Criminal Justice (Policing)

Provides any police report involving a railroad fatality and all communications between railroad employees not be made public. Additionally, it makes a violation of this section a misdemeanor.

Defines squatter as a person occupying a dwelling unit who is not authorized by the property owner, landlord or tenant to occupy the unit and provides remedies for property owner including police assistance to remove a squatter.

Provides any police report involving a railroad fatality and all communications between railroad employees not be made public. Additionally, it makes a violation of this section a misdemeanor.

SB 2398 upgrades penalties for filing false police reports about serious crimes. It makes it a felony to falsely report a crime that carries a 5- to 20-year prison sentence (with 1-5 years in prison for conviction) or a 20+ year sentence (with 5-20 years in prison). The bill directly affects individuals who knowingly submit false reports about violent or severe offenses, such as aggravated assault or homicide. It replaces the current misdemeanor penalty with stricter felony charges based on the severity of the underlying crime falsely reported.