[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4602 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4602

           To prohibit the obstruction of emergency vehicles.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 16, 2020

 Mr. Kennedy (for himself, Mr. Tillis, Mrs. Blackburn, Ms. Ernst, Mr. 
Rounds, Mr. Cramer, and Mr. Rubio) introduced the following bill; which 
     was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
           To prohibit the obstruction of emergency vehicles.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Stop Blocking Hospitals Act''.

SEC. 2. OBSTRUCTION OF AN EMERGENCY VEHICLE.

    (a) Prohibition.--Chapter 2 of title 18, United States Code is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 40C. Obstruction of an emergency vehicle
    ``(a) Offense.--It shall be unlawful for any person, using a 
channel, facility, or instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce 
or otherwise affecting interstate or foreign commerce, to knowingly 
obstruct, delay, or prevent--
            ``(1) any ambulance or emergency vehicle from responding to 
        a call or transporting an individual to a hospital;
            ``(2) any vehicle used by a fire department, or any officer 
        or member of a fire department, from responding to a call or 
        transporting an individual to a hospital; or
            ``(3) any vehicle used by a State or local law enforcement 
        agency, or any officer of the State or local law enforcement 
        agency, from responding to a call or transporting an individual 
        to a hospital.
    ``(b) Penalty.--Any person who violates subsection (a) shall be 
fined under this title, imprisoned not less than 1 year nor more than 5 
years, or both.''.
    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for 
chapter 2 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting 
after the item relating to section 40B the following:

``40C. Obstruction of an emergency vehicle.''.
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