An Alabama lawmaker wants to make an example of Carlee Russell and anyone else who makes up stories about being kidnapped in the state.

According to local station CBS WIAT, Republican State Sen. April Weaver, is set to sponsor a bill that will make it a felony offense to make false claims about being abducted.

In a press release, Weaver said that the legislation would include “strong prison sentences and mandatory restitution requirements for the full cost of resources expended by law enforcement agencies during a hoax abduction.”

“Individuals who concoct and carry out sham kidnappings and lead our law enforcement officers on wild goose chases must be given severe penalties for their deceptive actions,” Weaver’s statement read.

John Lyda, President of the Hoover City Council said that a vote will take place on the resolution next week. He also noted that he fully supports “changing the law to make false reporting of a felony, a felony and keeping false reporting of a misdemeanor, a misdemeanor.”

“There are 96,000 victims and those are the taxpayers of the city of Hoover that not only sat on edge worried for our community but expended a tremendous amount of resources over the course of that week to chase down leads on something we now know was totally made up,” Lyda said.

Jimmy Lambert, Executive Director of the Alabama Sheriffs Association, said that the amount of resources that are deployed by local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies in the abduction cases are not on par with the misdemeanor charges that are currently on the books for making false kidnapping claims.

“The amount of money and the efforts put in by all these agencies is in the hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Lambert said.

The proposed bill has also garnered the support of Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall.

“There’s no doubt that we can modify our law, take into specific circumstances in which the typical lying to law enforcement really isn’t the appropriate charge, that we need to elevate it,” Marshall said.

The Alabama state legislature will convene on Feb. 6, 2024, to consider the legislation.

Russell’s story drew national attention as rescue teams searched for her for two days. After she returned home to her parent’s home, law enforcement began to expose holes in her story. Eventually, she admitted that she concocted the entire story.

“There was no kidnapping on Thursday, July 13, 2023,” said Emory Anthony, Russel’s attorney in a statement. “My client did not see a baby on the side of the road. My client did not leave the Hoover area when she was identified as a missing person.

“My client did not have any help in this incident,” Anthony continued. “This was a single act done by herself. My client was not with anyone, or in any hotel with anyone at the time she was missing. My client apologizes for her actions to this community.”

On Friday (July 28), she was arrested and charged with two class A misdemeanors for making false reports to law enforcement authorities and falsely reporting an incident.

She was released on a $2,000 bond.

If Russell is found guilty, each charge is punishable by up to one year in prison.