NY State Senate Bill 2019-S2149

Senate Bill S2149

2019-2020 Legislative Session

Includes in the class E felony of vehicular assault in the second degree, the causing of serious physical injury while operating a vehicle with suspended, revoked or no license

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Codes 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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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 08, 2020	referred to codes
Jan 22, 2019	referred to codes

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2019-S2149 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A863
Current Committee:: Senate Codes
Law Section:: Penal Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§120.03 &120.04, add §125.13-a, Pen L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2013-2014: S6386, A8587
2015-2016: S2484, A3536
2017-2018: S3299, A3759
2021-2022: S1228, A9703
2023-2024: S3602, A6984

2019-S2149 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Includes in the class E felony of vehicular assault in the second degree, the causing of serious physical injury while operating a vehicle with suspended, revoked or no license.

2019-S2149 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S2149

SPONSOR: GIANARIS
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the penal law, in relation to includ-
ing within the offense of vehicular assault in the second degree, the
causing of serious injury while knowingly operating a motor vehicle with
a revoked or suspended license or while not holding a license and estab-
lishing the offense of vehicular homicide

 
PURPOSE:

Includes in a class E felony of vehicular assault in the second degree,
the causing of serious physical injury or death while operating a vehi-
cle with suspended, revoked or no license, and creates the crime of
vehicular homicide, a class D felony.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section one amends Section 120.03 of the penal law to provide that a
person has committed vehicular assault in the second degree when he or
she causes serious physical injury to another 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 pursuant to subdivision two or two-a of section five hundred ten
or subdivisions one or three of section five hundred ten-a of the vehi-
cle and traffic law for conduct relating to the operation of a motor
vehicle; or he or she is not duly licensed.

Section two amends the opening paragraph of section 120.04, limiting the
crime of vehicular assault in the first degree to only those actions
listed in subdivision one of section 120.03 when such additional aggra-
vating factors apply as provided in section 120.04

Section three adds a new section 125.16 to the penal law creating the
crime of vehicular homicide, providing that a person is guilty of the
crime when he or she causes the death of another person while operating
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 pursuant to subdivision two or two-a of section five hundred ten
or five hundred ten-a of the vehicle and traffic law for conduct relat-
ing to the operation of a motor vehicle; or he or she is not duly
licensed.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

In recent months, more attention has been paid to the fact that drivers
with suspended licenses in New York State are still getting behind the
wheel - and killing people. Ten percent of all crashes in New York are
caused by drivers with suspended or revoked licenses, and 75 percent of
those drivers still get behind the wheel.

Often, these drivers are suspended for reasons related to traffic safe-
ty. They are a menace to pedestrians like Noshat Nahian, the eight year
old third grader at PS 152 who lost his life when he was hit by a trac-
tor trailer while crossing Northern Boulevard at 61st Street, and to
other drivers on the road. Licenses are suspended for a reason: these
people should not be behind the wheel of a vehicle.


It is illegal to drive a vehicle on a street or highway without a valid
driver's license. The right to operate a motor vehicle is granted by the
state, and its use depends upon the motorist complying with the condi-
tions prescribed in granting the license.

While we cannot turn back the clock on past accidents due to driving
with a suspended license, we can make it more difficult for people to
engage in this activity in the future. We must redouble our efforts to
make our streets safer, including bringing chronically reckless drivers
to justice.

This legislation would make it a class E felony for drivers who drive
unlicensed or with a revoked/suspended license to or seriously injure or
a class D felony to kill someone in the process.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2018: Passed Senate Died in Assembly
2017: Passed Senate Died in Assembly
2016: Passed Senate
2015: Passed Senate
2014: Senate Bill 6385 (Gianaris)Defeated in Senate Codes Committee

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act should take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it
shall have become a law.

