Bill Text: NY S06762 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Establishes the crime of assault on sports officials and aggravated harassment of a sports official; makes aggravated harassment of a sports official a class B misdemeanor; requires the state education department to establish an information campaign to be distributed to all youth and school sports programs requiring such programs to disseminate information to parents and other spectators of such programs on the protections afforded sports officials.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO CODES [S06762 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S06762-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          6762

                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                     October 2, 2019
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by Sen. GALLIVAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules

        AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation  to  the  assault  on  sports
          officials

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

     1    Section 1. Subdivision 14 of section 120.05 of the penal law, as added
     2  by chapter 268 of the laws of 2016, is amended and a new subdivision  15
     3  is added to read as follows:
     4    14. With intent to prevent or obstruct a process server, as defined in
     5  section  eighty-nine-t  of  the  general business law, from performing a
     6  lawful duty pursuant to article three of  the  civil  practice  law  and
     7  rules,  or  intentionally,  as retaliation against such a process server
     8  for the performance of the process  server's  duties  pursuant  to  such
     9  article, including by means of releasing or failing to control an animal
    10  evincing  the  actor's  intent  that  the animal prevent or obstruct the
    11  lawful duty of the process server or as retaliation against the  process
    12  server, he or she causes physical injury to such process server[.]; or
    13    15.  With  intent to cause physical injury to a sports official, which
    14  shall include umpires, referees, judges,  linesmen,  coaches,  assistant
    15  coaches, and any other person participating in an official or substitute
    16  capacity  at  a  sports  contest,  he  or she causes such injury to such
    17  sports official in or on or within  any  building,  structure,  athletic
    18  playing  field  or playground at which the sports contest including pre-
    19  game and post-game activities  are  conducted;  including  any  and  all
    20  surrounding  parking facilities or areas designated for parking for such
    21  sports contests.
    22    § 2. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 240.33  to  read
    23  as follows:
    24  § 240.33 Aggravated harassment of a sports official.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD13870-04-9
        S. 6762                             2

     1    A person is guilty of aggravated harassment of a sports official when,
     2  with intent to harass, annoy, threaten or alarm a sports official, which
     3  shall  include  umpires,  referees, judges, linesmen, coaches, assistant
     4  coaches, and any other person participating in an official or substitute
     5  capacity at a sports contest, he or she:
     6    1.  Strikes,  shoves, kicks or otherwise subjects such sports official
     7  to physical contact, or attempts to threaten to do the same;
     8    2. Causes or attempts to cause  such  sports  official  to  come  into
     9  contact with saliva by expelling such fluid at a sports contest; or
    10    3.  Communicates  a threat to cause physical harm to, or unlawful harm
    11  to the property of a sports official, and the person knows or reasonably
    12  should know that such communication will cause such sports  official  to
    13  reasonably fear harm to such official's physical safety or property.
    14    Aggravated harassment of a sports official is a class B misdemeanor.
    15    § 3. The education department of the state of New York shall establish
    16  an  information campaign to be distributed to all youth sports programs,
    17  school sports programs, amateur  sports  programs,  and  intercollegiate
    18  sports  programs,  requiring such programs to disseminate information to
    19  parents and  other  spectators  of  such  programs  on  the  protections
    20  afforded sports officials. In particular, the information campaign shall
    21  instruct  spectators of such sports programs on the appropriate behavior
    22  to exhibit when observing such applicable sports events and that harass-
    23  ing or assaulting a sports official due to a decision made by such offi-
    24  cial may result in the filing of criminal charges against  such  specta-
    25  tor.  Such sports programs must provide the information prepared by such
    26  department pursuant to this section to  parents  and  other  prospective
    27  spectators  at  the start of each sports season. Such information may be
    28  disseminated via a school's website or if available, a website dedicated
    29  to a youth or other sports program.
    30    § 4. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
    31  it shall have become a law.