HB 442 — ARSON DEFINITIONS

HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR HOUSE BILL 442 54TH LEGISLATURE - STATEOFNEWMEXICO- FIRST SESSION, 2019 INTRODUCED4 BY Javier Martínez 6 8 10 AN ACT RELATING TO ARSON;

CHANGING WHAT QUALIFIES AS AGGRAVATED ARSON.ARSON;

PROVIDING A PENALTY.

Arson consists of a person maliciously or = = 19 willfully and unlawfully starting a fire or causing an explosion with the a l i a e r 20 explosion with the purpose of destroying or damaging:

or u [ (3) any property, whether the person's own .211582.3.214102.2 HJC/HB 442 property or the property of another person, to collect insurance for the loss.

Whoever commits arson when the damage is over five hundred dollars ($500) but not more than two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) is guilty of a fourth degree felony, except that if the person intentionally took measures to accelerate the fire or delay the fire's ignition, the person is guilty of a third degree felony.

Whoever commits arson when the damage is over two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) but not more than e e 17 twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) is guilty of a third degree e e n d 18 felony, except that if the person intentionally took measures = = l ] 19 to accelerate the fire or delay the fire's ignition, the person a l r i 20 is guilty of a second degree felony.

t e a t F.

Whoever commits arson when the damage is over em m 21 e 17d twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) is guilty of a second degree r e 22 c e nr dc 1823 felony.

=e =a ln ]b 1924 G.

Negligent arson consists of a person recklessly au l[ r i 20 starting a fire or causing an explosion, whether on the t.214102.2 e- a2 t- HJC/HB 442 person's property or the property of another person, and m m 21 e d r e 22 thereby directly:

c(1) e[causing r] ccauses 23 (1) causing the death or bodily injury of e[another aperson; n b 24 another person, [or ] including a public safety officer u [ performing the officer's duties;

.211582.3 - 2 - (2) damaging or destroying] a buildingpublic orsafety occupiedofficer; structure of another person;

or(2) (3)causes damagingthe death or destroyingbodily wildland.injury of another person;

[(2) damaging] (3) damages or [destroying] destroys a building or occupied structure of another person;

or (4) damages or destroys wildland.

e e 17 J.

As used in this section,section: "wildland" means any brush-covered land, cut-over land, forest, grasslands, woods or wild land-urban interface." SECTION 2.

Sectione 30-17-6e NMSAn 1978d (being18 Laws(1) 1963,"public Chaptersafety 303,officer" Sectionmeans 17-6)a is= amended= tol read:] 19 firefighter, law enforcement officer or other emergency a l r i 20 personnel;

"30-17-6.and t e a t (2) "wildland" means any brush-covered land, m m 21 e d cut-over land, forest, grasslands or woods;

AGGRAVATEDwhether ARSON.--publicly or r e 22 c e 17r A.c 23 privately owned." e a n b 24 SECTION 2.

AggravatedSection arson30-17-6 consistsNMSA of1978 [the(being wilfulLaws or1963, eu e[ nChapter d303, 18Section malicious]17-6) ais personamended maliciously or willfully and unlawfully = = l ] 19 damaging by any explosive substance or [the wilful or a l r i 20 malicious] maliciously or willfully and unlawfully setting fire t e a t to anyread: bridge, aircraft, watercraft, vehicle, [pipe line ] m m 21 e d r e 22 pipeline, utility line, communication line or structure, c e r c 23 railway structure, private or public building, dwelling or e a n b 24 other structure or wildland:

u.214102.2 [ (1) causing a person, including a public .211582.3 - 3 - safetyHJC/HB officer442 performing"30-17-6. the officer's duties , great bodily harm;

(2)AGGRAVATED causingARSON.-- propertyA. damage and other losses in excess of one million dollars ($1,000,000);

(3)Aggravated causingarson consists of [the wilful or proximatelymalicious] causinga multipleperson 6maliciously structuresor towillfully burndamaging inby any singleexplosive violationsubstance pursuantor [the wilful or malicious ] maliciously or willfully setting fire to Sectionany 30-17-5bridge, NMSAaircraft, 1978;watercraft, vehicle, [pipe line ] pipeline, utility line, communication line or structure, railway structure, private or public building, dwelling or other structure or wildland or causing a person, including a public safety officer performing the officer's duties, great bodily harm.

(4) by a person who has been previously convicted of arson on one or more occasions within the past ten years;

or (5) by a person who used a device designed to accelerate the fire or delay the fire's ignition.

As used in this section, "wildland" means any brush-covered land, cut-over land, forest, grasslands,grasslands woods or ewoods; e 17 wild land-urban interface." e e n d 18 SECTION 3.

EFFECTIVEwhether DATE.--Thepublicly effectiveor dateprivately ofowned." theSECTION =3. = l ] 19 provisions of this act is July 1, 2019.

aEFFECTIVE lDATE.--The reffective idate 20of -the 4 - t e a t m m 21 e d17 rprovisions eof 22this cact eis rJuly c1, 232019. e a n b 24 u [ .211582.3

e e n d 18 - 4 - = = l ] 19 a l r i 20 t e a t m m 21 e d r e 22 c e r c 23 e a n b 24 u [ .214102.2