NY State Senate Bill 2017-S115

Senate Bill S115

2017-2018 Legislative Session

Classifies gang assault in the first degree and gang assault in the second degree as hate crimes

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Codes Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 03, 2018	referred to codes
Jan 04, 2017	referred to codes

2017-S115 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Codes
Law Section:: Penal Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §485.05, Pen L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2013-2014: S7093
2015-2016: S497
2019-2020: S228

2017-S115 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Classifies gang assault in the first degree and gang assault in the second degree as hate crimes.

2017-S115 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S115

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the penal law, in relation to classifying gang assault
in the first degree and gang assault in the second degree as hate
crimes

 PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL :

Adds the crime of gang assault to the list of crimes which are
prosecutable under the hate crimes law.

 SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS :

Section 1 amends subdivision 3 of section 485.05 of the penal law to
add sections 120.06 (gang assault in the second degree) and 120.07
(gang assault in the first degree) of the penal law to the list of
specified offenses which are included in the hate crimes law.

Section 2 establishes an immediate effective date.

 JUSTIFICATION :

New York State's hate crimes law enhances penalties for crimes which
are committed against individuals based wholly or substantially upon

the individual's race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender,
religion, religious practice, age, disability, or sexual orientation.
This section of law is crucial to ensuring legal protection for
vulnerable segments of our population.

On October 3rd, 2010, three Bronx men were savagely beaten, tortured,
and robbed by a group of nine young men. The group carried out the
attack because they suspected the three victims to be gay. They took
the victims back to an apartment in the Bronx, where they stripped
them of their clothes and carried out a vicious series of assaults
with various implements, including a baseball bat, a box cutter, a
plunger handle, and lit cigarettes.

On February 20th, 2014, the assailants were given sentences of varying
lengths for their crimes. The leader of the assaults was sentenced to
14 years in prison on one count of gang assault in the first degree.
However, prosecutors had initially sought to charge the leader and the
other assailants with a hate crime. Due to the fact that the charge of
gang assault is not included in New York's hate crimes law, they were
unable to elevate the assailants' sentences to a higher category and
did not pursue a hate crime charge because they would not have been
able to secure an elevated sentence.

This bill would add language including the offenses of gang assault in
the first degree and gang assault in the second degree to New York's
hate crimes law. This will ensure that any gang assaults which are
based wholly or substantially on an individual's race, color, national
origin, ancestry, gender, religion, religious practice, age,
disability, or sexual orientation can be prosecuted under the hate
crimes law and result in an elevated sentence.

 PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

S.497 of 2015-2016 (Hoylman): Passed Senate (2015)/Died in Codes
(2016)
S.7093 of 2014 (Hoylman): Passed Senate
A.10074 of 2014 (O'Donnell): Died in Codes

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None to the state.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
Immediate.

2017-S115 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    115
 
                        2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 4, 2017
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. HOYLMAN -- 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 classifying  gang  assault
   in  the  first  degree  and  gang assault in the second degree as hate
   crimes

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Subdivision  3  of  section  485.05  of the penal law, as
 amended by chapter 405 of the laws  of  2010,  is  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   3. A "specified offense" is an offense defined by any of the following
 provisions  of  this  chapter:  section  120.00  (assault  in  the third
 degree); section 120.05 (assault in the second degree);  SECTION  120.06
 (GANG ASSAULT IN THE SECOND DEGREE); SECTION 120.07 (GANG ASSAULT IN THE
 FIRST  DEGREE);  section  120.10  (assault in the first degree); section
 120.12 (aggravated assault upon a person less than  eleven  years  old);
 section  120.13 (menacing in the first degree); section 120.14 (menacing
 in the second degree); section 120.15 (menacing in  the  third  degree);
 section  120.20  (reckless  endangerment  in the second degree); section
 120.25 (reckless endangerment  in  the  first  degree);  section  121.12
 (strangulation  in  the second degree); section 121.13 (strangulation in
 the first degree); subdivision one of section  125.15  (manslaughter  in
 the  second  degree);  subdivision  one,  two  or four of section 125.20
 (manslaughter in the first degree); section 125.25 (murder in the second
 degree); section 120.45 (stalking in the fourth degree); section  120.50
 (stalking  in  the third degree); section 120.55 (stalking in the second
 degree); section 120.60 (stalking in the first degree); subdivision  one
 of section 130.35 (rape in the first degree); subdivision one of section
 130.50  (criminal  sexual  act  in the first degree); subdivision one of
 section 130.65 (sexual abuse in the  first  degree);  paragraph  (a)  of
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD05322-01-7

 S. 115                              2
 
 subdivision one of section 130.67 (aggravated sexual abuse in the second
 degree);  paragraph (a) of subdivision one of section 130.70 (aggravated
 sexual abuse in the first degree); section 135.05 (unlawful imprisonment
 in  the  second  degree);  section  135.10 (unlawful imprisonment in the
 first degree); section 135.20 (kidnapping in the second degree); section
 135.25 (kidnapping in the first degree); section 135.60 (coercion in the
 second degree); section 135.65 (coercion in the first  degree);  section
 140.10 (criminal trespass in the third degree); section 140.15 (criminal
 trespass in the second degree); section 140.17 (criminal trespass in the
 first  degree);  section  140.20 (burglary in the third degree); section
 140.25 (burglary in the second degree); section 140.30 (burglary in  the
 first  degree); section 145.00 (criminal mischief in the fourth degree);
 section 145.05 (criminal mischief in the third degree);  section  145.10
 (criminal  mischief  in  the  second  degree);  section 145.12 (criminal
 mischief in the first degree);  section  150.05  (arson  in  the  fourth
 degree);  section  150.10  (arson  in  the third degree); section 150.15
 (arson in the  second  degree);  section  150.20  (arson  in  the  first
 degree);  section  155.25 (petit larceny); section 155.30 (grand larceny
 in the fourth degree);  section  155.35  (grand  larceny  in  the  third
 degree);  section  155.40  (grand larceny in the second degree); section
 155.42 (grand larceny in the first degree); section 160.05  (robbery  in
 the  third  degree);  section  160.10  (robbery  in  the second degree);
 section 160.15 (robbery in the first degree); section 240.25 (harassment
 in the first degree); subdivision one, two or  four  of  section  240.30
 (aggravated harassment in the second degree); or any attempt or conspir-
 acy to commit any of the foregoing offenses.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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