§ 1753 - False public alarms - Vermont Statutes

§ 1753. False public alarms

(a) A person who initiates or willfully circulates or transmits a report or warning of an impending bombing or other offense or catastrophe, knowing that the report or warning is false or baseless and that it is likely to cause evacuation of a building, place of assembly, or facility of public transport, or to cause public inconvenience or alarm, shall, for the first offense, be imprisoned for not more than two years or fined not more than $5,000.00, or both. For the second or subsequent offense, the person shall be imprisoned for not more than five years or fined not more than $10,000.00, or both. In addition, the court may order the person to perform community service. Any community service ordered under this section shall be supervised by the department of corrections.

(b) In addition, if the person is under 18 years of age, or if the person is enrolled in a public school, an approved or recognized independent school, a home study program, or tutorial program as those terms are defined in section 11 of Title 16:

(1) if the person has a motor vehicle operator's license issued under chapter 9 of Title 23, the commissioner of motor vehicles shall suspend the license for 180 days for a first offense and two years for a second offense; or

(2) if the person does not qualify for a license because the person is underage, the commissioner of motor vehicles shall delay the person's eligibility to obtain a drivers license for 180 days for the first offense and two years for the second offense. (1971, No. 169 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; amended 1997, No. 153 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 1999, No. 113 (Adj. Sess.), § 20; No. 124 (Adj. Sess.), § 4.)