HB304 Alabama 2020 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Phillip PettusRepresentative

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2020

Title

Crimes and offenses, to add additional activity that would constitute the crime of assault in the first degree, create crime of assault or attempted assault on a 1st responder, Sec. 13A-6-30 added; Secs. 13A-6-20, 13A-6-21 am'd.

Summary

HB304 would create a new crime of assault on first responders and raise penalties for injuring someone who interferes with a first responder's duties.

What This Bill Does

It increases the penalty for injuring someone who intends to prevent a first responder from performing a lawful duty from Class C to Class B felony. It also creates a new offense, assault or attempted assault of a first responder, with a Class A felony penalty, covering scenarios where deadly weapons or dangerous instruments are used, or where the offender attempts to cause injury. The bill also adjusts existing assault definitions to include first responders in related situations and clarifies the bill’s relation to local-funding rules, while setting an effective date.

Who It Affects

• First responders and related workers (peace officers, detention/correctional officers, emergency medical personnel, utility workers, and firefighters) would face higher penalties when someone injures them while trying to stop them from performing their duties, and could be charged under a new assault-on-first-responder statute.
• Offenders or potential offenders who assault or attempt to assault first responders would face new or higher penalties, including Class A felony for the new offense and Class B felony penalties in certain interference scenarios.

Key Provisions

• Amends 13A-6-20 to make intent to prevent a first responder from performing a lawful duty, resulting in physical injury to another person, a Class B felony (previously Class C).
• Creates new 13A-6-30 establishing the crime of assault or attempted assault of a first responder, with a Class A felony penalty, covering armed threats, reckless injuries to unarmed responders, and attempted assaults.
• Amends 13A-6-21 to extend assault definitions to include first responders in additional contexts (e.g., injuries to first responders performed during the duty).
• States that the bill is exempt from Amendment 621 local-funding requirements because it creates a new crime or amends an existing crime, and sets the effective date as the first day of the third month after governor approval.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 22, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Crimes and Offenses