BILL NUMBER:A9359
TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the penal law, in relation to assault
and reckless endangerment by engaging in sexual conduct by persons who
have contracted HIV
PURPOSE: This bill amends the penal law to unmistakably make it a felo-
ny to either intentionally, or recklessly with depraved indifference to
human life, engage in sexual acts with another when one knows that he or
she is infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), where the other
individual is unaware of the infection and does not consent to engaging
in that conduct.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: Section 1 of the bill amends section 120.10 of
the penal law ("Assault in the First Degree") by creating a new subdivi-
sion 5 making it a class B violent felony, for someone with actual
notice that he or she has tested positive for and has contracted HIV to
intentionally, or recklessly under circumstances evincing a depraved
indifference to human life, transmit HIV to another through sexual
conduct or engage in behavior reasonably likely to transmit such disease
and as a result, transmits HIV.
Section 2 of the bill amends section 120.25 of the penal law ("Reckless
Endangerment in the First Degree") by creating a subdivision 2 making it
a class D violent felony for someone with actual notice that he or she
has tested positive for and has contracted HIV to intentionally, or
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
9359
I N A S S E M B L Y
(PREFILED)
January 6, 2010
___________
Introduced by M. of A. GABRYSZAK -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to assault and reckless
endangerment by engaging in sexual conduct by persons who have
contracted HIV
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Section 120.10 of the penal law, subdivision 4 as amended
by chapter 791 of the laws of 1967 and the closing paragraph as amended
by chapter 646 of the laws of 1996, is amended to read as follows:
S 120.10 Assault in the first degree.
A person is guilty of assault in the first degree when:
1. With intent to cause serious physical injury to another person, he
OR SHE causes such injury to such person or to a third person by means
of a deadly weapon or a dangerous instrument; or
2. With intent to disfigure another person seriously and permanently,
or to destroy, amputate or disable permanently a member or organ of his
OR HER body, he OR SHE causes such injury to such person or to a third
person; or
3. Under circumstances evincing a depraved indifference to human life,
he OR SHE recklessly engages in conduct which creates a grave risk of
death to another person, and thereby causes serious physical injury to
another person; or
4. In the course of and in furtherance of the commission or attempted
commission of a felony or of immediate flight therefrom, he OR SHE, or
another participant if there be any, causes serious physical injury to a
person other than one of the participants[.]; OR
5. SUCH PERSON HAS ACTUAL NOTICE THAT HE OR SHE HAS TESTED POSITIVE
FOR HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS (HIV) AND HAS IN FACT CONTRACTED HIV,
AND INTENTIONALLY OR, UNDER CIRCUMSTANCES EVINCING A DEPRAVED INDIFFER-
ENCE TO HUMAN LIFE RECKLESSLY, ENGAGES IN SEXUAL CONDUCT WITH ANOTHER
PERSON, AND SUCH CONDUCT IS INTENDED OR REASONABLY LIKELY TO TRANSMIT
HIV TO SUCH OTHER PERSON AND THEREBY TRANSMITS HIV TO SUCH OTHER PERSON.
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
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