NY State Senate Bill 2019-S6762

Senate Bill S6762

2019-2020 Legislative Session

Relates to the assault on sports officials and aggravated harassment of a sports official and the provision of information to the spectators of such sporting events

download bill text pdf

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

Please enter your contact information

First Name

Last Name

Email Address

A valid email address is required.

Home address is used to determine the senate district in which you reside. Your support or opposition to this bill is then shared immediately with the senator who represents you.

Optional services from the NY State Senate:

Create an account. An account allows you to officially support or oppose key legislation, sign petitions with a single click, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Include a custom message for your Senator? (Optional)

Enter a message to your senator. Many New Yorkers use this to share the reasoning behind their support or opposition to the bill. Others might share a personal anecdote about how the bill would affect them or people they care about.

Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 08, 2020	referred to codes
Oct 02, 2019	referred to rules

2019-S6762 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Codes
Law Section:: Penal Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §120.05, add §240.33, Pen L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2021-2022: S2639
2023-2024: S234

2019-S6762 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Establishes the crime of assault on sports officials and aggravated harassment of a sports official; makes aggravated harassment of a sports official a class B misdemeanor; requires the state education department to establish an information campaign to be distributed to all youth and school sports programs requiring such programs to disseminate information to parents and other spectators of such programs on the protections afforded sports officials.

2019-S6762 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S6762

SPONSOR: GALLIVAN
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the penal law, in relation to the
assault on sports officials

 
PURPOSE:

To modify pertinent sections of the state's aggravated harassment and
assault laws to specifically categorize sports officials working on the
youth, interscholastic, collegiate, amateur, and professional sports
levels and to require a campaign to disseminate information to parents
and other spectators on the protections to be afforded to such sports
officials.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one of the bill adds a new subdivision 15 to section 120.05 of
the Penal law governing assault in the second degree to include sports
official.

Section two of the bill adds a new section 240.33 of the Penal law
establishing aggravated harassment of a sports official.

Section three of the bill requires the State Education Department to
establish a spectator information campaign.

Section four of the bill establishes the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Sports officials are an essential part of any organized sporting compe-
tition. In recent years, sports officials (umpires, referees, judges,
coaches, etc.) have unfortunately experienced increasing harassment and
in some cases have been assaulted by spectators of such sporting events.
The actions perpetrated by such spectators is simply unacceptable.

Spectators who have committed these acts not only harm the victim but
also create consternation among the entire community of sports offi-
cials, often resulting in a diminished interest among persons willing to
become a sports official. This dearth of interest is no more acute than
among youth and school sports programs.

In recognition of the important role they perform within organized
sports, this bill would establish enhanced legal protections exclusively
for sports officials. Doing so will also bring New York in line with the
thirty-three other states that have either created specific protections
within the law or recognized the unique role carried out by sports offi-
cials.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

S.5082 of 1997-98; Referred to Senate Codes Committee
S.651 of 1999-00; Referred to Senate Codes Committee
S.1224/A.6358 of 2001/2002; Referred to Senate Codes Committee
S.564/A.1579 of 2003/2004; Referred to Senate Codes Committee
S.1158/A.2044 of 2005/2006; Referred to Senate Codes Committee
S.47 of 2007/2008; Referred to Senate Codes Committee
S.1052/A.829 of 2009/2010; Referred to Senate Codes Committee
S.187/A.2385 of 2011/2012; Referred to Senate Codes Committee

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

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

2019-S6762 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6762
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              October 2, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. GALLIVAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
 
 AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation  to  the  assault  on  sports
   officials
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section 1. Subdivision 14 of section 120.05 of the penal law, as added
 by chapter 268 of the laws of 2016, is amended and a new subdivision  15
 is added to read as follows:
   14. With intent to prevent or obstruct a process server, as defined in
 section  eighty-nine-t  of  the  general business law, from performing a
 lawful duty pursuant to article three of  the  civil  practice  law  and
 rules,  or  intentionally,  as retaliation against such a process server
 for the performance of the process  server's  duties  pursuant  to  such
 article, including by means of releasing or failing to control an animal
 evincing  the  actor's  intent  that  the animal prevent or obstruct the
 lawful duty of the process server or as retaliation against the  process
 server, he or she causes physical injury to such process server[.]; OR
   15.  WITH  INTENT TO CAUSE PHYSICAL INJURY TO A SPORTS OFFICIAL, WHICH
 SHALL INCLUDE UMPIRES, REFEREES, JUDGES,  LINESMEN,  COACHES,  ASSISTANT
 COACHES, AND ANY OTHER PERSON PARTICIPATING IN AN OFFICIAL OR SUBSTITUTE
 CAPACITY  AT  A  SPORTS  CONTEST,  HE  OR SHE CAUSES SUCH INJURY TO SUCH
 SPORTS OFFICIAL IN OR ON OR WITHIN  ANY  BUILDING,  STRUCTURE,  ATHLETIC
 PLAYING  FIELD  OR PLAYGROUND AT WHICH THE SPORTS CONTEST INCLUDING PRE-
 GAME AND POST-GAME ACTIVITIES  ARE  CONDUCTED;  INCLUDING  ANY  AND  ALL
 SURROUNDING  PARKING FACILITIES OR AREAS DESIGNATED FOR PARKING FOR SUCH
 SPORTS CONTESTS.
   § 2. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 240.33  to  read
 as follows:
 § 240.33 AGGRAVATED HARASSMENT OF A SPORTS OFFICIAL.

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD13870-04-9

 S. 6762                             2
 
   A PERSON IS GUILTY OF AGGRAVATED HARASSMENT OF A SPORTS OFFICIAL WHEN,
 WITH INTENT TO HARASS, ANNOY, THREATEN OR ALARM A SPORTS OFFICIAL, WHICH
 SHALL  INCLUDE  UMPIRES,  REFEREES, JUDGES, LINESMEN, COACHES, ASSISTANT
 COACHES, AND ANY OTHER PERSON PARTICIPATING IN AN OFFICIAL OR SUBSTITUTE
 CAPACITY AT A SPORTS CONTEST, HE OR SHE:
   1.  STRIKES,  SHOVES, KICKS OR OTHERWISE SUBJECTS SUCH SPORTS OFFICIAL
 TO PHYSICAL CONTACT, OR ATTEMPTS TO THREATEN TO DO THE SAME;
   2. CAUSES OR ATTEMPTS TO CAUSE  SUCH  SPORTS  OFFICIAL  TO  COME  INTO
 CONTACT WITH SALIVA BY EXPELLING SUCH FLUID AT A SPORTS CONTEST; OR
   3.  COMMUNICATES  A THREAT TO CAUSE PHYSICAL HARM TO, OR UNLAWFUL HARM
 TO THE PROPERTY OF A SPORTS OFFICIAL, AND THE PERSON KNOWS OR REASONABLY
 SHOULD KNOW THAT SUCH COMMUNICATION WILL CAUSE SUCH SPORTS  OFFICIAL  TO
 REASONABLY FEAR HARM TO SUCH OFFICIAL'S PHYSICAL SAFETY OR PROPERTY.
   AGGRAVATED HARASSMENT OF A SPORTS OFFICIAL IS A CLASS B MISDEMEANOR.
   § 3. The education department of the state of New York shall establish
 an  information campaign to be distributed to all youth sports programs,
 school sports programs, amateur  sports  programs,  and  intercollegiate
 sports  programs,  requiring such programs to disseminate information to
 parents and  other  spectators  of  such  programs  on  the  protections
 afforded sports officials. In particular, the information campaign shall
 instruct  spectators of such sports programs on the appropriate behavior
 to exhibit when observing such applicable sports events and that harass-
 ing or assaulting a sports official due to a decision made by such offi-
 cial may result in the filing of criminal charges against  such  specta-
 tor.  Such sports programs must provide the information prepared by such
 department pursuant to this section to  parents  and  other  prospective
 spectators  at  the start of each sports season. Such information may be
 disseminated via a school's website or if available, a website dedicated
 to a youth or other sports program.
   § 4. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
 it shall have become a law.

Comments

Open Legislation is a forum for New York State legislation. All comments are subject to review and community moderation is encouraged.

Comments deemed off-topic, commercial, campaign-related, self-promotional; or that contain profanity, hate or toxic speech; or that link to sites outside of the nysenate.gov domain are not permitted, and will not be published. Attempts to intimidate and silence contributors or deliberately deceive the public, including excessive or extraneous posting/posts, or coordinated activity, are prohibited and may result in the temporary or permanent banning of the user. Comment moderation is generally performed Monday through Friday. By contributing or voting you agree to the Terms of Participation and verify you are over 13.

Create an account. An account allows you to sign petitions with a single click, officially support or oppose key legislation, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.