The bill provides that a public defender and an employee of a public defender agency may not be subject to a county residency requirement, unless the residency requirement includes all counties contiguous to the county in which the individual … [Read more...] about Residency of prosecutors and public defenders
Battery against vulnerable workers
The House Committee on Courts and Criminal Code heard HB 1040 authored by Rep. McNamara on battery against vulnerable workers. The bill increases the penalty for battery on certain health care employees and school employees. The bill specifies that the enhancement for battery committed against a department of child services (DCS) employee applies only to those DCS … [Read more...] about Battery against vulnerable workers