Generally, under present law, the offense of reckless endangerment occurs when a person recklessly engages in conduct that places or may place another person in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury. Reckless endangerment is generally considered a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by a sentence of imprisonment not greater than 11 months, 29 days, a fine not to exceed $2,500, or both. The following are ways in which the offense receives a different classification:  Reckless endangerment committed with a deadly weapon is a Class E felony, punishable by a sentence of imprisonment not less than one year nor more than six years and the jury may assess a fine not to exceed $3,000.  When a firearm or antique firearm is discharged within a habitation, reckless endangerment is a Class C felony, punishable by a sentence of imprisonment not less than three years nor more than 15 years and the jury may assess a fine not to exceed $10,000. However, if the habitation was unoccupied at the time of the firearm discharge, then it is a Class D felony, punishable by a sentence of imprisonment not less than two years nor more than 12 years and the jury may assess a fine not to exceed $5,000.  Reckless endangerment by discharging a firearm from within a motor vehicle is a Class C felony. In addition to the penalties authorized for each felony classification, present law requires the court to also assess a fine of $50, to be collected and distributed as statutorily mandated. This bill provides that reckless endangerment also includes circumstances set out as community terrorism, which is conduct that (i) places or may place another person in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury and is committed against a population within a geographic territory by members of a criminal gang that regularly engages in gang-related conduct or has a pattern of criminal gang activity, and the commission of the offense is gang-related, or conduct that (ii) places or may place another person in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury and is committed within 1,000 feet of the real property that comprises a public or private elementary school, middle school, secondary school, preschool, child care agency, public library, recreational center, or park. This type of reckless endangerment is a Class C felony, punishable by the following in addition to the applicable period of confinement:  Revocation of the person's driver license, if the person had a valid driver license on the date of conviction for the offense or a prohibition against the department issuing a driver license to the person, if the person did not possess a valid driver license at the time of conviction for the offense.  The court must prohibit the person from entering the geographic territory in which the offense was committed, which is defined by the court in its sentencing order, for the duration of the person's sentence, require that the person wear a global positioning monitoring device to ensure compliance with the prohibition, and pay the costs associated with operating the global positioning monitoring system for the person. If the person is sentenced to probation, the prohibition and monitoring requirement must be a condition of probation. If the person is sentenced to confinement and becomes eligible for parole, the board of parole must include the prohibition and monitoring requirement as a condition of parole. This bill also provides that upon ordering the revocation or prohibited issuance of the person's driver license, the court must submit a copy of the conviction and an order for revocation or prohibition, whichever is applicable, to the department of safety. Upon receipt, the department must revoke the driver license if the person had a valid driver license on the date of conviction. The driver license must not be reinstated or issued except for as provided in this bill. RESTRICTED DRIVER LICENSE This bill authorizes a person whose driver license has been so revoked or prohibited, immediately following revocation or upon release from confinement, to apply to the sentencing court, or a court of competent jurisdiction in the person's county of residence, for a restricted driver license. The court may allow the issuance upon a demonstration of a compelling need by the person, such as for the purpose of going to and from work at the person's regular place of employment; the person's regular place of worship; medical appointments for the person and the person's immediate family members; a dependent's day care or school and, in the case of a student enrolled full time in an institution of higher learning, going to and from that institution. If the court orders the issuance of a restricted driver license, then the person may obtain a certified copy of the order and, within 10 days after the issuance of the order, present the order to the department with an application fee of $65, and the department must issue a restricted driver license embodying the limitations imposed in the order. Reinstatement No sooner than five years after the person was issued a restricted driver license by the department of safety, this bill authorizes the person to apply to the sentencing court or a court of competent jurisdiction in the person's county of residence for a driver license without restrictions. If the court finds that the person has demonstrated that the person has been rehabilitated, then the court must permit the person to apply for and the department of safety to issue the person a driver license without restrictions. If the court orders the issuance of a driver license without restrictions, then the person may obtain a certified copy of the order and, within 10 days after issuance of the order, present the order to the department with an application fee of $65, and the department must issue a driver license without restrictions. Additionally, a person whose driver license was revoked or prohibited is not eligible for a driver license unless the person has applied for and received a restricted license for a period of at least five years. NEIGHBORHOOD PROTECTION ACT Present law authorizes a homeowners' association, a neighborhood association, a neighborhood watch, or a similarly organized residential entity that is recognized by state or local law with defined boundaries referenced in the residential entity's charter or governing document, to seek an injunction or restraining order prohibiting an offender from entering the boundaries of the residential area, if the offender has been convicted of three or more separate offenses of burglary; rape; criminal homicide; delivering or selling a controlled substance; criminal gang activity; prostitution; theft; vandalism; or aggravated criminal littering, if the conviction is for an amount of litter that exceeds 100 pounds in weight or 30 cubic feet in volume; and these qualifying offenses were committed within the boundaries of the residential area. This bill adds reckless endangerment under the circumstances set out as community terrorism as described above as a qualifying offense for the application of such prohibitions.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 39-13-103(b), 39-13-103, 40-35-123(b)(1), 40-35-123