NY State Senate Bill 2025-S4890

Current 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
Feb 14, 2025	referred to codes

co-Sponsors

2025-S4890 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A3916
Current Committee:: Senate Codes
Law Section:: Penal Law
Laws Affected:: Add §240.34, Pen L; amd §851, Cor L
Versions Introduced in 2023-2024 Legislative Session:: S8433, A9108

2025-S4890 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Establishes the crime of harassment of an employee by an incarcerated individual; makes such crime a class B misdemeanor.

2025-S4890 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S4890

SPONSOR: SCARCELLA-SPANTON
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the penal law and the correction law, in relation to
establishing the crime of harassment of an employee by an incarcerated
individual

 
PURPOSE:

Establishes the crime of harassment of an employee by an incarcerated
individual.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Amends the penal law by adding a new section 240.33 creating
the crime of Harassment of an employee by an incarcerated individual.
Under the new section, an incarcerated individual or respondent is guil-
ty of harassment of an employee by an incarcerated individual when, with
intent to harass, annoy, threaten or alarm a person in a facility whom
such incarcerated individual knows or reasonably should know to be an

employee of such facility or the board of parole or the office of mental
health, or a probation department, bureau or unit or a police officer,
such incarcerated individual, for the purpose of degrading or abusing an
employee, or for the purpose of gratifying such incarcerated individ-
ual's sexual desire:

1. Displays or touches their intimate parts while in clear view of an
employee; or

2. Intentionally engaged in conduct that such incarcerated individual
knows would cause an employee to be in clear view of such incarcerated
individual while such incarcerated individual displays or touches their
intimate parts; or

3. Communicates to an employee such incarcerated person will, at some
time in the future, cause such employee to meet such incarcerated
person's blood, urine, seminal fluid, or feces.

Definitions are also provided for the purposes of this section.  Harass-
ment of an employee by an incarcerated individual is a class B misdemea-
nor.

Section 2: Amends subdivision 2 of section 851 of the correction law to
include Harassment of an employee by an incarcerated individual.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Correction Officers face a multitude of daily stressors within the
course of their duties and must be always vigilant for potential threats
of harassment and assaults. They should not have to be concerned that at
any moment they could become a victim of sexual assault, and the perpe-
trator would not face any legal consequences.  The fear instilled in
officers from the amount of sexual harassment and sexual based threats
made to them daily is a distraction from their duties and puts them at
further risk. Often, these threats range from summoning a correction
officer for the sole purpose of forcing the Correction Officer to watch
the incarcerated individual sexually gratifying themselves, to threaten-
ing the Correction Officer with a future act that would cause the
Correction Officer to come into contact with the incarcerated individ-
ual's blood, urine, seminal fluid, or feces.

A deterrent for this behavior improves the safety of officers as well as
the incarcerated individuals that they protect. Correction Officers
uphold an oath to serve their community and do not come to work to
become victims themselves. These incidents of sexual harassment and
threatened sexual violence cause trauma within the officers that tran-
scends into their home lives with their spouses and children.

Because there are no potential adverse consequences associated with
incarcerated individuals who engage in such behavior, incarcerated indi-
viduals will continue to engage in this behavior.

If we can reduce some of the stress and hostility for our Correction
Officers, we should act. This bill will accomplish that objective.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

S.8433; Held in Senate Codes Committee

 
STATE AND LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE PATE:

This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall. Have
become a law; the amendments to subdivision 2 of section 851 of the
correction law made by section two of this act shall not affect the
expiration of such subdivision or section and shall expire and be deemed
repealed therewith.

