1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to crime; increasing penalties for committing 
  1.3             an assault while unlawfully releasing an animal; 
  1.4             expanding the scope of the stalking and harassment 
  1.5             crime to include the unlawful interference with 
  1.6             activities of an entity that sells or provides 
  1.7             services for animals or animal products; amending 
  1.8             Minnesota Statutes 1996, sections 609.552; and 
  1.9             609.749, subdivisions 2 and 5. 
  1.10  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.11     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 609.552, is 
  1.12  amended to read: 
  1.13     609.552 [UNAUTHORIZED RELEASE OF ANIMALS.] 
  1.14     (a) A person who intentionally and without permission 
  1.15  releases an animal lawfully confined for science, research, 
  1.16  commerce, or education is guilty of a misdemeanor.  A second or 
  1.17  subsequent offense by the same person is a gross misdemeanor.  
  1.18     (b) A person who commits an assault in the course of 
  1.19  releasing an animal in violation of paragraph (a) is guilty of a 
  1.20  felony and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than 
  1.21  three years or to payment of a fine of not more than $5,000, or 
  1.22  both. 
  1.23     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 609.749, 
  1.24  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.25     Subd. 2.  [HARASSMENT AND STALKING CRIMES.] A person who 
  1.26  harasses another by committing any of the following acts is 
  1.27  guilty of a gross misdemeanor: 
  2.1      (1) directly or indirectly manifests a purpose or intent to 
  2.2   injure the person, property, or rights of another by the 
  2.3   commission of an unlawful act; 
  2.4      (2) stalks, follows, or pursues another; 
  2.5      (3) returns to the property of another if the actor is 
  2.6   without claim of right to the property or consent of one with 
  2.7   authority to consent; 
  2.8      (4) repeatedly makes telephone calls, or induces a victim 
  2.9   to make telephone calls to the actor, whether or not 
  2.10  conversation ensues; 
  2.11     (5) makes or causes the telephone of another repeatedly or 
  2.12  continuously to ring; 
  2.13     (6) repeatedly uses the mail or delivers or causes the 
  2.14  delivery of letters, telegrams, packages, or other objects; or 
  2.15     (7) unlawfully interferes with the activities of a 
  2.16  commercial establishment, research facility, or educational 
  2.17  institution that is involved in selling or providing services 
  2.18  for animals or animal products; or 
  2.19     (8) engages in any other harassing conduct that interferes 
  2.20  with another person or intrudes on the person's privacy or 
  2.21  liberty. 
  2.22  The conduct described in clauses (4) and (5) may be prosecuted 
  2.23  either at the place where the call is made or where it is 
  2.24  received.  The conduct described in clause (6) may be prosecuted 
  2.25  either where the mail is deposited or where it is received. 
  2.26     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 609.749, 
  2.27  subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
  2.28     Subd. 5.  [PATTERN OF HARASSING CONDUCT.] (a) A person who 
  2.29  engages in a pattern of harassing conduct with respect to a 
  2.30  single victim or, one or more members of a single household, or 
  2.31  a single commercial establishment, research facility, or 
  2.32  educational institution, in a manner that would cause a 
  2.33  reasonable person under the circumstances to feel terrorized or 
  2.34  to fear bodily harm and that does cause this reaction on the 
  2.35  part of the victim, is guilty of a felony and may be sentenced 
  2.36  to imprisonment for not more than ten years or to payment of a 
  3.1   fine of not more than $20,000, or both. 
  3.2      (b) For purposes of this subdivision, a "pattern of 
  3.3   harassing conduct" means two or more acts within a five-year 
  3.4   period that violate the provisions of any of the following: 
  3.5      (1) this section; 
  3.6      (2) section 609.713; 
  3.7      (3) section 609.224; 
  3.8      (4) section 609.2242; 
  3.9      (5) section 518B.01, subdivision 14; 
  3.10     (6) section 609.748, subdivision 6; 
  3.11     (7) section 609.605, subdivision 1, paragraph (b), clauses 
  3.12  (3), (4), and (7); 
  3.13     (8) section 609.79; 
  3.14     (9) section 609.795; 
  3.15     (10) section 609.582; or 
  3.16     (11) section 609.595. 
  3.17     Sec. 4.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  3.18     Sections 1 to 3 are effective August 1, 1997, and apply to 
  3.19  crimes committed on or after that date.