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Assembly Bill A208

2021-2022 Legislative Session

Modifies the offense of forcible touching by removing the element of the actor's intent

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Assembly Committee

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2021-A208 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Senate Version of this Bill:
S842
Current Committee:
Assembly Codes
Law Section:
Penal Law
Laws Affected:
Amd §130.52, Pen L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:
2017-2018: A8751
2019-2020: A104, S7090
2023-2024: A70, S4426
2025-2026: A754

2021-A208 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Modifies the offense of forcible touching by removing the element of the actor's intent, including the intent to degrade or abuse another person.

2021-A208 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf 

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    208
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 6, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of  A. L. ROSENTHAL, SEAWRIGHT, SIMON, ROZIC, GALEF,
   GOTTFRIED, ENGLEBRIGHT, BARNWELL, ZEBROWSKI, WEPRIN -- read  once  and
   referred to the Committee on Codes
 
 AN  ACT  to amend the penal law, in relation to modifying the offense of
   "forcible touching" to "unwanted touching"  and  by  removing  certain
   elements of the actor's intent
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 130.52 of the penal law, as amended by chapter  264
 of  the laws of 2003, the opening paragraph and subdivision 1 as amended
 and subdivision 2 as added by chapter  250  of  the  laws  of  2015,  is
 amended to read as follows:
 § 130.52 [Forcible] UNWANTED touching.
   A  person  is  guilty of [forcible] UNWANTED touching when such person
 intentionally, and for no legitimate purpose:
   1. [forcibly] touches the sexual or other intimate  parts  of  another
 person  [for the purpose of degrading or abusing such person, or for the
 purpose of gratifying the actor's sexual desire]  WITHOUT  THE  LATTER'S
 CONSENT; or
   2. subjects another person to sexual contact [for the purpose of grat-
 ifying  the  actor's  sexual  desire and with intent to degrade or abuse
 such other person] WITHOUT THE LATTER'S CONSENT while such other  person
 is  a  passenger  on a bus, train, or subway car operated by any transit
 agency, authority or company, public  or  private,  whose  operation  is
 authorized by New York state or any of its political subdivisions.
   For  the  purposes  of  this  section,  [forcible]  UNWANTED  touching
 includes BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO squeezing, grabbing, RUBBING or pinching.
   [Forcible] UNWANTED touching is a class A misdemeanor.
   § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
 it shall have become a law.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

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