Title: Anti-Swatting Act of 2019
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications

Summary:
Anti-Swatting Act of 2019
This bill increases penalties for the transmission of misleading or inaccurate caller-identification information with the intent to trigger an emergency response by (1) a government law-enforcement agency; (2) a government agency or nonprofit organization that provides fire, rescue, or emergency medical services; or (3) a public-safety answering point (i.e., a facility that has been designated to receive emergency calls and route them to emergency service personnel). Specifically, the bill provides for imprisonment, the imposition of additional criminal fines, or both.
The court shall order a defendant who has been convicted of such an offense to reimburse any such entity for expenses incurred in responding to such conduct. The bill treats such an order of reimbursement as a civil judgment.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 156 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 156

    To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to provide for enhanced 
   penalties for the transmission of misleading or inaccurate caller 
  identification information with the intent to trigger an emergency 
                               response.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 3, 2019

  Mr. Engel introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on 
   the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to provide for enhanced 
   penalties for the transmission of misleading or inaccurate caller 
  identification information with the intent to trigger an emergency 
                               response.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Anti-Swatting Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. TRANSMISSION OF MISLEADING OR INACCURATE CALLER ID INFORMATION 
              WITH INTENT TO TRIGGER EMERGENCY RESPONSE.

    Section 227(e)(5) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 
227(e)(5)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``Any person'' and 
        inserting ``Except as provided in subparagraph (C), any 
        person''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(C) Enhanced penalties for violation with intent 
                to trigger emergency response.--
                            ``(i) Criminal violation.--Any person who 
                        violates this subsection with the intent to 
                        trigger an emergency response in the absence of 
                        circumstances requiring such a response shall--
                                    ``(I) be fined under title 18, 
                                United States Code, or imprisoned not 
                                more than 5 years, or both; or
                                    ``(II) if serious bodily injury 
                                results, be fined under title 18, 
                                United States Code, or imprisoned not 
                                more than 20 years, or both.
                            ``(ii) Reimbursement.--
                                    ``(I) In general.--The court, in 
                                imposing a sentence on a defendant who 
                                has been convicted of an offense under 
                                clause (i), shall order the defendant 
                                to reimburse any entity described in 
                                subclause (I), (II), or (III) of clause 
                                (iii) that incurs expenses in making or 
                                incident to the response described in 
                                clause (i) for such expenses.
                                    ``(II) Liability.--A person ordered 
                                to make reimbursement under this clause 
                                shall be jointly and severally liable 
                                for such expenses with each other 
                                person, if any, who is ordered to make 
                                reimbursement under this clause for the 
                                same expenses.
                                    ``(III) Civil judgment.--An order 
                                of reimbursement under this clause 
                                shall, for the purposes of enforcement, 
                                be treated as a civil judgment.
                            ``(iii) Emergency response defined.--In 
                        this subparagraph, the term `emergency 
                        response' means any action to protect life, 
                        health, or property by--
                                    ``(I) a law enforcement agency of 
                                the United States, a State, or a 
                                political subdivision of a State;
                                    ``(II) an agency of the United 
                                States, a State, or a political 
                                subdivision of a State, or a private 
                                not-for-profit organization, that 
                                provides fire, rescue, or emergency 
                                medical services; or
                                    ``(III) a public safety answering 
                                point (as defined in section 222).''.
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