Designates certain offenses against emergency medical services personnel, firefighters, and law enforcement officers as hate crimes; includes the definition of emergency medical services personnel, firefighters, and law enforcement officers.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A3417REVISED 1/23/24
SPONSOR: DeStefano (MS) TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the penal law, in relation to designating offenses
against law enforcement officers as hate crimes
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To combat targeted acts of violence against our emergency medical
services personnel, fire fighters, police officers or a law enforcement
officer.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 adds emergency medical services personnel, firefighters, and
law enforcement officers to the list of demographic descriptors for the
basis in which a hate crime was committed. Under subdivision 4, it adds
paragraphs (d), (e), and (f), which defines the terms of "emergency
medical services personnel", "firefighter", and "law enforcement offi-
cer" respectively.
JUSTIFICATION:
There have been far too many attacks on our emergency responders due
solely to their career choices. These brave men and women put their
lives on the line protecting the citizens of the State of New York every
day. This act will ensure that the perpetrators of such targeted crimes
against New York State's emergency medical service personnel, fire
fighters, police officers and law enforcement officers shall face harsh-
er punishments.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A.3824 of 2021/22 -held for considerations in Codes;
A.1652 of 2017/18 - referred to codes;
A.10543 of 2015/16 - Held in Codes
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3417
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 3, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. DeSTEFANO, WALSH, BRABENEC, MILLER, DURSO, DiPIE-
TRO, McDONOUGH, MORINELLO, MANKTELOW, SMITH -- Multi-Sponsored by --
M. of A. J. M. GIGLIO -- read once and referred to the Committee on
Codes
AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to designating offenses
against law enforcement officers as hate crimes
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivisions 1, 2 and 4 of section 485.05 of the penal law,
2 as amended by chapter 8 of the laws of 2019, are amended to read as
3 follows:
4 1. A person commits a hate crime when he or she commits a specified
5 offense and either:
6 (a) intentionally selects the person against whom the offense is
7 committed or intended to be committed in whole or in substantial part
8 because of a belief or perception regarding the race, color, national
9 origin, ancestry, gender, gender identity or expression, religion, reli-
10 gious practice, age, disability, or because of actual or perceived
11 employment as emergency medical services personnel, a firefighter or a
12 law enforcement officer, or sexual orientation of a person, regardless
13 of whether the belief or perception is correct, or
14 (b) intentionally commits the act or acts constituting the offense in
15 whole or in substantial part because of a belief or perception regarding
16 the race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, gender identity or
17 expression, religion, religious practice, age, disability, or because of
18 actual or perceived employment as emergency medical services personnel,
19 a firefighter or a law enforcement officer, or sexual orientation of a
20 person, regardless of whether the belief or perception is correct.
21 2. Proof of race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, gender
22 identity or expression, religion, religious practice, age, disability,
23 or because of actual or perceived employment as emergency medical
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08198-01-3
A. 3417 2
1 services personnel, a firefighter or a law enforcement officer, or sexu-
2 al orientation of the defendant, the victim or of both the defendant and
3 the victim does not, by itself, constitute legally sufficient evidence
4 satisfying the people's burden under paragraph (a) or (b) of subdivision
5 one of this section.
6 4. For purposes of this section:
7 (a) the term "age" means sixty years old or more;
8 (b) the term "disability" means a physical or mental impairment that
9 substantially limits a major life activity;
10 (c) the term "gender identity or expression" means a person's actual
11 or perceived gender-related identity, appearance, behavior, expression,
12 or other gender-related characteristic regardless of the sex assigned to
13 that person at birth, including, but not limited to, the status of being
14 transgender;
15 (d) the term "emergency medical services personnel" means persons
16 trained and certified or licensed to provide emergency medical care,
17 whether on a paid or volunteer basis, as part of a basic life support or
18 advanced life support pre-hospital emergency care service or in an emer-
19 gency department or pediatric critical care or specialty unit in a
20 licensed hospital;
21 (e) the term "firefighter" means any firefighter regularly employed by
22 a fire department of any municipality of the state of New York; and
23 (f) the term "law enforcement officer" means any active or retired
24 city or state law enforcement officer, peace officer, sheriff, deputy
25 sheriff, probation or parole officer, marshal, deputy, wildlife enforce-
26 ment agency, state correctional officer, or commissioned agent of the
27 department of corrections and community supervision, as well as any
28 federal law enforcement officer or employee, whose permanent duties
29 include making arrests, performing search and seizures, execution of
30 criminal arrest warrants, execution of civil seizure warrants, any civil
31 functions performed by sheriffs or deputy sheriffs, enforcement of penal
32 or traffic laws, or the care, custody, control or supervision of
33 inmates.
34 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