2025-S4890 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4890
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 14, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. SCARCELLA-SPANTON -- read twice and ordered printed,
   and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes
 
 AN ACT to amend the penal law and the correction  law,  in  relation  to
   establishing the crime of harassment of an employee by an incarcerated
   individual

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 240.34  to
 read as follows:
 § 240.34 HARASSMENT OF AN EMPLOYEE BY AN INCARCERATED INDIVIDUAL.
   AN INCARCERATED INDIVIDUAL OR RESPONDENT IS GUILTY OF HARASSMENT OF AN
 EMPLOYEE  BY  AN  INCARCERATED  INDIVIDUAL  WHEN, WITH INTENT TO HARASS,
 ANNOY, THREATEN OR ALARM A PERSON IN A FACILITY WHOM  SUCH  INCARCERATED
 INDIVIDUAL  KNOWS  OR  REASONABLY  SHOULD KNOW TO BE AN EMPLOYEE OF SUCH
 FACILITY OR THE BOARD OF PAROLE OR THE OFFICE OF  MENTAL  HEALTH,  OR  A
 PROBATION DEPARTMENT, BUREAU OR UNIT OR A POLICE OFFICER, SUCH INCARCER-
 ATED INDIVIDUAL, FOR THE PURPOSE OF DEGRADING OR ABUSING AN EMPLOYEE, OR
 FOR  THE  PURPOSE  OF  GRATIFYING  SUCH INCARCERATED INDIVIDUAL'S SEXUAL
 DESIRE:
   1. DISPLAYS OR TOUCHES THEIR INTIMATE PARTS WHILE IN CLEAR VIEW OF  AN
 EMPLOYEE; OR
   2.  INTENTIONALLY ENGAGES IN CONDUCT THAT SUCH INCARCERATED INDIVIDUAL
 KNOWS WOULD CAUSE AN EMPLOYEE TO BE IN CLEAR VIEW OF  SUCH  INCARCERATED
 INDIVIDUAL  WHILE SUCH INCARCERATED INDIVIDUAL DISPLAYS OR TOUCHES THEIR
 INTIMATE PARTS; OR
   3. COMMUNICATES TO AN EMPLOYEE SUCH INCARCERATED INDIVIDUAL  WILL,  AT
 SOME  TIME  IN  THE  FUTURE, CAUSE SUCH EMPLOYEE TO COME IN CONTACT WITH
 SUCH INCARCERATED INDIVIDUAL'S BLOOD, URINE, SEMINAL FLUID, OR FECES.
   FOR PURPOSES OF  THIS  SECTION,  "INCARCERATED  INDIVIDUAL"  MEANS  AN
 INCARCERATED  INDIVIDUAL  OR  DETAINEE IN A CORRECTIONAL FACILITY, LOCAL
 CORRECTIONAL FACILITY OR A HOSPITAL, AS SUCH TERM IS DEFINED IN SUBDIVI-
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD07804-01-5

