A legislative committee voted unanimously Wednesday to endorse a bill that would increase the penalty for strangling a person, without killing the person, from a misdemeanor to a third-degree felony.

Members of the Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Interim Committee heard testimony for a bill sponsored by Rep. Jennifer Seelig, D-Salt Lake.

The bill would consider the act of strangling a person as aggravated assault, on par with attacking someone with an actual weapon. If bodily injury occurred from the strangulation, the offense would become a second-degree felony, punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

Seelig said the purpose of the bill was to help combat domestic violence where many perpetrators use strangulation as a way to control and strike fear into their victims.