Judiciary Committee Moves Legislation to Criminalize the Fraudulent Presentation of Oneself as a Soldier or Veteran
HARRISBURG – House Judiciary Committee Majority Chairman Ron Marsico (R-Dauphin) moved legislation to make it a crime to fraudulently present oneself as a soldier or veteran today during the committee’s scheduled weekly voting meeting.
“Our soldiers and veterans obviously deserve the utmost respect. For a layman to impersonate a soldier or veteran is extremely disrespectful and should absolutely be a crime,” said Marsico. “The support of our military men and women is something that I take very seriously and was pleased to see legislation pass through the committee today that would continue to support and respect these individuals.”
House Bill 2050 would create a crime to fraudulently present oneself as a soldier or a veteran of any branch of the armed forces, or to be the recipient of a service medal or other military decoration, when it is done with the intention of obtaining money, property or other benefits. The offense would be graded as a third-degree misdemeanor.
In addition to House Bill 2050, several other bills moved through the committee today, including:
House Bill 2084, which would require the Department of Corrections to issue non-lethal pepper spray to all state corrections officers working in medium- and high-security state prisons. The officers would have to complete a training course on the use of such spray before being issued it, and then attend annual training as well.
Senate Bill 533, which would address the disposition of contraband seized by a county probation or parole officer from an offender under his or her supervision. The bill sets forth various procedures to determine when such property would be deemed abandoned.
Senate Bill 917, which would provide that in cases where a child is alleged to be dependent or delinquent, or where the child is the subject of investigation regarding child abuse or has been accepted for services from the county agency, the contents of county agency, drug and alcohol, mental health, and education records of the child may be shared among agencies trying to help the child. Those agencies include the county agency, the court and the juvenile probation department. Currently, the Juvenile Act contains no such provision; however, some counties have informal agreements to share records.
Senate Bill 936, which would cap the amount that an employer may charge to garnish wages in connection with the enforcement of a child or domestic support order. More specifically, the bill would eliminate the current ongoing 2 percent deduction and instead permit an employer to collect a one-time fee of $50 for reimbursement for the expense of the wage garnishment.
The legislation will now go to the full House for consideration.
Representative Ronald Marsico
105th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
RonMarsico.com
Media Contact: Autumn R. Southard, 717.652.3721
asouthar@pahousegop.com