House Bill 172

(As Passed the House)

AN ACT TO CREATE THE "UTILITY WORKER PROTECTION ACT"; TO PROVIDE CERTAIN DEFINITIONS; TO PROVIDE THE ELEMENTS OF CRIMINAL TAMPERING; TO PROVIDE THE PENALTIES FOR ANY VIOLATION OF THE ACT; TO AMEND SECTION 97-3-19, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO INCLUDE THE KILLING OF A UTILITY WORKER IN THE DEFINITION OF CAPITAL MURDER; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Utility Worker Protection Act."

SECTION 2. For the purposes of this act, the following words and terms shall have the meanings ascribed in this section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

(a) "Tamper" means to improperly interfere, meddle with or make an unwarranted alteration in the condition of property of another.

(b) "Property" means any tangible or intangible property, real or personal, public or private, and includes the commodities and services of a utility nature, such as gas, electricity, steam and water.

(c) "Utility" means an enterprise that may be publicly or privately owned which provides gas, electric, steam, water, sewage, transportation or communication services, cable and broadband services and any institution that provides health and safety protection or other public services.

(d) "Utility worker" means any person employed by a public utility as that term is defined in Section 77-3-3.

SECTION 3. (1) A person commits criminal tampering if he or she does any of the following:

(a) Intentionally causes substantial interruption or impairment of a service rendered to the public by a utility when a person has no right to do so or has any reasonable ground to believe that he or she has such a right; or

(b) Threatens an individual with a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument with the intent to obstruct the operation of a utility. This paragraph only applies if the individual is working under the procedures and within the scope of his or her duties as an employee of the utility and has properly identified himself or herself when asked by stating his or her name, employer and purpose of work.

(2) Any person who violates the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a felony and upon conviction he or she shall be committed to the Department of Corrections for a period of time not less than one (1) year, nor more than ten (10) years.

(3) The provisions of this section shall be in addition to other criminal laws, and actions taken pursuant to this section shall not bar prosecutions for other violations of criminal law.

SECTION 4. Section 97-3-19, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

97-3-19. (1) The killing of a human being without the authority of law by any means or in any manner shall be murder in the following cases:

(a) When done with deliberate design to effect the death of the person killed, or of any human being, shall be first-degree murder;

(b) When done in the commission of an act eminently dangerous to others and evincing a depraved heart, regardless of human life, although without any premeditated design to effect the death of any particular individual, shall be second-degree murder;

(c) When done without any design to effect death by any person engaged in the commission of any felony other than rape, kidnapping, burglary, arson, robbery, sexual battery, unnatural intercourse with any child under the age of twelve (12), or nonconsensual unnatural intercourse with mankind, or felonious abuse and/or battery of a child in violation of subsection (2) of Section 97-5-39, or in any attempt to commit such felonies, shall be first-degree murder;

(d) When done with deliberate design to effect the death of an unborn child, shall be first-degree murder.

(2) The killing of a human being without the authority of law by any means or in any manner shall be capital murder in the following cases:

(a) Murder which is perpetrated by killing a peace officer or fireman while such officer or fireman is acting in his official capacity or by reason of an act performed in his official capacity, and with knowledge that the victim was a peace officer or fireman. For purposes of this paragraph, the term "peace officer" means any state or federal law enforcement officer, including, but not limited to, a federal park ranger, the sheriff of or police officer of a city or town, a conservation officer, a parole officer, a judge, senior status judge, special judge, district attorney, legal assistant to a district attorney, county prosecuting attorney or any other court official, an agent of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Division of the Department of Revenue, an agent of the Bureau of Narcotics, personnel of the Mississippi Highway Patrol, and the employees of the Department of Corrections who are designated as peace officers by the Commissioner of Corrections pursuant to Section 47-5-54, and the superintendent and his deputies, guards, officers and other employees of the Mississippi State Penitentiary;

(b) Murder which is perpetrated by a person who is under sentence of life imprisonment;

(d) Murder which is perpetrated by any person who has been offered or has received anything of value for committing the murder, and all parties to such a murder, are guilty as principals;

(e) When done with or without any design to effect death, by any person engaged in the commission of the crime of rape, burglary, kidnapping, arson, robbery, sexual battery, unnatural intercourse with any child under the age of twelve (12), or nonconsensual unnatural intercourse with mankind, or in any attempt to commit such felonies;

(f) When done with or without any design to effect death, by any person engaged in the commission of the crime of felonious abuse and/or battery of a child in violation of subsection (2) of Section 97-5-39, or in any attempt to commit such felony;

(g) Murder which is perpetrated on educational property as defined in Section 97-37-17;

(h) Murder which is perpetrated by the killing of any elected official of a county, municipal, state or federal government with knowledge that the victim was such public official.

(i) Murder which is perpetrated by the killing of a utility worker while such utility worker is acting in his official capacity as a utility worker, and with knowledge that the victim was a utility worker. "Utility worker" shall mean any person employed by a public utility as that term is defined in Section 77-3-3.

(3) An indictment for murder or capital murder shall serve as notice to the defendant that the indictment may include any and all lesser included offenses thereof, including, but not limited to, manslaughter.

SECTION 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2015.