Bill Text: NY A01884 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended


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 3-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-05-14 - print number 1884a [A01884 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A01884-Amended.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         1884--A

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 23, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  DINOWITZ, GUNTHER, SILLITTI -- read once and
          referred to the Committee on Codes -- recommitted to the Committee  on
          Codes  in  accordance  with  Assembly  Rule  3,  sec.  2  -- committee
          discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
          to said committee

        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  amended  by  chapter  233  of the laws of 2022, is amended  to  read  as
     3  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,  terminal  cleaner,  station  customer  assistant; person whose
     7  official duties include the  sale  or  collection  of  tickets,  passes,
     8  vouchers,  or  other  revenue payment media for use on a train or bus or
     9  the collection or handling of revenues therefrom; a person  whose  offi-
    10  cial  duties  include the maintenance, repair, inspection, troubleshoot-
    11  ing, testing or cleaning of buses, a transit signal system, elevated  or
    12  underground  subway  tracks,  transit  station structure, including fare
    13  equipment,  escalators,  elevators  and  other  equipment  necessary  to
    14  passenger service, commuter rail tracks or stations, train yard, revenue
    15  train  in passenger service, or a train or bus station or terminal; or a
    16  supervisor of such personnel, employed by any transit or  commuter  rail
    17  agency,  authority  or  company,  public  or private, whose operation is
    18  authorized by New York state or any of  its  political  subdivisions,  a
    19  city  marshal, a school crossing guard appointed pursuant to section two
    20  hundred eight-a of the general  municipal  law,  a  traffic  enforcement
    21  officer, traffic enforcement agent, prosecutor as defined in subdivision
    22  thirty-one  of  section  1.20  of the criminal procedure law, sanitation

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01411-03-4

        A. 1884--A                          2

     1  enforcement agent, New York city sanitation worker, public health  sani-
     2  tarian,  New  York  city  public  health  sanitarian,  registered nurse,
     3  licensed practical nurse,  emergency  medical  service  paramedic,  [or]
     4  emergency medical service technician, [he or she] or election officer as
     5  defined  in  section 1-104 of the election law, such person causes phys-
     6  ical injury to such train operator, ticket inspector, conductor, signal-
     7  person, bus operator, station agent, station cleaner, terminal  cleaner,
     8  station  customer  assistant;  person  whose official duties include the
     9  sale or collection of tickets, passes, vouchers or other revenue payment
    10  media for use on a train or bus or the collection or handling of  reven-
    11  ues  therefrom;  a person whose official duties include the maintenance,
    12  repair, inspection, troubleshooting, testing or  cleaning  of  buses,  a
    13  transit  signal  system,  elevated or underground subway tracks, transit
    14  station structure, including fare equipment, escalators,  elevators  and
    15  other  equipment necessary to passenger service, commuter rail tracks or
    16  stations, train yard, revenue train in passenger service, or a train  or
    17  bus  station  or  terminal;  or  a  supervisor  of  such personnel, city
    18  marshal, school crossing guard appointed pursuant to section two hundred
    19  eight-a of the general municipal law, traffic enforcement officer, traf-
    20  fic enforcement agent, prosecutor as defined in  subdivision  thirty-one
    21  of  section  1.20  of  the  criminal  procedure  law,  registered nurse,
    22  licensed practical nurse, public health sanitarian, New York city public
    23  health sanitarian, sanitation enforcement agent, New York  city  sanita-
    24  tion worker, emergency medical service paramedic, [or] emergency medical
    25  service  technician or election officer, while such employee is perform-
    26  ing an assigned duty on, or directly related  to,  the  operation  of  a
    27  train  or bus, cleaning of a train or bus station or terminal, assisting
    28  customers, the sale or collection of tickets, passes, vouchers, or other
    29  revenue media for use on a train or bus, or maintenance or cleaning of a
    30  train, a bus, or bus station or terminal,  signal  system,  elevated  or
    31  underground  subway  tracks,  transit  station structure, including fare
    32  equipment,  escalators,  elevators  and  other  equipment  necessary  to
    33  passenger  service,  commuter  rail  tracks  or  stations, train yard or
    34  revenue train in passenger service, or such city marshal, school  cross-
    35  ing  guard,  traffic  enforcement  officer,  traffic  enforcement agent,
    36  prosecutor as defined in subdivision thirty-one of section 1.20  of  the
    37  criminal  procedure  law,  registered  nurse,  licensed practical nurse,
    38  public health sanitarian, New York city public health sanitarian,  sani-
    39  tation  enforcement  agent,  New  York city sanitation worker, emergency
    40  medical service paramedic, [or] emergency medical service technician, or
    41  election officer is performing an assigned duty; or
    42    § 2. Subdivision 11 of section 120.05 of the penal law, as amended  by
    43  section  2  of  part  Z of chapter 55 of the laws of 2024, is amended to
    44  read as follows:
    45    11. With intent to cause physical injury to a train  operator,  ticket
    46  inspector, conductor, signalperson, bus operator, station agent, station
    47  cleaner,  terminal cleaner, station customer assistant, traffic checker;
    48  person whose official duties include the sale or collection of  tickets,
    49  passes,  vouchers,  or  other  revenue payment media for use on a train,
    50  bus, or ferry the collection or handling of revenues therefrom; a person
    51  whose official duties include the maintenance, repair, inspection, trou-
    52  bleshooting, testing or cleaning of buses or ferries, a  transit  signal
    53  system,  elevated  or  underground subway tracks, transit station struc-
    54  ture, including fare equipment, escalators, elevators and  other  equip-
    55  ment  necessary  to passenger service, commuter rail tracks or stations,
    56  train yard, revenue train in passenger service, a ferry  station,  or  a

