Bill Text: NY S01917 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Designates offenses against law enforcement officers, firefighters and emergency medical services personnel as hate crimes.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 20-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-04-25 - REPORTED AND COMMITTED TO VETERANS, HOMELAND SECURITY AND MILITARY AFFAIRS [S01917 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-S01917-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          1917

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    January 16, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by Sens. AKSHAR, BORRELLO, BOYLE, GALLIVAN, GRIFFO, HELMING,
          JORDAN, LANZA, O'MARA, ORTT, RITCHIE, SERINO, TEDISCO  --  read  twice
          and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee
          on Codes

        AN  ACT  to  amend  the  penal  law, in relation to designating offenses
          against law enforcement officers, firefighters and  emergency  medical
          services personnel as hate crimes

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

     1    Section 1. Subdivisions 1, 2 and 4 of section 485.05 of the penal law,
     2  as amended by chapter 8 of the laws of 2019,  are  amended  to  read  as
     3  follows:
     4    1.  A  person  commits a hate crime when he or she commits a specified
     5  offense and either:
     6    (a) intentionally selects the  person  against  whom  the  offense  is
     7  committed  or  intended  to be committed in whole or in substantial part
     8  because of a  belief  or  perception  regarding  the  (i)  race,  color,
     9  national  origin, ancestry, gender, gender identity or expression, reli-
    10  gion, religious practice, age, disability or  sexual  orientation  of  a
    11  person  or  (ii)  because  of  actual  or  perceived employment as a law
    12  enforcement officer, a firefighter  or  as  emergency  medical  services
    13  personnel, regardless of whether the belief or perception is correct, or
    14    (b)  intentionally commits the act or acts constituting the offense in
    15  whole or in substantial part because of a belief or perception regarding
    16  the (i) race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, gender  identity
    17  or  expression,  religion, religious practice, age, disability or sexual
    18  orientation of a person or (ii) because of actual or  perceived  employ-
    19  ment as a law enforcement officer, a firefighter or as emergency medical
    20  services  personnel,  regardless  of whether the belief or perception is
    21  correct.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03959-01-1
        S. 1917                             2

     1    2. Proof of race, color, national  origin,  ancestry,  gender,  gender
     2  identity or expression, religion, religious practice, age, disability or
     3  sexual  orientation  or employment as a law enforcement officer, a fire-
     4  fighter or as emergency medical services personnel of the defendant, the
     5  victim  or  of  both  the  defendant and the victim does not, by itself,
     6  constitute legally sufficient evidence satisfying  the  people's  burden
     7  under paragraph (a) or (b) of subdivision one of this section.
     8    4. For purposes of this section:
     9    (a) the term "age" means sixty years old or more;
    10    (b)  the  term "disability" means a physical or mental impairment that
    11  substantially limits a major life activity;
    12    (c) the term "gender identity or expression" means a  person's  actual
    13  or  perceived gender-related identity, appearance, behavior, expression,
    14  or other gender-related characteristic regardless of the sex assigned to
    15  that person at birth, including, but not limited to, the status of being
    16  transgender;
    17    (d) the term "law enforcement officer" means  any  active  or  retired
    18  city  or  state  law enforcement officer, peace officer, sheriff, deputy
    19  sheriff, probation or parole officer, marshal, deputy, wildlife enforce-
    20  ment agency, county or  state  correctional  officer,  fire  marshal  or
    21  commissioned agent of the department of corrections and community super-
    22  vision,  as  well  as  any  federal law enforcement officer or employee,
    23  whose permanent duties include making  arrests,  performing  search  and
    24  seizures,  execution  of  criminal  arrest  warrants, execution of civil
    25  seizure warrants, any civil functions performed by  sheriffs  or  deputy
    26  sheriffs,  enforcement  of  penal or traffic laws, or the care, custody,
    27  control or supervision of inmates;
    28    (e)  the  term  "firefighter"  means  (i)  any  firefighter  regularly
    29  employed  by  a  fire department of any municipality of the state of New
    30  York and (ii) any volunteer firefighter as defined in subdivision one of
    31  section three of the volunteer firefighters' benefit law; and
    32    (f) the term "emergency medical services personnel" means the  person-
    33  nel  of  a  service  or  agency,  whether  paid or volunteer, engaged in
    34  providing initial emergency medical assistance, including but not limit-
    35  ed to first responders, emergency medical technicians and advanced emer-
    36  gency medical technicians.
    37    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.