Senate Bill S4540

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Relates to consent

download bill text pdf

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Crime Victims, Crime And Correction 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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2025-S4540 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:
A5265
Current Committee:
Senate Crime Victims, Crime And Correction
Law Section:
Penal Law
Laws Affected:
Amd §130.05, Pen L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:
2021-2022: S5733, A8085
2023-2024: S4358, A7927

2025-S4540 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Provides that consent to sexual contact is a knowing, voluntary, and mutual decision among all participants; makes related provisions.

2025-S4540 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S4540 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf 

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4540
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 6, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sen. FERNANDEZ -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed  to  be committed to the Committee on Crime Victims, Crime and
   Correction
 
 AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to consent
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section  1.  Subdivision  2  of  section  130.05  of the penal law, as
 amended by chapter 1 of the laws of 2000, paragraph (c)  as  amended  by
 chapter  264 of the laws of 2003 and paragraph (d) as amended by chapter
 23 of the laws of 2024, is amended to read as follows:
   2. (A) CONSENT TO SEXUAL CONTACT IS A KNOWING, VOLUNTARY,  AND  MUTUAL
 DECISION  AMONG  ALL  PARTICIPANTS.  CONSENT  CAN  BE  GIVEN BY WORDS OR
 ACTIONS, AS LONG AS THOSE WORDS OR ACTIONS CREATE CLEAR ONGOING  PERMIS-
 SION REGARDING WILLINGNESS TO ENGAGE IN THE SEXUAL ACTIVITY.
   (B) Lack of consent results from:
   [(a)]  (I) Forcible compulsion, DURESS, COERCION, OR VERBAL WITHDRAWAL
 OF PREVIOUSLY GRANTED CONSENT; or
   [(b)] (II) Incapacity to consent; or
   [(c)] (III) Where the offense charged  is  sexual  abuse  or  forcible
 touching, any circumstances, in addition to forcible compulsion or inca-
 pacity  to  consent, in which the victim does not expressly or impliedly
 acquiesce in the actor's conduct; or
   [(d)] (IV) Where the offense charged is rape in the  third  degree  as
 defined  in  subdivision  seven,  eight  or nine of section 130.25, or a
 crime formerly defined in subdivision three of section 130.40, in  addi-
 tion  to  forcible compulsion, circumstances under which, at the time of
 the act of vaginal sexual contact, oral sexual contact  or  anal  sexual
 contact,  the  victim clearly expressed that [he or she] SUCH VICTIM did
 not consent to engage in such  act,  and  a  reasonable  person  in  the
 actor's  situation would have understood such person's words and acts as
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD06496-02-5
 S. 4540                             2

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