Bill Text: NY A09257 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Includes within the class D felony of assault in the second degree, the intentional causing of physical injury to an election officer while such person is performing their assigned duties; amends aggravated harassment and obstruction of governmental administration to include election officers.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-02-09 - referred to codes [A09257 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-A09257-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          9257

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 9, 2022
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. DINOWITZ -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Codes

        AN  ACT  to amend the penal law, in relation to increasing penalties for
          assault, obstruction and harassment of election officers

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

     1    Section  1. Subdivision   11  of  section  120.05 of the penal law, as
     2  separately amended by chapters 268 and 281  of  the  laws  of  2016,  is
     3  amended  to  read  as follows:
     4    11.  With  intent to cause physical injury to a train operator, ticket
     5  inspector, conductor, signalperson, bus operator, station agent, station
     6  cleaner or terminal cleaner employed by any transit agency, authority or
     7  company, public or private, whose operation is authorized  by  New  York
     8  state  or  any  of  its political subdivisions, a city marshal, a school
     9  crossing guard appointed pursuant to section two hundred eight-a of  the
    10  general  municipal  law, a traffic enforcement officer, traffic enforce-
    11  ment agent, prosecutor as defined in subdivision thirty-one  of  section
    12  1.20  of  the  criminal procedure law, sanitation enforcement agent, New
    13  York city sanitation worker, public health  sanitarian,  New  York  city
    14  public  health  sanitarian,  registered nurse, licensed practical nurse,
    15  emergency medical service  paramedic,  [or]  emergency  medical  service
    16  technician,  or  election  officer  as  defined  in section 1-104 of the
    17  election law, he or she causes physical injury to such  train  operator,
    18  ticket  inspector, conductor, signalperson, bus operator, station agent,
    19  station cleaner or terminal cleaner, city marshal, school crossing guard
    20  appointed pursuant to section two hundred eight-a of the general munici-
    21  pal law, traffic enforcement officer, traffic enforcement agent,  prose-
    22  cutor as defined in subdivision thirty-one of section 1.20 of the crimi-
    23  nal  procedure  law,  registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, public
    24  health sanitarian, New York city public  health  sanitarian,  sanitation
    25  enforcement  agent,  New  York city sanitation worker, emergency medical
    26  service paramedic, [or] emergency medical service technician or election
    27  officer, while such employee is  performing  an  assigned  duty  on,  or
    28  directly  related  to,  the  operation  of a train or bus, including the

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD14441-02-2
        A. 9257                             2

     1  cleaning of a train or bus station or terminal, or  such  city  marshal,
     2  school  crossing guard, traffic enforcement officer, traffic enforcement
     3  agent, prosecutor as defined in subdivision thirty-one of  section  1.20
     4  of  the  criminal  procedure  law,  registered nurse, licensed practical
     5  nurse, public health sanitarian, New York city public health sanitarian,
     6  sanitation enforcement agent, New York city sanitation worker, emergency
     7  medical service paramedic, [or] emergency medical service technician, or
     8  election officer is performing an assigned duty; or
     9    § 2.  Section 195.05 of the penal law, as amended by  chapter  269  of
    10  the laws of 1998, is amended to read as follows:
    11  § 195.05 Obstructing governmental administration in the second degree.
    12    A  person is guilty of obstructing governmental administration when he
    13  or she intentionally obstructs, impairs or perverts  the  administration
    14  of law or other governmental function or prevents or attempts to prevent
    15  a  public  servant,  including  an  election officer, from performing an
    16  official function, by means of intimidation, physical force or interfer-
    17  ence, or by means of any independently unlawful  act,  or  by  means  of
    18  interfering,  whether  or  not  physical  force is involved, with radio,
    19  telephone, television or other telecommunications systems owned or oper-
    20  ated by the state, or a county, city, town, village,  fire  district  or
    21  emergency  medical  service  or by means of releasing a dangerous animal
    22  under circumstances evincing the actor's intent that the animal obstruct
    23  governmental administration.
    24    Obstructing governmental administration is a class A misdemeanor.
    25    § 3 . Section 240.30 of the penal law  is  amended  by  adding  a  new
    26  subdivision 3-a to read as follows:
    27    3-a.  With  the intent to harass, annoy, threaten or alarm an election
    28  officer, he or she strikes, shoves, kicks, or otherwise subjects another
    29  person to physical contact, or attempts or  threatens  to  do  the  same
    30  while such election officer is performing his or her official duties; or
    31    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.