 S. 4890                             2
 
 SION TWO OF SECTION FOUR HUNDRED OF THE CORRECTION LAW. FOR PURPOSES  OF
 THIS  SECTION,  "RESPONDENT" MEANS A JUVENILE IN A SECURE FACILITY OPER-
 ATED AND MAINTAINED BY THE OFFICE OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES WHO IS
 PLACED  WITH OR COMMITTED TO THE OFFICE OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES.
 FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, "FACILITY" MEANS A  CORRECTIONAL  FACILITY
 OR  LOCAL  CORRECTIONAL  FACILITY,  HOSPITAL, AS SUCH TERM IS DEFINED IN
 SUBDIVISION TWO OF SECTION FOUR HUNDRED OF  THE  CORRECTION  LAW,  OR  A
 SECURE  FACILITY  OPERATED  AND MAINTAINED BY THE OFFICE OF CHILDREN AND
 FAMILY SERVICES.
   HARASSMENT OF AN EMPLOYEE BY AN INCARCERATED INDIVIDUAL IS A  CLASS  B
 MISDEMEANOR.
   § 2. Subdivision 2 of section 851 of the correction law, as amended by
 section  228  of  chapter 322 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as
 follows:
   2. "Eligible incarcerated individual" means: a person confined  in  an
 institution  who  is  eligible  for release on parole or who will become
 eligible for release on parole or conditional release within two  years.
 Provided,  however,  that a person under sentence for an offense defined
 in paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision one of  section  70.02  of  the
 penal  law,  where  such offense involved the use or threatened use of a
 deadly weapon or dangerous instrument shall not be eligible  to  partic-
 ipate  in a work release program until [he or she] SUCH PERSON is eligi-
 ble for release on parole or who will be eligible for release on  parole
 or conditional release within eighteen months. Provided, further, howev-
 er,  that  a person under a determinate sentence as a second felony drug
 offender for a class B felony offense defined  in  article  two  hundred
 twenty  of the penal law, who was sentenced pursuant to section 70.70 of
 such law, shall not be eligible to participate in  a  temporary  release
 program  until  the time served under imprisonment for [his or her] SUCH
 PERSON'S determinate sentence, including any jail time credited pursuant
 to the provisions of article seventy of the penal law, shall be at least
 eighteen months. In the  case  of  a  person  serving  an  indeterminate
 sentence  of  imprisonment  imposed  pursuant to the penal law in effect
 after September one, nineteen hundred sixty-seven, for the  purposes  of
 this  article  parole  eligibility  shall  be upon the expiration of the
 minimum period of imprisonment fixed by the court or where the court has
 not fixed any period, after service of the minimum period fixed  by  the
 state  board  of parole. If an incarcerated individual is denied release
 on parole, such incarcerated individual shall not be deemed an  eligible
 incarcerated  individual  until [he or she] SUCH INCARCERATED INDIVIDUAL
 is within two years of [his or her] SUCH INCARCERATED INDIVIDUAL'S  next
 scheduled appearance before the state parole board. In any case where an
 incarcerated  individual is denied release on parole while participating
 in a temporary release program, the department shall review  the  status
 of  the  incarcerated  individual to determine if continued placement in
 the program is  appropriate.  No  person  convicted  of  any  escape  or
 absconding  offense defined in article two hundred five of the penal law
 shall be eligible  for  temporary  release.  Further,  no  person  under
 sentence  for  aggravated  harassment  of an employee by an incarcerated
 individual as defined in section 240.32 of the penal law for, NO  PERSON
 UNDER SENTENCE FOR HARASSMENT OF AN EMPLOYEE BY AN INCARCERATED INDIVID-
 UAL  AS  DEFINED  IN  SECTION  240.34 OF THE PENAL LAW FOR, any homicide
 offense defined in article one hundred twenty-five of the penal law, for
 any sex offense defined in article one hundred thirty of the penal  law,
 or  for  an  offense  defined in section 255.25, 255.26 or 255.27 of the
 penal law shall be eligible to participate in a work release program  as
 S. 4890                             3
 
 defined in subdivision three of this section. Nor shall any person under
 sentence  for  any  sex offense defined in article one hundred thirty of
 the penal law be eligible to participate in a community services program
 as  defined  in  subdivision  five  of this section. Notwithstanding the
 foregoing, no person who is an otherwise eligible incarcerated  individ-
 ual who is under sentence for a crime involving: (a) infliction of seri-
 ous  physical injury upon another as defined in the penal law or (b) any
 other offense involving the use or threatened use of a deadly weapon may
 participate in a temporary release program without the written  approval
 of  the  commissioner.  The  commissioner  shall  promulgate regulations
 giving direction to the temporary release committee at each  institution
 in order to aid such committees in carrying out this mandate.
   The  governor,  by  executive  order, may exclude or limit the partic-
 ipation of any class of otherwise eligible incarcerated individuals from
 participation in a temporary release program. Nothing in this  paragraph
 shall  be construed to affect either the validity of any executive order
 previously issued  limiting  the  participation  of  otherwise  eligible
 incarcerated individuals in such program or the authority of the commis-
 sioner to impose appropriate regulations limiting such participation.
   §  3.  This  act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
 have become a law; provided, however, the amendments to subdivision 2 of
 section 851 of the correction  law  made  by  section  two  of this  act
 shall not affect the expiration of such subdivision or section and shall
 expire and be deemed repealed therewith.

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Senate Bill S4890

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Codes Committee

co-Sponsors

2025-S4890 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S4890 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S4890 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S4890 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S4890

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Sponsored By

Jessica Scarcella-Spanton

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Codes Committee

co-Sponsors

Pete Harckham

Monica R. Martinez

2025-S4890 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S4890 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S4890 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S4890 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments