BILL WOULD REQUIRE THOWE WHO MAKE BOMB THREATS TO REGISTER

Like sex offenders, people convicted of making false bomb threats would have to register with local police under a bill being considered by a state Senate committee.

The legislation, filed by Sen. Jerry T. Howard, D-Dexter, is intended to deter what he considers terrorist threats.

One hearing on the bill has been held by the Senate Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee, but no action was taken.

In addition to the registration provision, Howard's bill would also change the making of a false threat from a misdemeanor to a felony.

In recent years many states have passed laws requiring convicted sex offenders living in a community to register their whereabouts with police. The impetus behind such laws is the high recidivism rate among sex offenders.

Howard said the names of people who have made false threats need to be available to authorities because of the terrorist nature of such activity.

"This is an act of terrorism," Howard said. "You are not involving just one person; you are involving a great number of people."

Two bomb threats last year at the Hudson Chicken processing plant in Dexter prompted the legislation.

On each occasion the plant was forced to shut down while authorities investigated the threats. No bombs were found.

Howard said each shutdown cost the company $25,000 to $30,000 in spoilage and lost time.

"When you shut down an industry in a city where that is a prime industry, you shut down the entire town," Howard said.

During 1994 and 1995 there was also a rash of false bomb claims at churches, nursing homes and the high school in Dexter. No arrests were made in connection with any of the incidents.

As a misdemeanor, making a false bomb threat carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a $1,000 fine. If increased to a felony, an offender could face seven years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

Another bill introduced in the Senate would have made the crime a felony but lacked the registration provision. Howard said that bill has since been combined with his own.

Rep. Marilyn Taylor Williams, D-Dudley, has introduced similar legislation in the House of Representatives. Williams' district includes areas also represented by Howard.

Williams' bill calls for making the crime a class D felony but stops short of registration. It also allows the court to require offenders to make restitution for monetary losses resulting from their threat. In the Hudson cases, that would have meant a sizable penalty.

The House version has been assigned to the Civil and Criminal Law Committee, but no hearings have yet been held.