S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1884
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             January 23, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  DINOWITZ, GUNTHER, SILLITTI -- read once and
   referred 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
 amended  by  chapter  233  of the laws of 2022, 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,  terminal  cleaner,  station  customer  assistant; person whose
 official duties include the  sale  or  collection  of  tickets,  passes,
 vouchers,  or  other  revenue payment media for use on a train or bus or
 the collection or handling of revenues therefrom; a person  whose  offi-
 cial  duties  include the maintenance, repair, inspection, troubleshoot-
 ing, testing or cleaning of buses, a transit signal system, elevated  or
 underground  subway  tracks,  transit  station structure, including fare
 equipment,  escalators,  elevators  and  other  equipment  necessary  to
 passenger service, commuter rail tracks or stations, train yard, revenue
 train  in passenger service, or a train or bus station or terminal; or a
 supervisor of such personnel, employed by any transit or  commuter  rail
 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 enforcement 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  sani-
 tarian,  New  York  city  public  health  sanitarian,  registered nurse,
 licensed practical nurse,  emergency  medical  service  paramedic,  [or]
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD01411-01-3
              

 A. 1884                             2
 
 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,  terminal cleaner, station
 customer assistant; person whose official duties  include  the  sale  or
 collection  of  tickets, passes, vouchers or other revenue payment media
 for use on a train or bus or the  collection  or  handling  of  revenues
 therefrom;  a  person  whose  official  duties  include the maintenance,
 repair, inspection, troubleshooting, testing or  cleaning  of  buses,  a
 transit  signal  system,  elevated or underground subway tracks, transit
 station structure, including fare equipment, escalators,  elevators  and
 other  equipment necessary to passenger service, commuter rail tracks or
 stations, train yard, revenue train in passenger service, or a train  or
 bus  station  or  terminal;  or  a  supervisor  of  such personnel, city
 marshal, school crossing guard appointed pursuant to section two hundred
 eight-a of the general municipal law, traffic enforcement officer, traf-
 fic 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  sanita-
 tion worker, emergency medical service paramedic, [or] emergency medical
 service  technician OR ELECTION OFFICER, while such employee is perform-
 ing an assigned duty on, or directly related  to,  the  operation  of  a
 train  or bus, cleaning of a train or bus station or terminal, assisting
 customers, the sale or collection of tickets, passes, vouchers, or other
 revenue media for use on a train or bus, or maintenance or cleaning of a
 train, a bus, or bus station or terminal,  signal  system,  elevated  or
 underground  subway  tracks,  transit  station structure, including fare
 equipment,  escalators,  elevators  and  other  equipment  necessary  to
 passenger  service,  commuter  rail  tracks  or  stations, train yard or
 revenue train in passenger service, or such city marshal, school  cross-
 ing  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,  sani-
 tation  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 subdi-
 vision 3-a to read as follows:
 A. 1884                             3
 
   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.