NY State Senate Bill 2023-S5933

Senate Bill S5933

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Designates offenses against law enforcement officers as hate crimes and makes graffiti a hate crime

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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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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 03, 2024	referred to codes
Mar 23, 2023	referred to codes

co-Sponsors

2023-S5933 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A2964
Current Committee:: Senate Codes
Law Section:: Penal Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §485.05, Pen L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2019-2020: A10933
2021-2022: A4377
2025-2026: S283

2023-S5933 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Designates offenses against law enforcement officers as hate crimes; designates making graffiti as a specified offense.

2023-S5933 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S5933

SPONSOR: RHOADS
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the penal law, in relation to designating offenses
against law enforcement officers as hate crimes and makes graffiti a
hate crime

 
PURPOSE:

To add law enforcement officers as a protected class against hate crimes
while also adding graffiti to the list of "specific offenses" which when
committed - with the requisite animus - invoke a hate crime.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends Section 485.05 of the penal law to include individuals
who are "of actual or perceived employment as a law enforcement officer"
as a class of persons protected under hate crimes.

Section 2 amends Section 485.05 of the penal law, as amended by section

3 of part R of chapter 55 of the laws of 2020, to include the act of
making graffiti as a specified offense.

Section 3 provides the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

As hate crimes are certain "regular" crimes committed with a specific
animus and prejudice against a class of individuals, and since law
enforcement officers are routinely targeted by prejudicial treatment
despite their duties as protectors of the health and safety of our citi-
zenry, it is imperative that said officers are included as a class of
persons protected by hate crime laws. Law enforcement officials encount-
er assaults on their persons solely because of their status as an offi-
cer, and this is the kind of specifically motivated attack which hate
crimes are designed to more effectively deter and punish.

Graffiti and public threatening speech have been used to intimate class-
es of persons for decades now, and it is time that we recognize this and
include graffiti in the list of possible offenses which can invoke a
hate crime as well.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to the State.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately and in conjunction with section 3 of Part R of chapter 55 of
the laws of 2020.

2023-S5933 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5933
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              March 23, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  RHOADS -- 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  designating  offenses
   against  law  enforcement officers as hate crimes and makes graffiti a
   hate crime

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision 1 and subdivision 2
 of section 485.05 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 8 of the  laws
 of 2019, are amended to read as follows:
   (a)  intentionally  selects  the  person  against  whom the offense is
 committed or intended to be committed in whole or  in  substantial  part
 because  of  a  belief  or  perception  regarding  (I)  the race, color,
 national origin, ancestry, gender, gender identity or expression,  reli-
 gion,  religious  practice,  age,  disability or sexual orientation of a
 person OR (II) BECAUSE OF  ACTUAL  OR  PERCEIVED  EMPLOYMENT  AS  A  LAW
 ENFORCEMENT  OFFICER,  regardless of whether the belief or perception is
 correct, or
   (b) intentionally commits the act or acts constituting the offense  in
 whole or in substantial part because of a belief or perception regarding
 (I)  the race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, gender identity
 or expression, religion, religious practice, age, disability  or  sexual
 orientation  of  a person OR (II) BECAUSE OF ACTUAL OR PERCEIVED EMPLOY-
 MENT AS A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER, regardless of whether the  belief  or
 perception is correct.
   2.  Proof  of  race,  color, national origin, ancestry, gender, gender
 identity or expression, religion, religious practice, age, disability or
 sexual orientation OR EMPLOYMENT AS A LAW  ENFORCEMENT  OFFICER  of  the
 defendant,  the victim or of both the defendant and the victim does not,
 by  itself,  constitute  legally  sufficient  evidence  satisfying   the

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD06787-01-3
 S. 5933                             2

 
 people's  burden  under  paragraph (a) or (b) of subdivision one of this
 section.
   §  2.  Subdivision 3 of section 485.05 of the penal law, as amended by
 section 3 of part R of chapter 55 of the laws of  2020,  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  120.10
 (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 endan-
 germent 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  subdivision  one  of  section  130.67
 (aggravated  sexual abuse in the second degree); paragraph (a) of subdi-
 vision 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  third  degree);
 section 135.61 (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  145.60  (MAKING  GRAFFITI); 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[,] OR two [or four] of section
 240.30 (aggravated harassment in  the  second  degree);  section  490.10
 (soliciting  or  providing support for an act of terrorism in the second
 degree); section 490.15 (soliciting or providing support for an  act  of
 terrorism  in  the  first  degree); section 490.20 (making a terroristic
 threat); section 490.25 (crime of terrorism); section 490.30  (hindering
 prosecution  of terrorism in the second degree); section 490.35 (hinder-
 ing prosecution of terrorism in the first degree); section 490.37 (crim-
 S. 5933                             3
 
 inal possession of a chemical weapon or biological weapon in  the  third
 degree);  section  490.40  (criminal  possession of a chemical weapon or
 biological weapon  in  the  second  degree);  section  490.45  (criminal
 possession  of  a  chemical  weapon  or  biological  weapon in the first
 degree); section 490.47 (criminal use of a chemical weapon or biological
 weapon in the third degree); section 490.50 (criminal use of a  chemical
 weapon or biological weapon in the second degree); section 490.55 (crim-
 inal use of a chemical weapon or biological weapon in the first degree);
 or any attempt or conspiracy to commit any of the foregoing offenses.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

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Senate Bill S5933

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Sponsored By

Steven D. Rhoads