Bill Text: NY S00289 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Expands the offense of unlawfully dealing with a child in the second degree to include allowing a child less than eighteen years old to enter or remain in an establishment that serves alcohol and does not have an on-site kitchen.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 3-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-08 - REFERRED TO CODES [S00289 Detail]

Download: New_York-2025-S00289-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                           289

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                       (Prefiled)

                                     January 8, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sens.  RHOADS,  BORRELLO,  OBERACKER  --  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 expanding the offense of
          unlawfully dealing with a child in the second degree

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

     1    Section 1. Section 260.21 of the penal law, as added by chapter 362 of
     2  the  laws  of 1992, the opening paragraph of subdivision 1 as amended by
     3  chapter 478 of the laws of 1996 and subdivision 3 as amended by  chapter
     4  100 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
     5  § 260.21 Unlawfully dealing with a child in the second degree.
     6    A  person  is  guilty of unlawfully dealing with a child in the second
     7  degree when:
     8    1. Being an owner, lessee, manager or employee of a place where  alco-
     9  holic  beverages  are  sold  or  given away, [he]  such person permits a
    10  child less than [sixteen] eighteen years old to enter or remain in  such
    11  place unless:
    12    (a) The child is accompanied by [his] such child's parent, guardian or
    13  an adult authorized by a parent or guardian; or
    14    (b)  The  entertainment or activity is being conducted for the benefit
    15  or under the auspices of a non-profit school,  church  or  other  educa-
    16  tional or religious institution; or
    17    (c) Otherwise permitted by law to do so; or
    18    (d)  The  establishment is closed to the public for a specified period
    19  of time to conduct an activity or entertainment, during which the  child
    20  is  in  or remains in such establishment, and no alcoholic beverages are
    21  sold, served, given away or consumed at such establishment  during  such
    22  period.  The  state liquor authority shall be notified in writing by the
    23  licensee of such establishment, of the intended closing of  such  estab-

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00198-01-5
        S. 289                              2

     1  lishment,  to  conduct any such activity or entertainment, not less than
     2  ten days prior to any such closing; or
     3    2. [He] such person marks the body of a child less than eighteen years
     4  old with indelible ink or pigments by means of tattooing; or
     5    3.  [He  or she] Such person sells or causes to be sold tobacco in any
     6  form to a child less than twenty-one years old; or
     7    4. Being an owner, lessee, manager or employee  of  an  establishment,
     8  such  person  permits  a  child less than eighteen years old to enter or
     9  remain in such establishment, provided that:
    10    (a) alcoholic beverages are exclusively sold, served, or given away at
    11  said establishment; and
    12    (b) the majority of the gross square feet of space that is nonresiden-
    13  tial is used for that purpose and where the  primary  function  of  said
    14  establishment  is  the selling of alcoholic beverages for consumption on
    15  the premises; and
    16    (c) said establishment does not have an on-site kitchen that  is  used
    17  for the preparation of food items ordered by patrons.
    18    It  is  no  defense  to a prosecution pursuant to subdivision three of
    19  this section that the child acted as  the  agent  or  representative  of
    20  another person or that the defendant dealt with the child as such.
    21    Unlawfully  dealing  with  a  child  in the second degree is a class B
    22  misdemeanor.
    23    § 2.   This act shall take  effect  on  the  first  of  November  next
    24  succeeding the date upon which it shall have become a law.