Bill Text: NY A00196 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced

---

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 22-2)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-08 - referred to codes [A00196 Detail]

Download: New_York-2025-A00196-Introduced.html

---

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                           196

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                       (Prefiled)

                                     January 8, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M. of A. BERGER, HEVESI, BICHOTTE HERMELYN, EICHENSTEIN,
          BRAUNSTEIN, DINOWITZ,  PHEFFER AMATO,  WILLIAMS,  EACHUS,  CUNNINGHAM,
          STIRPE,  JONES,  COLTON,  PAULIN, SANTABARBARA, STERN, ROZIC, SHIMSKY,
          ANGELINO, BENEDETTO, BUTTENSCHON, RIVERA, FALL,  BLUMENCRANZ  --  read
          once and referred to the Committee on Codes

        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.
    18    (b) "Lawful assembly" shall mean a group of two  or  more  individuals
    19  who  legally  reserve a space or area with an institution or other space
    20  lawfully available to those conducting such assembly or meeting, and who

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00823-01-5
        A. 196                              2

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