'HARLEY'S LAW' CLEARS STATE PANEL.

Byline: Ryan Oliver Staff Writer

VAN NUYS - A bill that would increase jail time for motorists fleeing police has cleared its first hurdle in the state Assembly, officials announced Thursday.

The bill, known as ``Harley's Law,'' is named after Harley Medellin, a Sylmar infant who lost his arm when a suspect fleeing from LAPD officers hit his family's sport utility vehicle broadside in December.

The bill, sponsored by Assemblyman Lloyd E. Levine, D-Van Nuys, proposes to increase the penalty for evading an officer to an alternate misdemeanor or felony.

The misdemeanor charge would be punishable by up to a year or 16 months in county jail, while the felony would carry a maximum two or three years in state prison.

``The tragedies caused by police pursuits aren't the police's fault, and they're not the public's fault. They're the suspects' fault,'' Levine said in a statement. ``Before they decide to run and risk lives, they need to know that they will serve time for fleeing.''

Motorists who show reckless disregard for public safety or cause serious injury or death will face between four and nine years in prison, as well as fines up to $20,000.

On Wednesday, the Assembly Committee on Public Safety approved the bill. It will also need the approval of the fiscal appropriations committee before it can come to a floor vote.