2019-S2149 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2149
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 22, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sens. GIANARIS, ADDABBO, BRESLIN, HOYLMAN, LANZA, PARKER,
   STAVISKY -- 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 including within the
   offense of vehicular assault in the  second  degree,  the  causing  of
   serious  injury  while  knowingly  operating  a  motor  vehicle with a
   revoked or suspended license or while not holding a license and estab-
   lishing the offense of vehicular homicide
 
   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:
 § 120.03 Vehicular assault in the second degree.
   A person is guilty of vehicular assault in the second degree  when  he
 or she causes:
   1. serious physical injury to another person, and either:
   [(1)]  (A)  operates  a motor vehicle in violation of subdivision two,
 three, four or four-a of section eleven hundred ninety-two of the  vehi-
 cle  and  traffic law or operates a vessel or public vessel in violation
 of paragraph (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 alcohol 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)](B)  operates  a motor vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating
 of more than eighteen thousand  pounds  which  contains  flammable  gas,
 radioactive  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
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD01395-01-9

 S. 2149                             2
 
 use of alcohol, operates such motor vehicle in a manner that causes such
 serious physical injury to such other person, or
   [(3)]  (C) 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 paragraph (a) of subdivision one of section twenty-two hundred eight-
 y-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 impair-
 ment 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.
   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.] SUBDIVI-
 SION; OR
   2. SERIOUS PHYSICAL INJURY TO ANOTHER PERSON, WHILE OPERATING A  MOTOR
 VEHICLE,  KNOWING OR HAVING REASON TO KNOW THAT HIS OR HER LICENSE TO OR
 PRIVILEGE TO OPERATE A MOTOR VEHICLE IS SUSPENDED OR REVOKED PURSUANT TO
 SUBDIVISION TWO OR TWO-A OF SECTION FIVE HUNDRED TEN OR SUBDIVISION  ONE
 OR  THREE  OF  SECTION FIVE HUNDRED TEN-A OF THE VEHICLE AND TRAFFIC LAW
 FOR CONDUCT RELATING TO THE OPERATION OF A MOTOR VEHICLE, OR KNOWING  OR
 HAVING  REASON TO KNOW THAT HE OR SHE IS NOT LICENSED TO OPERATE A MOTOR
 VEHICLE ON A PUBLIC HIGHWAY PURSUANT TO THE VEHICLE AND TRAFFIC LAW.
   Vehicular assault in the second degree is a class E felony.
   § 2. The opening paragraph of section 120.04  of  the  penal  law,  as
 amended  by  chapter  496  of  the  laws  of 2009, is amended to read as
 follows:
   A person is guilty of vehicular assault in the first degree when he or
 she commits the crime of vehicular  assault  in  the  second  degree  as
 defined  in  SUBDIVISION  ONE  OF  section  120.03  of this article, and
 either:
   § 3. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 125.13-a to read
 as follows:
 § 125.13-A VEHICULAR HOMICIDE.
   A PERSON IS GUILTY OF VEHICULAR HOMICIDE WHEN HE  OR  SHE  CAUSES  THE
 DEATH  OF  ANOTHER  PERSON,  WHILE OPERATING A MOTOR VEHICLE, KNOWING OR
 HAVING REASON TO KNOW THAT HIS OR HER LICENSE TO OR PRIVILEGE TO OPERATE
 A MOTOR VEHICLE IS SUSPENDED OR REVOKED PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION  TWO  OR
 TWO-A OF SECTION FIVE HUNDRED TEN OR SUBDIVISION ONE OR THREE OF SECTION
 FIVE  HUNDRED  TEN-A OF THE VEHICLE AND TRAFFIC LAW FOR CONDUCT RELATING
 TO THE OPERATION OF A MOTOR VEHICLE, OR KNOWING OR HAVING REASON TO KNOW
 THAT HE OR SHE IS NOT LICENSED TO OPERATE A MOTOR VEHICLE  ON  A  PUBLIC
 HIGHWAY PURSUANT TO THE VEHICLE AND TRAFFIC LAW.
   VEHICULAR HOMICIDE IS A CLASS D FELONY.
   § 4. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
 it shall have become a law.

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