Minnesota Session Laws - 1996, Regular Session

  
    
KEY: stricken = old language to be removed
     underscored = new language to be added
    
                            CHAPTER 331-H.F.No. 2526 
                  An act relating to crime; making it a crime to obtain 
                  cellular telephone service through cellular 
                  counterfeiting; requiring forfeiture of cloning 
                  paraphernalia used to create cloned cellular 
                  telephones; prescribing penalties; amending Minnesota 
                  Statutes 1994, section 609.5316, subdivision 3; 
                  proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, 
                  chapter 609. 
        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
           Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 609.5316, 
        subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
           Subd. 3.  [WEAPONS, TELEPHONE CLONING PARAPHERNALIA, AND 
        BULLET-RESISTANT VESTS.] Weapons used are contraband and must be 
        summarily forfeited to the appropriate agency upon conviction of 
        the weapon's owner or possessor for a controlled substance crime 
        or for any offense of this chapter or chapter 624.  
        Bullet-resistant vests, as defined in section 609.486, worn or 
        possessed during the commission or attempted commission of a 
        crime are contraband and must be summarily forfeited to the 
        appropriate agency upon conviction of the owner or possessor for 
        a controlled substance crime or for any offense of this 
        chapter.  Telephone cloning paraphernalia used in a violation of 
        section 609.894 are contraband and must be summarily forfeited 
        to the appropriate agency upon a conviction.  Notwithstanding 
        this subdivision, weapons used and, bullet-resistant vests worn 
        or possessed, and telephone cloning paraphernalia may be 
        forfeited without a conviction under sections 609.531 to 
        609.5315. 
           Sec. 2.  [609.894] [CELLULAR TELEPHONE COUNTERFEITING; 
        CRIMES DEFINED.] 
           Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITIONS.] The definitions in this 
        subdivision apply to this section. 
           (a) "Cellular telephone" means a radio telecommunications 
        device that may be used to obtain access to the public and 
        cellular switch telephone networks and that is programmed by the 
        manufacturer with an electronic serial number. 
           (b) "Cellular telephone service" means all services and 
        cellular telephone equipment and capabilities available from a 
        provider to an end user for a fee. 
           (c) "Cloned cellular telephone" or "counterfeit cellular 
        telephone" means a cellular telephone, the electronic serial 
        number of which has been altered by someone other than the 
        manufacturer. 
           (d) "Telephone cloning paraphernalia" means materials that, 
        when possessed in combination, are capable of creating a cloned 
        cellular telephone.  Telephone cloning paraphernalia includes, 
        but is not limited to: 
           (1) scanners to intercept electronic serial numbers and 
        mobile identification numbers; 
           (2) cellular telephones; 
           (3) cables; 
           (4) EPROM chips; 
           (5) EPROM burners; 
           (6) software for programming the cellular telephone with a 
        false electronic serial number, mobile identification number, 
        other identifiable data, or a combination of those items; 
           (7) computers containing software described in clause (6); 
        and 
           (8) lists of electronic serial number and mobile 
        identification number combinations. 
           (e) "Electronic serial number" means a unique number that 
        is programmed into a cellular telephone by the manufacturer, 
        transmitted by the cellular telephone, and used by cellular 
        telephone providers to validate radio transmissions to the 
        system as having been made by an authorized device. 
           (f) "End user" is a person who pays a fee to subscribe to 
        cellular telephone service from a provider or a person receiving 
        a call from or sending a call to the person paying or 
        subscribing for cellular telephone service. 
           (g) "Intercept" means to electronically capture, record, 
        reveal, or otherwise access the signals emitted or received 
        during the operation of a cellular telephone by any instrument, 
        device, or equipment without the consent of the sender or 
        receiver. 
           (h) "Mobile identification number" means the cellular 
        telephone number assigned to the cellular telephone by the 
        cellular telephone provider. 
           (i) "Provider" means a licensed seller of cellular 
        telephone service or a reselling agent authorized by a licensed 
        seller. 
           Subd. 2.  [CELLULAR COUNTERFEITING IN THE THIRD 
        DEGREE.] (a) A person commits the crime of cellular 
        counterfeiting in the third degree if the person knowingly 
        possesses a cloned cellular telephone and knows that the 
        telephone is unlawfully cloned. 
           (b) Cellular counterfeiting in the third degree is a gross 
        misdemeanor. 
           Subd. 3.  [CELLULAR COUNTERFEITING IN THE SECOND 
        DEGREE.] (a) A person commits the crime of cellular 
        counterfeiting in the second degree if the person knowingly 
        possesses, and knows the unlawful nature of using, any telephone 
        cloning paraphernalia or any instrument capable of intercepting 
        or manipulating electronic serial numbers, mobile identification 
        numbers, other identifiable data, or a combination of those 
        items.  
           (b) A person who violates paragraph (a) may be sentenced to 
        imprisonment for not more than three years and may be fined up 
        to $7,000, or both. 
           Subd. 4.  [CELLULAR COUNTERFEITING IN THE FIRST 
        DEGREE.] (a) A person commits the crime of cellular 
        counterfeiting in the first degree if the person knowingly 
        possesses or distributes, and knows the unlawful nature of 
        using, any telephone cloning paraphernalia or any instrument 
        capable of intercepting or manipulating electronic serial 
        numbers, mobile identification numbers, other identifiable data, 
        or a combination of those items, and agrees with, encourages, 
        solicits, or permits one or more other persons to engage in or 
        cause, or obtain cellular telephone service through, cellular 
        counterfeiting.  
           (b) A person who violates paragraph (a) may be sentenced to 
        imprisonment for not more than five years and may be fined up to 
        $10,000, or both. 
           Subd. 5.  [EXCLUSIONS.] The provisions of subdivisions 2 to 
        4 do not apply to: 
           (1) officers, employees, or agents of cellular telephone 
        service providers who engage in conduct prohibited by this 
        section for the purpose of constructing, maintaining, or 
        conducting the radio telecommunication service or for law 
        enforcement purposes; 
           (2) law enforcement officers and public officials in charge 
        of jails, police premises, sheriffs' offices, department of 
        corrections institutions, and other penal or correctional 
        institutions, or any other person under the color of law, who 
        engages in conduct prohibited by this section for the purpose of 
        law enforcement or in the normal course of the officer's or 
        official's employment activities or duties; and 
           (3) officers, employees, or agents of federal or state 
        agencies that are authorized to monitor or intercept cellular 
        telephone service in the normal course of the officer's, 
        employee's, or agent's employment. 
           Subd. 6.  [CIVIL LIABILITY.] A prosecution under this 
        section does not preclude civil liability under any applicable 
        provision of law. 
           Sec. 3.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
           Sections 1 and 2 are effective August 1, 1996, and apply to 
        crimes committed on or after that date. 
           Presented to the governor March 15, 1996 
           Signed by the governor March 18, 1996, 10:02 a.m.