NY State Senate Bill 2021-S9267

Senate Bill S9267

2021-2022 Legislative Session

Relates to increasing penalties for assault, obstruction and harassment of an election officer

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

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
May 12, 2022	referred to codes

2021-S9267 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A9257
Current Committee:: Senate Codes
Law Section:: Penal Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§120.05, 195.05 & 240.30, Pen L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2023-2024: S9387, A1884
2025-2026: S5696, A4928

2021-S9267 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Includes within the class D felony of assault in the second degree, the intentional causing of physical injury to an election officer while such person is performing their assigned duties; amends aggravated harassment and obstruction of governmental administration to include election officers.

2021-S9267 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S9267

SPONSOR: SKOUFIS
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the penal law, in relation to increasing penalties for
assault, obstruction and harassment of election officers

 
PURPOSE:

To deter individuals from attacking or threatening an election officer
while in the performance of his or her official duties.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one of the bill amends subdivision 11 of § 120.15 of the penal
code to add intending and causing physical injury to an election officer
in his or her official capacity, as defined in section 1-104 of the
election law, as assault in the second degree.

Section two of the bill amends § 195.05 of the penal law to add inten-
tionally obstructing an election officer in his or her official capacity

by physical force, intimidation, or other means of interference, as
obstructing governmental administration in the second degree.

Section three of the bill adds subdivision 3-a to § 240.30 of the penal
law to add striking, shoving, kicking, or otherwise subjecting another
person with physical contact, or attempts to do the same, with the
intent to harass, annoy, threaten, or alarm an election official as
aggravated harassment in the second degree.

Section four of the bill provides the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Particularly in recent years, election workers have been beleaguered
simply for doing their jobs. In the 2020 presidential election, Reuters
documented hundreds of hostile messages directed toward election offi-
cials and workers across multiple states. Some have gone so far as to
act, with documented cases of assault against election workers in both
Florida and North Carolina. It is unsurprising, then, that a 2021 study
found that one in three election officials feel unsafe, and one in five
list threats to their lives as a job-related concern. Although thankful-
ly there have not been any reports of such actions occurring in New
York, it is incumbent upon us that we be pro-active in providing addi-
tional protections for election officials.

Election workers are instruments of democracy. Through their efforts,
people can exercise their constitutional right to vote and elect their
representatives, who thus reflect their will through the duly enacted
laws of the state. An attack on election workers is therefore no less
than an attack on this sacred institution. Election workers ought to
have the protections befitting of such a pivotal role in our design.
Moreover, it is necessary that we more strongly deter those that contem-
plate such misdeeds and hold to account those that ultimately act.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

None.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to the state.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2021-S9267 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   9267
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 12, 2022
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. SKOUFIS -- 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 increasing  penalties  for
   assault, obstruction and harassment of election officers
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section 1. Subdivision  11  of  section  120.05 of the penal  law,  as
 separately  amended  by  chapters  268  and  281 of the laws of 2016, is
 amended  to  read  as follows:
   11. With intent to cause physical injury to a train  operator,  ticket
 inspector, conductor, signalperson, bus operator, station agent, station
 cleaner or terminal cleaner employed by any transit agency, authority or
 company,  public  or  private, whose operation is authorized by New York
 state or any of its political subdivisions, a  city  marshal,  a  school
 crossing  guard appointed pursuant to section two hundred eight-a of the
 general municipal law, a traffic enforcement officer,  traffic  enforce-
 ment  agent,  prosecutor as defined in subdivision thirty-one of section
 1.20 of the criminal procedure law, sanitation  enforcement  agent,  New
 York  city  sanitation  worker,  public health sanitarian, New York city
 public health sanitarian, registered nurse,  licensed  practical  nurse,
 emergency  medical  service  paramedic,  [or]  emergency medical service
 technician, OR ELECTION OFFICER AS  DEFINED  IN  SECTION  1-104  OF  THE
 ELECTION  LAW,  he or she causes physical injury to such train operator,
 ticket inspector, conductor, signalperson, bus operator, station  agent,
 station cleaner or terminal cleaner, city marshal, school crossing guard
 appointed pursuant to section two hundred eight-a of the general munici-
 pal  law, traffic enforcement officer, traffic enforcement agent, prose-
 cutor as defined in subdivision thirty-one of section 1.20 of the crimi-
 nal procedure law, registered nurse, licensed  practical  nurse,  public
 health  sanitarian,  New  York city public health sanitarian, sanitation
 enforcement agent, New York city sanitation  worker,  emergency  medical
 service paramedic, [or] emergency medical service technician OR ELECTION
 OFFICER,  while  such  employee  is  performing  an assigned duty on, or
 directly related to, the operation of a  train  or  bus,  including  the
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD14441-02-2
 S. 9267                             2
 
 cleaning  of  a  train or bus station or terminal, or such city marshal,
 school crossing guard, traffic enforcement officer, traffic  enforcement
 agent,  prosecutor  as defined in subdivision thirty-one of section 1.20
 of  the  criminal  procedure  law,  registered nurse, licensed practical
 nurse, public health sanitarian, New York city public health sanitarian,
 sanitation enforcement agent, New York city sanitation worker, emergency
 medical service paramedic, [or] emergency medical service technician, OR
 ELECTION OFFICER is performing an assigned duty; or
   § 2.  Section 195.05 of the penal law, as amended by  chapter  269  of
 the laws of 1998, is amended to read as follows:
 § 195.05 Obstructing governmental administration in the second degree.
   A  person is guilty of obstructing governmental administration when he
 OR SHE intentionally obstructs, impairs or perverts  the  administration
 of law or other governmental function or prevents or attempts to prevent
 a  public  servant,  INCLUDING  AN  ELECTION OFFICER, from performing an
 official function, by means of intimidation, physical force or interfer-
 ence, or by means of any independently unlawful  act,  or  by  means  of
 interfering,  whether  or  not  physical  force is involved, with radio,
 telephone, television or other telecommunications systems owned or oper-
 ated by the state, or a county, city, town, village,  fire  district  or
 emergency  medical  service  or by means of releasing a dangerous animal
 under circumstances evincing the actor's intent that the animal obstruct
 governmental administration.
   Obstructing governmental administration is a class A misdemeanor.
   § 3 . Section 240.30 of the penal law  is  amended  by  adding  a  new
 subdivision 3-a to read as follows:
   3-A.  WITH  THE INTENT TO HARASS, ANNOY, THREATEN OR ALARM AN ELECTION
 OFFICER, HE OR SHE STRIKES, SHOVES, KICKS, OR OTHERWISE SUBJECTS ANOTHER
 PERSON TO PHYSICAL CONTACT, OR ATTEMPTS OR  THREATENS  TO  DO  THE  SAME
 WHILE SUCH ELECTION OFFICER IS PERFORMING HIS OR HER OFFICIAL DUTIES; OR
   § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.

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