Senate Bill S183

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                   183

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                               (PREFILED)

                             January 7, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced  by Sen. FLANAGAN -- 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  penalties  for  causing
  serious injury or death while knowingly operating a motor vehicle with
  a revoked or suspended license

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Section 120.03 of the penal law, as amended by chapter  732
of the laws of 2006, is amended to read as follows:
S 120.03 Vehicular assault in the second degree.
  A  person  is guilty of vehicular assault in the second degree when he
or she causes serious physical injury to another person, and either:
  (1) operates a motor vehicle in violation of subdivision  two,  three,
four  or  four-a of section eleven hundred ninety-two of the vehicle and
traffic law or operates a vessel or public vessel in violation of  para-
graph (b), (c), (d) or (e) of subdivision two of section forty-nine-a of
the  navigation  law, and as a result of such intoxication or impairment
by the use of a drug, or by the combined influence of drugs or of  alco-
hol and any drug or drugs, operates such motor vehicle, vessel or public
vessel  in  a  manner  that  causes such serious physical injury to such
other person, or
  (2) operates a motor vehicle with a gross  vehicle  weight  rating  of
more  than eighteen thousand pounds which contains flammable gas, radio-
active materials or  explosives  in  violation  of  subdivision  one  of
section  eleven  hundred  ninety-two of the vehicle and traffic law, and
such flammable gas, radioactive materials or explosives is the cause  of
such  serious physical injury, and as a result of such impairment by the
use of alcohol, operates such motor vehicle in a manner that causes such
serious physical injury to such other person, or

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD02100-01-9
              

S. 183                              2

  (3) operates a snowmobile in violation of paragraph (b), (c) or (d) of
subdivision one of section 25.24 of the parks, recreation  and  historic
preservation  law or operates an all terrain vehicle as defined in para-
graph (a) of subdivision one of section twenty-two hundred eighty-one of
the  vehicle and traffic law and in violation of subdivision two, three,
four, or four-a of section eleven hundred ninety-two of the vehicle  and
traffic  law,  and as a result of such intoxication or impairment by the
use of a drug, or by the combined influence of drugs or of  alcohol  and
any  drug or drugs, operates such snowmobile or all terrain vehicle in a
manner that causes such serious physical injury to such other person[.],
OR
  (4) CAUSES SUCH SERIOUS PHYSICAL INJURY BY OPERATION OF A MOTOR  VEHI-
CLE  WHILE  KNOWING  OR HAVING REASON TO KNOW THAT HIS OR HER LICENSE OR
PRIVILEGE OF OPERATING A MOTOR VEHICLE IS SUSPENDED OR REVOKED  PURSUANT
TO  PROVISIONS  OF  SECTION  FIVE HUNDRED TEN OF THE VEHICLE AND TRAFFIC
LAW.
  If it is established that the person  operating  such  motor  vehicle,
vessel,  public  vessel,  snowmobile  or all terrain vehicle caused such
serious physical injury while unlawfully intoxicated or impaired by  the
use  of  alcohol or a drug, then there shall be a rebuttable presumption
that, as a result of such intoxication or impairment by the use of alco-
hol or a drug, or by the combined influence of drugs or of  alcohol  and
any  drug  or  drugs,  such  person  operated the motor vehicle, vessel,
public vessel, snowmobile or all terrain vehicle in a manner that caused
such serious physical injury, as required by this section.
  Vehicular assault in the second degree is a class E felony.
  S 2. Section 125.12 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 732 of the
laws of 2006, is amended to read as follows:
S 125.12 Vehicular manslaughter in the second degree.
  A person is guilty of vehicular manslaughter in the second degree when
he or she causes the death of another person, and either:
  (1) operates a motor vehicle in violation of subdivision  two,  three,
four  or  four-a of section eleven hundred ninety-two of the vehicle and
traffic law or operates a vessel or public vessel in violation of  para-
graph (b), (c), (d) or (e) of subdivision two of section forty-nine-a of
the  navigation  law, and as a result of such intoxication or impairment
by the use of a drug, or by the combined influence of drugs or of  alco-
hol and any drug or drugs, operates such motor vehicle, vessel or public
vessel in a manner that causes the death of such other person, or
  (2)  operates  a  motor  vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of
more than eighteen thousand pounds which contains flammable gas,  radio-
active  materials  or  explosives  in  violation  of  subdivision one of
section eleven hundred ninety-two of the vehicle and  traffic  law,  and
such  flammable gas, radioactive materials or explosives is the cause of
such death, and as a result of such impairment by the  use  of  alcohol,
operates  such  motor  vehicle in a manner that causes the death of such
other person, or
  (3) operates a snowmobile in violation of paragraph (b), (c) or (d) of
subdivision one of section 25.24 of the parks, recreation  and  historic
preservation  law or operates an all terrain vehicle as defined in para-
graph (a) of subdivision one of section twenty-two hundred eighty-one of
the vehicle and traffic law in  violation  of  subdivision  two,  three,
four,  or four-a of section eleven hundred ninety-two of the vehicle and
traffic law, and as a result of such intoxication or impairment  by  the
use  of  a drug, or by the combined influence of drugs or of alcohol and

S. 183                              3

any drug or drugs, operates such snowmobile or all terrain vehicle in  a
manner that causes the death of such other person[.], OR
  (4)  CAUSES  THE  DEATH  OF  SUCH OTHER PERSON BY OPERATION OF A MOTOR
VEHICLE WHILE KNOWING OR HAVING REASON TO KNOW THAT HIS OR  HER  LICENSE
OR PRIVILEGE OF OPERATING A MOTOR VEHICLE IS SUSPENDED OR REVOKED PURSU-
ANT TO PROVISIONS OF SECTION FIVE HUNDRED TEN OF THE VEHICLE AND TRAFFIC
LAW.
  If  it  is  established  that the person operating such motor vehicle,
vessel, public vessel, snowmobile or all  terrain  vehicle  caused  such
death  while unlawfully intoxicated or impaired by the use of alcohol or
a drug, then there shall be a rebuttable presumption that, as  a  result
of  such  intoxication or impairment by the use of alcohol or a drug, or
by the combined influence of drugs or of alcohol and any drug or  drugs,
such  person  operated the motor vehicle, vessel, public vessel, snowmo-
bile or all terrain vehicle in a  manner  that  caused  such  death,  as
required by this section.
  Vehicular manslaughter in the second degree is a class D felony.
  S 3. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed-
ing the date on which it shall have become a law.