ID H0458

Amends Idaho Code Section 18-915C to establish exemptions for battery against health care workers when the perpetrator has a mental illness.

Battery against licensed health care workers or hospital/clinic employees during the performance of their duties remains subject to imprisonment in state prison not to exceed three (3) years.

The battery charge exemption applies to persons whose battery is the direct and proximate result of mental illness symptoms including delusions, hallucinations, erroneous perceptions of reality, disorganized thinking, mania, or disruptions of consciousness, memory, and perception.

The exemption applies only if the person is seeking admission to a hospital or medical clinic for mental illness treatment, has been admitted for such treatment, or is currently being treated in a mental health facility.

Provisions of Idaho Code Section 18-116 apply notwithstanding the mental illness exemption.