| Date of Action |
Assembly Actions -
Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE |
|---|---|
| Jan 08, 2025 |
referred to codes |
Senate Bill S308
2025-2026 Legislative Session
Sponsored By
(R, C) 5th Senate District
Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Codes Committee
Actions
2025-S308 (ACTIVE) - Details
2025-S308 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo
BILL NUMBER: S308
SPONSOR: RHOADS
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the penal law, in relation to allowing members of the
Nassau County auxiliary police force to possess a police baton when
authorized by the police commissioner of such county
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill amends subdivision b of section 265.20 of the
penal law, by adding "or the county of Nassau".
Section 2 of the bill provides the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Presently, Nassau County does not have the authority to equip and allow
its auxiliary police officers to possess police batons. Its auxiliary
police officers may only possess police batons during training "drills"
or when acting as "peace officers" during a declared emergency pursuant
2025-S308 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
308
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
I N S E N A T E
(PREFILED)
January 8, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sen. RHOADS -- 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 allowing members of the
Nassau County auxiliary police force to possess a police baton when
authorized by the police commissioner of such county
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Subdivision b of section 265.20 of the penal law, as
amended by chapter 75 of the laws of 1983 and as relettered by chapter
376 of the laws of 1995, is amended to read as follows:
b. Section 265.01 OF THIS ARTICLE shall not apply to possession of
that type of billy commonly known as a "police baton" which is twenty-
four to twenty-six inches in length and no more than one and one-quarter
inches in thickness by members of an auxiliary police force of a city
with a population in excess of one million persons [or], the county of
Suffolk OR THE COUNTY OF NASSAU when duly authorized by regulation or
order issued by the police commissioner of such city or such county
respectively. Such regulations shall require training in the use of the
police baton including but not limited to the defensive use of the baton
and instruction in the legal use of deadly physical force pursuant to
article thirty-five of this chapter. Notwithstanding the provisions of
this section or any other provision of law, possession of such baton
shall not be authorized when used intentionally to strike another person
except in those situations when the use of deadly physical force is
authorized by such article thirty-five.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01237-01-5
Comments
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This bill has been submitted session after session since 2017. The Nassau County Police commissioner as well as the Nassau County Legislature support this bill. Our counter parts to the east and west of Nassau have been afforded the right to carry this simple self defense tool for decades. In fact, Suffolk allows for their auxiliaries to carry firearms if the members choose to do so after all required prerequisites and training have been completed. Members of the Nassau County Auxiliary Police are state certified and registered peace officers in accordance with the rules set forth by the DCJS. Training is conducted by the NCPD’s full time, certified and highly skilled staff. Please see this bill through the process and get it to the governors desk. Thank you.