SPONSOR: Spencer
This bill requires a law enforcement officer to remain with any person the officer transports or sends by ambulance to a hospital emergency room if he or she is intoxicated or requires involuntary commitment.
The bill requires the Attorney General to conduct a study to determine the number of violent acts committed against health care workers or entities that resulted in police reports and correlate the number of violent acts and the number of cases in which the prosecutor initiated charges.
A person commits the offense of interference with a health care facility if the person acts alone or with someone else to willfully or recklessly interfere with access to or from a health care facility or willfully or recklessly commits any of the acts specified in the bill. A person commits the offense of interference with an ambulance service if the person acts alone or with someone else to willfully or recklessly interfere with access to or from an ambulance or willfully or recklessly disrupt any ambulance service by committing any of the acts specified in the bill. The offense of interfering with a health care facility or an ambulance service is a class D misdemeanor for a first offense and a class C misdemeanor for a second or subsequent offense.
A person or health care facility aggrieved by these actions may seek civil damages from those who committed the prohibited acts. An individual plaintiff aggrieved by the prohibited actions may recover up to $500 for each day the actions occurred or up to $5,000 for each day the actions occurred if the plaintiff is a health care facility.
Statutes affected: