Bill Text: NY A05069 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Enacts "Chelsey's law"; provides that a person commits the crime of manslaughter or aggravated manslaughter when such person knows or has reasonable grounds to know that a controlled substance is likely to cause the death of another person and sells, administers, delivers, or causes the delivery of a controlled substance to another person and such substance causes,contributes to, or aids in the death of such other person.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced) 2025-02-12 - referred to codes [A05069 Detail]

Download: New_York-2025-A05069-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          5069

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 12, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. STERN, BRAUNSTEIN, PHEFFER AMATO, WOERNER, JONES,
          SANTABARBARA,  BUTTENSCHON,  McMAHON, BARRETT, STIRPE, FALL, JACOBSON,
          WILLIAMS, SAYEGH, EACHUS, BERGER, RA, K. BROWN,  E. BROWN,  DeSTEFANO,
          GANDOLFO,  BLUMENCRANZ,  BLANKENBUSH,  DURSO, McDONOUGH, JENSEN, GRAY,
          SLATER, CHANG -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. SHIMSKY, SIMON -- read
          once and referred to the Committee on Codes

        AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to enacting "Chelsey's law"

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

     1    Section  1.  Short  title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
     2  "Chelsey's law".
     3    § 2. Section 125.15 of the penal law is amended by adding a new subdi-
     4  vision 2 to read as follows:
     5    2. knowing or having reasonable grounds  to  know  that  a  controlled
     6  substance,  or  any  mixture,  compound,  or combination of a controlled
     7  substance with other substances, is likely to cause the death of another
     8  person, such person sells, administers, delivers, or causes the delivery
     9  of a controlled substance to  another  person  and  such  substance,  or
    10  mixture, compound, or combination of substances, causes, contributes to,
    11  or aids in the death of such other person; or
    12    §  3.  Subdivision  4  of section 125.20 of the penal law, as added by
    13  chapter 477 of the laws of 1990, is amended and a new subdivision  5  is
    14  added to read as follows:
    15    4.  Being eighteen years old or more and with intent to cause physical
    16  injury to a person less than eleven years old, the defendant  recklessly
    17  engages in conduct which creates a grave risk of serious physical injury
    18  to such person and thereby causes the death of such person[.]; or
    19    5.  The  defendant  commits  the  crime  of manslaughter in the second
    20  degree, as defined in subdivision two of section 125.15 of this article,
    21  and where:

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02143-01-5
        A. 5069                             2

     1    (a) the defendant sells, administers, delivers, or causes such  deliv-
     2  ery to an individual less than eighteen years old; or
     3    (b)  the  substance,  mixture,  compound, or combination of substances
     4  includes any substance listed in schedule  I,  II,  III,  IV,  or  V  of
     5  section  thirty-three hundred six of the public health law that is clas-
     6  sified as either an opiate or opium derivative under such law; or
     7    (c) the defendant sells, administers, delivers, or causes such  deliv-
     8  ery to an individual already impaired by one or more substances; or
     9    (d)  the defendant sells, administers, delivers, or causes such deliv-
    10  ery, while knowing or having reasonable grounds to know that such  indi-
    11  vidual  intended to use one or more additional substances in conjunction
    12  with conveyed substance; or
    13    (e) the defendant sells, administers, delivers, or causes such  deliv-
    14  ery,  while knowing or having reasonable grounds to know that such indi-
    15  vidual had either completed a drug rehabilitation program  or  overdosed
    16  within thirty days of such conveyance; or
    17    (f)  in  cases  involving  a  mixture,  compound,  or  combination  of
    18  substances, the defendant does not disclose to the immediate next recip-
    19  ient the full and accurate  listing  of  substances  contained  in  such
    20  mixture, compound, or combination of substances.
    21    §  4.  Subdivision  2  of section 125.22 of the penal law, as added by
    22  chapter 765 of the laws of 2005, is amended and a new subdivision  3  is
    23  added to read as follows:
    24    2.  with  intent to cause the death of a police officer or peace offi-
    25  cer, where such officer was in the course of  performing  [his  or  her]
    26  their  official  duties and the defendant knew or reasonably should have
    27  known that such victim was a police officer or  peace  officer,  [he  or
    28  she]  the  defendant  causes the death of such officer or another police
    29  officer or peace officer under circumstances  which  do  not  constitute
    30  murder  because  [he  or  she] the defendant acts under the influence of
    31  extreme emotional disturbance, as defined in paragraph (a)  of  subdivi-
    32  sion  one  of section 125.25 of this article. The fact that homicide was
    33  committed under the influence of extreme emotional  disturbance  consti-
    34  tutes   a   mitigating   circumstance   reducing  murder  to  aggravated
    35  manslaughter in the first degree or manslaughter in the first degree and
    36  need not be proved in any  prosecution  initiated  under  this  subdivi-
    37  sion[.]; or
    38    3.  the  defendant  commits  the  crime  of manslaughter in the second
    39  degree, as defined in subdivision two of section 125.15 of this article,
    40  and where:
    41    (a) the defendant sells, administers, delivers, or causes such  deliv-
    42  ery to an individual less than sixteen years old; or
    43    (b)  the  defendant  has  prior knowledge that the substance, mixture,
    44  compound, or combination of substances  (i)  has  caused  the  death  of
    45  another  person or (ii) contains an ingredient, substance, component, or
    46  additive that has caused the death of another person.
    47    § 5. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 125.23  to  read
    48  as follows:
    49  § 125.23 Presumption; controlled substances.
    50    In  any  prosecution  under  section 125.15, 125.20, or 125.22 of this
    51  article, it shall be presumptive evidence that a  controlled  substance,
    52  or  any mixture, compound, or combination of a controlled substance with
    53  other substances is likely to cause the death  of  another  person  when
    54  such substance, or any mixture, compound, or combination of a controlled
    55  substance  with  other  substances, is sold, administered, delivered, or
    56  caused to be delivered without  a  prescription  from  a  duly  licensed
        A. 5069                             3

     1  medical  professional.  The  sale,  administration,  delivery, or caused
     2  delivery of a controlled substance, or any mixture, compound, or  combi-
     3  nation  of a controlled substance with other substances, by any individ-
     4  ual other than a duly licensed medical professional shall be presumptive
     5  evidence  that  such  person knew or had reasonable grounds to know that
     6  such substance, mixture, compound,  or  combination  of  substances  was
     7  likely to cause the death of such other person.
     8    § 6. This act shall take effect immediately.