Under current law, penalties for harassment are determined by the alleged actions of the defendant.Under current law, penalties for harassment are determined by the alleged actions or course of conduct of the defendant. This is an appropriate way to determine the severity of the harassment.
However, HB 102 (PN 1943) would depart from this legal framework by enhancing the penalty from a summary offense to a third-degree misdemeanor based on who the victim is, would radically depart from this legal framework by enhancing the penalty from a summary offense to a third-degree misdemeanor based on who the victim is, instead of punishing people based on the extent, content, duration, or severity of harassment, regardless of the target. This mimics the absurd explosion of the itemized list of employees covered under our current aggravated assault statute. HB 102 would trigger a never-ending list of officials for whom harassment of any kind is enhanced from a summary offense to a third-degree misdemeanor.
