No. CS/HB 17
Filed under Criminal Justice.
Criminal Offenses Against Law Enforcement Officers and Other Personnel; Revises prohibition on use or threatened use of force to resist arrest or detention; provides for enhanced punishment for manslaughter when committed against specified officers; revises provisions concerning assault or battery upon specified officers & other personnel; revises provision concerning resisting, obstructing, or opposing specified officers or legally authorized persons; increases level on offense severity ranking chart for committing battery on law enforcement officers & other specified personnel.
Plain English Summary
AI-GENERATEDThe bill adds manslaughter to the list of offenses that trigger mandatory life imprisonment without release eligibility when the victim is a law enforcement or correctional officer engaged in official duties.
It replaces the vague "lawful performance of a legal duty" standard with a specific reference to official duties as defined in statute, narrowing the scope of protected conduct.
The bill defines "acting in good faith" for officers as making sincere and reasonable efforts to comply with legal requirements, even if the arrest or detention is later found unlawful.
It removes the prior provision that explicitly stated an officer is not justified in using force if the arrest is known by the officer to be unlawful.
AIExpands the mandatory life-without-release penalty to cover manslaughter, not just murder, when the victim is an officer on duty.
AIExtends the ban on using force to resist an officer from arrests to detentions, and defines good faith as sincere and reasonable efforts to comply with the law.
AIMakes it a third-degree felony to offer or do violence to officers or legally authorized persons performing official duties, replacing the prior standard of lawful execution of a legal duty.