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A00754 Summary:

BILL NOA00754
 
SAME ASNo Same As
 
SPONSORRosenthal
 
COSPNSRSeawright, Simon, Rozic, Weprin
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Amd §130.52, Pen L
 
Modifies the offense of forcible touching by removing the element of the actor's intent, including the intent to degrade or abuse another person.
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A00754 Actions:

BILL NOA00754
 
01/08/2025referred to codes
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A00754 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A754
 
SPONSOR: Rosenthal
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the penal law, in relation to modifying the offense of "forcible touching" to "unwanted touching" and by removing certain elements of the actor's intent   PURPOSE: This bill would close a loophole in the state's forcible touching law by removing the element of intent.   SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: Section one amends section 130.52 of the penal law. Section two sets forth the effective date.   JUSTIFICATION: To prove forcible touching, current law requires the victim to prove that the defendant touched them with intent to gratify their sexual desire or to degrade or abuse the victim. So long as the touch was unwanted, the intent should matter little. Regardless of intent, if a person is touched inappropriately against their will it should be unlaw- ful. Defendants often attempt to avoid prosecution by claiming that their unwanted touching was intended for reasons other than their own sexual desires or to degrade the person. In order to better protect victims of sexual assault, this bill would also expand the definition of forcible touching to include more than just squeezing, grabbing or pinching.   LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 2023-24: A.70 - Referred to Codes; 5.4426 - Referred to Codes 2021-22: A.208 - Referred to Codes; S.842 - Advanced to Third Reading 2019-20: A.104 - Referred to Codes; S.7090 - Referred to Codes 2017-18: A.8751-A - Referred to Codes   FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None to the State.   EFFECTIVE DATE: This bill shall take effect on the one hundred and eightieth day after it shall have become a law.
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A00754 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                           754
 
                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                       (Prefiled)
 
                                     January 8, 2025
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  M.  of  A. ROSENTHAL, SEAWRIGHT, SIMON, ROZIC, WEPRIN --
          read once and referred to the Committee on Codes
 
        AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to modifying the  offense  of
          "forcible  touching"  to  "unwanted  touching" and by removing certain
          elements of the actor's intent
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section  1. Section 130.52 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 264
     2  of the laws of 2003, the opening paragraph and subdivision 1 as  amended
     3  and  subdivision  2  as  added  by  chapter  250 of the laws of 2015, is
     4  amended to read as follows:
     5  § 130.52 [Forcible] Unwanted touching.
     6    A person is guilty of [forcible] unwanted touching  when  such  person
     7  intentionally, and for no legitimate purpose:
     8    1.  [forcibly]  touches  the sexual or other intimate parts of another
     9  person [for the purpose of degrading or abusing such person, or for  the
    10  purpose  of  gratifying  the actor's sexual desire] without the latter's
    11  consent; or
    12    2. subjects another person to sexual contact [for the purpose of grat-
    13  ifying the actor's sexual desire and with intent  to  degrade  or  abuse
    14  such  other person] without the latter's consent while such other person
    15  is a passenger on a bus, train, or subway car operated  by  any  transit
    16  agency,  authority  or  company,  public  or private, whose operation is
    17  authorized by New York state or any of its political subdivisions.
    18    For  the  purposes  of  this  section,  [forcible]  unwanted  touching
    19  includes but is not limited to squeezing, grabbing, rubbing or pinching.
    20    [Forcible] Unwanted touching is a class A misdemeanor.
    21    § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
    22  it shall have become a law.
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00996-01-5
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