        A. 1884--A                          3

     1  train  or  bus  station  or terminal; or a supervisor of such personnel,
     2  employed by any transit or commuter rail agency, authority  or  company,
     3  public  or  private,  whose operation is authorized by New York state or
     4  any  of  its  political  subdivisions, a city marshal, a school crossing
     5  guard appointed pursuant to section two hundred eight-a of  the  general
     6  municipal law, a traffic enforcement officer, traffic enforcement agent,
     7  prosecutor  as  defined in subdivision thirty-one of section 1.20 of the
     8  criminal procedure law, sanitation  enforcement  agent,  New  York  city
     9  sanitation worker, public health sanitarian, New York city public health
    10  sanitarian,   registered  nurse,  licensed  practical  nurse,  emergency
    11  medical service paramedic, [or] emergency  medical  service  technician,
    12  [he  or  she]  or  election  officer  as defined in section 1-104 of the
    13  election law, such person causes physical injury to such train operator,
    14  ticket inspector, conductor, signalperson, bus operator, station  agent,
    15  station  cleaner,  terminal cleaner, station customer assistant, traffic
    16  checker; person whose official duties include the sale or collection  of
    17  tickets,  passes,  vouchers  or other revenue payment media for use on a
    18  train, bus, or ferry or the collection or handling  of  revenues  there-
    19  from;  a  person  whose official duties include the maintenance, repair,
    20  inspection, troubleshooting, testing or cleaning of buses or ferries,  a
    21  transit  signal  system,  elevated or underground subway tracks, transit
    22  station structure, including fare equipment, escalators,  elevators  and
    23  other  equipment necessary to passenger service, commuter rail tracks or
    24  stations, train yard,  revenue  train  in  passenger  service,  a  ferry
    25  station,  or a train or bus station or terminal; or a supervisor of such
    26  personnel, city marshal, school crossing  guard  appointed  pursuant  to
    27  section  two  hundred  eight-a  of  the  general  municipal law, traffic
    28  enforcement officer, traffic enforcement agent, prosecutor as defined in
    29  subdivision thirty-one of section 1.20 of the  criminal  procedure  law,
    30  registered  nurse,  licensed  practical nurse, public health sanitarian,
    31  New York city public health sanitarian,  sanitation  enforcement  agent,
    32  New  York  city  sanitation worker, emergency medical service paramedic,
    33  [or] emergency medical service technician, or  election  officer,  while
    34  such employee is performing an assigned duty on, or directly related to,
    35  the  operation  of a train or bus, cleaning of a train or bus station or
    36  terminal, assisting customers, checking traffic, the sale or  collection
    37  of tickets, passes, vouchers, or other revenue media for use on a train,
    38  bus,  or ferry or maintenance or cleaning of a train, a bus, a ferry, or
    39  bus station or terminal, signal system, elevated or  underground  subway
    40  tracks, transit station structure, including fare equipment, escalators,
    41  elevators  and  other equipment necessary to passenger service, commuter
    42  rail tracks or stations,  train  yard  or  revenue  train  in  passenger
    43  service,  a  ferry station, or such city marshal, school crossing guard,
    44  traffic enforcement officer, traffic enforcement  agent,  prosecutor  as
    45  defined in subdivision thirty-one of section 1.20 of the criminal proce-
    46  dure  law,  registered  nurse,  licensed  practical nurse, public health
    47  sanitarian, New York city public health sanitarian, sanitation  enforce-
    48  ment  agent,  New York city sanitation worker, emergency medical service
    49  paramedic, [or] emergency medical service technician, or election  offi-
    50  cer is performing an assigned duty; or
    51    § 3. Section 195.05 of the penal law, as amended by section 16 of part
    52  G of chapter 55 of the laws of 2024, is amended to read as follows:
    53  § 195.05 Obstructing governmental administration in the second degree.
    54    A person is guilty of obstructing governmental administration when:
    55    1. Such person intentionally obstructs, impairs or perverts the admin-
    56  istration  of law or other governmental function or prevents or attempts

        A. 1884--A                          4

     1  to prevent  a  public  servant,  including  an  election  officer,  from
     2  performing  an  official  function,  by  means of intimidation, physical
     3  force or interference, or by means of any independently unlawful act, or
     4  by means of interfering, whether or not physical force is involved, with
     5  radio,  telephone,  television or other telecommunications systems owned
     6  or operated by the  state,  or  a  county,  city,  town,  village,  fire
     7  district or emergency medical service or by means of releasing a danger-
     8  ous  animal  under  circumstances  evincing  the actor's intent that the
     9  animal obstruct governmental administration; or
    10    2. With the intent to violate a closing order, order to  seal,  tempo-
    11  rary  closing order, or temporary order to seal issued by a governmental
    12  entity to address a public health or safety concern, such person damages
    13  or removes any padlock or other device  installed  for  the  purpose  of
    14  effectuating such order.
    15    Obstructing governmental administration is a class A misdemeanor.
    16    § 4. Section 240.30 of the penal law is amended by adding a new subdi-
    17  vision 3-b to read as follows:
    18    3-b.  With  the intent to harass, annoy, threaten or alarm an election
    19  officer, such person  strikes,  shoves,  kicks,  or  otherwise  subjects
    20  another  person  to physical contact, or attempts or threatens to do the
    21  same while such election officer is performing such  election  officer's
    22  official duties; or
    23    §  5.  This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
    24  if section 2 of part Z of chapter 55 of the laws of 2024 shall not  have
    25  taken  effect  on or before such date then section two of this act shall
    26  take effect on the same date and in the same manner as such  chapter  of
    27  the laws of 2024, takes effect.
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