Bill Text: NY A08334 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Enacts the "dialogue and decorum act" which establishes the crime of disruption or disturbance of a lawful assembly; makes such crime an unclassified misdemeanor.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 28-3)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-09-13 - print number 8334a [A08334 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A08334-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         8334--A

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    December 13, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M. of A. BERGER, HEVESI, BICHOTTE HERMELYN, EICHENSTEIN,
          LAVINE, BRAUNSTEIN, DINOWITZ, PHEFFER AMATO, WILLIAMS, BURKE, GUNTHER,
          EACHUS, CUNNINGHAM, STIRPE, JONES, COLTON, PAULIN, SANTABARBARA, PRET-
          LOW, STERN, ROZIC, SHIMSKY, ANGELINO, BENEDETTO, BUTTENSCHON,  THIELE,
          RIVERA,  FALL,  BLUMENCRANZ,  FLOOD  --  read once and referred to the
          Committee on Codes -- recommitted to the Committee on Codes in accord-
          ance with Assembly Rule  3,  sec.  2  --  committee  discharged,  bill
          amended,  ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
          tee

        AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to establishing the crime  of
          disruption or disturbance of a lawful assembly

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as  the  "dialogue
     2  and decorum act".
     3    §  2.  The penal law is amended by adding a new section 240.22 to read
     4  as follows:
     5  § 240.22 Disruption or disturbance of a lawful assembly.
     6    1. A person is guilty of disruption or disturbance of a lawful  assem-
     7  bly  when  such  person, without authority of law, willfully disturbs or
     8  breaks up any assembly or meeting that is not unlawful in its character.
     9    2. For purposes of this section, the following terms  shall  have  the
    10  following meanings:
    11    (a) "Willfully disturbs" shall mean:
    12    (i)  the conduct substantially impairs the ability to conduct a lawful
    13  meeting or assembly; and
    14    (ii) the conduct is in violation of the implicit customs or  usage  of
    15  the  specific kind of meeting or assembly, or the explicit rules govern-
    16  ing the meeting or assembly, where the disrupting party knew or  reason-
    17  ably should have known such conduct was in violation.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD13729-05-4
        A. 8334--A                          2

     1    (b)  "Lawful  assembly"  shall mean a group of two or more individuals
     2  who legally reserve a space or area with an institution or  other  space
     3  lawfully available to those conducting such assembly or meeting, and who
     4  use  such  space  or  area  to  peacefully  assemble for any purpose not
     5  expressly prohibited by law.
     6    3.  Disregard of a moderator's call to order or a determination that a
     7  person is in violation of the rules of an assembly or meeting  shall  be
     8  proof that a disruption is willful.
     9    4. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to prohibit:
    10    (i) persons from articulating a particular viewpoint at an assembly or
    11  meeting that is not unlawful in its character; or
    12    (ii) non-disruptive protests of a lawful assembly or meeting;
    13    Disruption  or  disturbance  of  a  lawful assembly is an unclassified
    14  misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not  less  than  two  hundred  fifty
    15  dollars nor more than five hundred dollars.
    16    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.