NY State Senate Bill 2023-S9781

Senate Bill S9781

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Establishes the "Hoosock and Jensen law" which increases the designation of certain offenses relating to unlawfully fleeing a police officer

download bill text pdf

Current 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
May 30, 2024	referred to codes

2023-S9781 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A10101
Current Committee:: Senate Codes
Law Section:: Penal Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§270.25, 270.30 & 270.35, Pen L

2023-S9781 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Designates unlawful fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle in the third degree as a class E felony; designates unlawful fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle in the second degree as a class D violent felony offense; designates unlawful fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle in the first degree as a class B violent felony offense.

2023-S9781 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S9781

SPONSOR: MANNION
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the penal law, in relation to establishing the "Hoosock
and Jensen law" which increases the designation of certain offenses
relating to unlawfully fleeing a police officer

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

The purpose of this bill is to increase the designation of offenses
relating to unlawfully fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of this bill would establish the title of this law as the
"Hoosock and Jensen law."

Section 2 of this bill would amend section 270.25 of the Penal Law to
establish that unlawful fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle in
the third degree is a class E felony.

Section 3 of this bill would amend section 270.30 of the Penal Law to
establish that unlawful fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle in
the second degree is a class D violent felony offense.

Section 4 of this bill would amend section 270.35 of the Penal Law to
establish that unlawful fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle in
the first degree is a class B violent felony offense.

Section 5 of this bill provides that the effective date shall take
effect on the first of November next succeeding the date on which it
shall have become law.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

On the evening of April 14, 2024, City of Syracuse police officers were
conducting a routine traffic stop when the driver fled the scene in his
vehicle at high speed. Officers were able to trace the vehicle back to
the suspect's residence, where both Syracuse City and Onondaga County
officers responded. This ultimately led to the suspect shooting at
police on scene with a high powered rifle, killing Onondaga County Sher-
iff's Lieutenant Michael "Hootch" Hoosock and Syracuse City Police Offi-
cer Michael E. Jensen.

This heinous crime and tragedy highlights the dangers of suspects flee-
ing from Police officers in a moter vehicle. The United States Deparment
of Transportation estimates that over 200,000 high speed chases occur
every year in the U.S., with between 6,000 and 8,000 resulting in colli-
sions. The current charges for unlawful fleeing of a police officer do
not reflect the danger faced by both the public and law enforcement in
these situations. With approximately 5,000 individuals suffering inju-
ries, and 500 being killed in such vehicle chases yearly, it is imper-
ative that the consequences for these actions are comparable. This bill
would increase the charges for unlawful fleeing from a police officer in
the third degree, second degree, and first degree.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeeding the
date on which it shall have become a law.

2023-S9781 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   9781
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 30, 2024
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. MANNION -- 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 establishing the  "Hoosock
   and  Jensen  law"  which increases the designation of certain offenses
   relating to unlawfully fleeing a police officer
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Short  title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
 the "Hoosock and Jensen law".
   § 2. The second undesignated paragraph of section 270.25 of the  penal
 law,  as added by chapter 738 of the laws of 2006, is amended to read as
 follows:
   Unlawful fleeing a police officer in a  motor  vehicle  in  the  third
 degree is a class [A misdemeanor] E FELONY.
   §  3. The second undesignated paragraph of section 270.30 of the penal
 law, as added by chapter 738 of the laws of 2006, is amended to read  as
 follows:
   Unlawful  fleeing  a  police  officer in a motor vehicle in the second
 degree is a class [E] D VIOLENT felony OFFENSE.
   § 4. The second undesignated paragraph of section 270.35 of the  penal
 law,  as added by chapter 738 of the laws of 2006, is amended to read as
 follows:
   Unlawful fleeing a police officer in a  motor  vehicle  in  the  first
 degree is a class [D] B VIOLENT felony OFFENSE.
   § 5. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed-
 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.
 
 
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD15347-04-4

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