NRS202.449. Dispersing hoax substance prohibited; penalties.

      1.  A person shall not, through the use of any means of delivery, including, without limitation, mail, package delivery services, mail couriers or drop payment boxes, disperse or cause to be dispersed any hoax substance with the intent to:

      (a) Injure, intimidate, alarm or cause mental anguish to any person, whether or not any person is actually injured, intimidated, alarmed or caused mental anguish thereby;

      (b) Cause any reasonable person to believe that the person was contaminated by or exposed to a biological agent, chemical agent, radioactive agent or other lethal agent, any toxin or any nuclear or explosive substance;

      (c) Cause panic or civil unrest, whether or not such panic or civil unrest actually occurs;

      (d) Extort or profit thereby, whether or not the extortion is actually successful or any profit actually occurs; or

      (e) Interfere with the operations of or cause economic or other damage to any person or business, whether or not such interference or damage actually occurs.

      2.  Except as otherwise provided in subsection 3, a person who violates any provision of subsection 1 is guilty of a category D felony and shall be punished as provided in NRS 193.130.

      3.  Unless a greater penalty is provided by specific statute, if a person violates any provision of subsection 1 and the violation proximately causes the death of, or substantial bodily harm to, any other person, the person is guilty of a category B felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for a minimum term of not less than 2 years and a maximum term of not more than 20 years, and may be further punished by a fine of not more than $5,000.

      4.  In addition to any other penalty, the court shall order a person who violates any provision of subsection 1 to pay restitution to any public agency for any expenses of a response to a hoax substance that arise from the violation.

      5.  As used in this section:

      (a) “Expenses of a response to a hoax substance” includes, without limitation, the reasonable costs incurred by a public agency in making an appropriate response to or investigation of a hoax substance, including, without limitation, the salary or wages of any person responding to or investigating a hoax substance, the deemed wages of any volunteer of a public agency participating in the response or investigation, the costs for use or operation of any equipment and the costs for the use or expenditure of any resources, fuel or other materials.

      (b) “Public agency” means an agency, bureau, board, commission, department or division of the State of Nevada or a political subdivision of the State of Nevada that provides police, fire-fighting, rescue or emergency medical services.

      (Added to NRS by 2007, 995)