Pennsylvania Consolidated & Unconsolidated Statutes
Act 99 - CRIMES CODE (18 PA.C.S.) AND JUDICAL CODE (42 PA.C.S.) - ASSAULT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER, ASSAULT BY PRISONER OR LIFE PRISONER, SENTENCES FOR SECOND SUBSEQUENT OFFENSES AND SENTENCES FOR OFFENSES COMMITTED AGAINST LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER

Session of 2022
No. 2022-99

HB 103

AN ACT

Amending Titles 18 (Crimes and Offenses) and 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure)
of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in assault, further providing for the offense
of assault of law enforcement officer, for the offense of assault by prisoner and
for the offense of assault by life prisoner; and, in sentencing, further providing
for sentences for second and subsequent offenses and for sentences for offenses committed
against law enforcement officer.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1. Sections 2702.1(a) and (b), 2703(a)(2) and 2704 of Title 18 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
Statutes are amended to read:

§ 2702.1. Assault of law enforcement officer.
(a) Assault of a law enforcement officer [in the first degree].--
(1) A person commits a felony of the first degree who attempts to cause or intentionally
or knowingly causes bodily injury to a law enforcement officer, while in the performance
of duty and with knowledge that the victim is a law enforcement officer, by discharging
a firearm.

(2) Except as provided under sections 2703 (relating to assault by prisoner), 2703.1 (relating
to aggravated harassment by prisoner) and 2704 (relating to assault by life prisoner),
a person is guilty of a felony of the third degree if the person intentionally or
knowingly causes or attempts to cause a law enforcement officer, while in the performance
of duty and with knowledge that the victim is a law enforcement officer, to come into
contact with blood, seminal fluid, saliva, urine or feces by throwing, tossing, spitting
or expelling the fluid or material.

(3) A person who commits an offense under paragraph (2) shall be guilty of a felony of
the second degree if:

(i) the person knew, had reason to know, should have known or believed the fluid or material
to have been obtained from an individual, including the person charged under this
section, infected by a communicable disease declared reportable by regulation authorized
by the act of April 23, 1956 (1955 P.L.1510, No.500), known as the Disease Prevention
and Control Law of 1955; and

(ii) the communicable disease referenced in subparagraph (i) is communicable to the law
enforcement officer by the method used or attempted to be used to cause the law enforcement
officer to come into contact with the blood, seminal fluid, saliva, urine or feces.

(b) Penalties.--Notwithstanding section 1103(1) (relating to sentence of imprisonment
for felony), a person convicted under subsection [(a)] (a)(1) shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment fixed by the court at not more than
40 years.

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§ 2703. Assault by prisoner.
(a) Offense defined.--
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(2) A person is guilty of this offense if:
(i) he intentionally or knowingly causes another to come into contact with blood, seminal
fluid, saliva, urine or feces by throwing, tossing, spitting or expelling such fluid
or material when, at the time of the offense, the person knew, had reason to know,
should have known or believed such fluid or material to have been obtained from an
individual, including the person charged under this section, infected by a communicable
disease[, including, but not limited to, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or hepatitis
B.] declared reportable by regulation authorized by the act of April 23, 1956 (1955 P.L.1510,
No.500), known as the Disease Prevention and Control Law of 1955; and
(ii) the communicable disease referenced in subparagraph (i) is communicable to another
by the method used or attempted to be used to cause another to come into contact with
the blood, seminal fluid, saliva, urine or feces.

* * *
§ 2704. Assault by life prisoner.
Every person who has been sentenced to death or life imprisonment in any penal institution
located in this Commonwealth, and whose sentence has not been commuted, who commits
an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon or instrument upon another, or by any means
of force likely to produce serious bodily injury, is guilty of a crime, the penalty
for which shall be the same as the penalty for murder of the second degree. A person
is guilty of this offense if:
(1) he intentionally or knowingly causes another to come into contact with blood, seminal
fluid, saliva, urine or feces by throwing, tossing, spitting or expelling such fluid
or material when, at the time of the offense, the person knew, had reason to know,
should have known or believed such fluid or material to have been obtained from an
individual, including the person charged under this section, infected by a communicable
disease[, including, but not limited to, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or hepatitis
B.] declared reportable by regulation authorized by the act of April 23, 1956 (1955 P.L.1510,
No.500), known as the Disease Prevention and Control Law of 1955; and
(2) the communicable disease referenced in paragraph (1) is communicable to another by
the method used or attempted to be used to cause another to come into contact with
the blood, seminal fluid, saliva, urine or feces.

Section 2. Sections 9714(g) and 9719.1(a) of Title 42 are amended to read:
§ 9714. Sentences for second and subsequent offenses.
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(g) Definition.--As used in this section, the term "crime of violence" means murder of
the third degree, voluntary manslaughter, manslaughter of a law enforcement officer
as defined in 18 Pa.C.S. § 2507(c) or (d) (relating to criminal homicide of law enforcement
officer), murder of the third degree involving an unborn child as defined in 18 Pa.C.S.
§ 2604(c) (relating to murder of unborn child), aggravated assault of an unborn child
as defined in 18 Pa.C.S. § 2606 (relating to aggravated assault of unborn child),
aggravated assault as defined in 18 Pa.C.S. § 2702(a)(1) or (2) (relating to aggravated
assault), assault of law enforcement officer as defined in 18 Pa.C.S. § [2702.1] 2702.1(a)(1) (relating to assault of law enforcement officer), use of weapons of mass destruction
as defined in 18 Pa.C.S. § 2716(b) (relating to weapons of mass destruction), terrorism
as defined in 18 Pa.C.S. § 2717(b)(2) (relating to terrorism), strangulation when
the offense is graded as a felony as defined in 18 Pa.C.S. § 2718 (relating to strangulation),
trafficking of persons when the offense is graded as a felony of the first degree
as provided in 18 Pa.C.S. § 3011 (relating to trafficking in individuals), rape, involuntary
deviate sexual intercourse, aggravated indecent assault, incest, sexual assault, arson
endangering persons or aggravated arson as defined in 18 Pa.C.S. § 3301(a) or (a.1)
(relating to arson and related offenses), ecoterrorism as classified in 18 Pa.C.S.
§ 3311(b)(3) (relating to ecoterrorism), kidnapping, burglary as defined in 18 Pa.C.S.
§ 3502(a)(1) (relating to burglary), robbery as defined in 18 Pa.C.S. § 3701(a)(1)(i),
(ii) or (iii) (relating to robbery), or robbery of a motor vehicle, drug delivery
resulting in death as defined in 18 Pa.C.S. § 2506(a) (relating to drug delivery resulting
in death), or criminal attempt, criminal conspiracy or criminal solicitation to commit
murder or any of the offenses listed above, or an equivalent crime under the laws
of this Commonwealth in effect at the time of the commission of that offense or an
equivalent crime in another jurisdiction.

§ 9719.1. Sentences for offenses committed against law enforcement officer.
(a) Mandatory sentence.--A person convicted of the following offense shall be sentenced
to a mandatory term of imprisonment as follows:

18 Pa.C.S. § [2702.1(a)] 2702.1(a)(1) (relating to assault of law enforcement officer) - not less than 20 years.

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Section 3. This act shall take effect in 60 days.

APPROVED--The 3rd day of November, A.D. 2022.

TOM WOLF