2020 – HB 458 – Mental Health Exemption, Healthcare Worker Assault

HB 458 creates a mental health exemption under I.C. 18-915C related to assault of healthcare workers.

HB 458 creates a mental health exemption under I.C. 18-915C related to assault of healthcare workers. The bill would prevent Idahoans who are diagnosed with a mental illness, or those seeking treatment for a mental illness, from being charged under this statute, which can result in an enhanced felony penalty over simple battery, which results in a misdemeanor penalty. At a time where many Idahoans with mental illness are increasingly intersecting with the State’s criminal legal system, this bill would acknowledge the role one’s mental illness played in the commission of a crime, and as such, provide an appropriate criminal penalty that will not continue to fill Idaho’s jails and prisons with people needing mental health treatment.