NY State Senate Bill 2025-S9159

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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Date of Action	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Feb 09, 2026	referred to codes

2025-S9159 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A10210
Current Committee:: Senate Codes
Law Section:: Penal Law
Laws Affected:: Add Art 280 §§280.00 - 280.25, Pen L

2025-S9159 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Establishes the crime of corporate catastrophe; defines catastrophe as widespread injury or damage by explosion, fire, flood, avalanche, collapse of building, release of poison gas, radioactive material or other harmful or destructive force or substance, or by any other means of causing potentially widespread injury or damage; establishes crimes for causing, risking, or failing to prevent a catastrophe.

2025-S9159 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S9159

SPONSOR: HINCHEY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the penal law, in relation to establishing the crime of
corporate catastrophe and related offenses

 
PURPOSE:

To make it a crime to cause a catastrophe when acting as a member,
manager, director, or officer of a corporation in furtherance of one's
corporate duties or interests

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one amends Title P of Part 2 of the Penal Law to add a new Arti-
cle 280, titled "Catastrophe." Section 280.00 adds relevant definitions.
Section 280.05 defines the crime of aggravated catastrophe. Section
280.10 defines the crime of catastrophe. Section 280.15 defines the
crime of risking catastrophe. Section 280.20 defines the crime of fail-
ure to prevent a catastrophe. Section 280.25 describes additional penal-

ties for corporations whose officers are convicted of causing a catas-
trophe in the furtherance of their corporate duties or interests.

Section two is the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The New York Penal Law is based in significant part on the Model Penal
Code, promulgated by the American Law Institute as a model for state
criminal laws since 1962. New York revised its Penal Law to adopt many
provisions of the Model Penal Code in 1967. Thirty-four states have
based their criminal statutes on elements of the Model Penal Code since
it was first published.

One crime in the Model Penal Code that was not adopted by New York is
the crime of causing a catastrophe, an incident causing widespread inju-
ry or damage. Although civil and criminal liability for catastrophes
could be pursued under other theories, adopting the crime of catastrophe
from the Model Penal Code would provide a more specific and tailored
mechanism for holding individuals accountable who knowingly or reckless-
ly cause widespread injury or harm.

One area in which our state has struggled to hold individuals account-
able is environmental harm. Although fossil fuel companies spilled an
estimated 30 million gallons of oil into Newtown Creek in Brooklyn-
tluòee times the size of the Exxon Valdez oil spill-no individual was
held liable. Typical remedies in the context of corporate disasters are
civil, and punitive damages can be absorbed by large corporations as a
"cost of doing business." In the case of the Greenpoint Oil Spill,
ExxonMobil reached a settlement with the state for damages in 2010 that
eventually totaled $68 million. But ExxonMobil's net profits in 2010
were over $30 billion. Adopting the crime of catastrophe and wielding it
to hold polluters responsible would affirm that pollution is not just a
tragedy; it is a crime.

At the same time, to ensure that the law actually deters negligent or
harmful behavior by corporate decision-makers, and is not used to prose-
cute lower-level employees who are not responsible for the policies or
decisions that actually cause harm, the crime is limited to instances
where catastrophes are caused by members, managers, officers, and direc-
tors of corporations acting in furtherance of their corporate duties or
interests.

Our state must take white-collar crime seriously. New York should adopt,
and adapt, the crime of causing a catastrophe from the Model Penal Code
in order to provide a more tailored remedy to holding corporate deci-
sion-makers accountable for actions that cause widespread public harm.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

This is a new bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2025-S9159 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   9159
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 9, 2026
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. HINCHEY -- 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 establishing the crime  of
   corporate catastrophe and related offenses
 
   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  article  280  to
 read as follows:
                                ARTICLE 280
                           CORPORATE CATASTROPHE
 SECTION 280.00 DEFINITION.
         280.05 AGGRAVATED CORPORATE CATASTROPHE.
         280.10 CORPORATE CATASTROPHE.
         280.15 RISKING CORPORATE CATASTROPHE.
         280.20 FAILURE TO PREVENT A CORPORATE CATASTROPHE.
         280.25 ADDITIONAL PENALTY.
 § 280.00 DEFINITION.
   FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS ARTICLE, "CATASTROPHE" MEANS WIDESPREAD INJU-
 RY OR DAMAGE BY EXPLOSION, FIRE, FLOOD, AVALANCHE, COLLAPSE OF BUILDING,
 RELEASE OF POISON GAS, RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL OR OTHER HARMFUL OR DESTRUC-
 TIVE  FORCE  OR  SUBSTANCE, OR BY ANY OTHER MEANS OF CAUSING POTENTIALLY
 WIDESPREAD INJURY OR DAMAGE.
 § 280.05 AGGRAVATED CORPORATE CATASTROPHE.
   A PERSON IS GUILTY  OF  AGGRAVATED  CORPORATE  CATASTROPHE  WHEN  SUCH
 PERSON,  BEING  A MEMBER, MANAGER, DIRECTOR, OR OFFICER OF A CORPORATION
 ACTING IN THE PERFORMANCE OR FURTHERANCE OF THEIR  CORPORATE  DUTIES  OR
 INTERESTS, INTENTIONALLY OR KNOWINGLY CAUSES A CATASTROPHE.
   AGGRAVATED CORPORATE CATASTROPHE IS A CLASS B FELONY.
 § 280.10 CORPORATE CATASTROPHE.
   A  PERSON,  BEING  A MEMBER, MANAGER, DIRECTOR, OR OFFICER OF A CORPO-
 RATION ACTING IN THE  PERFORMANCE  OR  FURTHERANCE  OF  THEIR  CORPORATE
 DUTIES OR INTERESTS, IS GUILTY OF CORPORATE CATASTROPHE WHEN SUCH PERSON
 RECKLESSLY CAUSES A CATASTROPHE.
   CORPORATE CATASTROPHE IS A CLASS C FELONY.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD10458-04-5
 S. 9159                             2
 
 § 280.15 RISKING CORPORATE CATASTROPHE.
   A  PERSON,  BEING  A MEMBER, MANAGER, DIRECTOR, OR OFFICER OF A CORPO-
 RATION ACTING IN THE  PERFORMANCE  OR  FURTHERANCE  OF  THEIR  CORPORATE
 DUTIES  OR  INTERESTS,  IS  GUILTY OF RISKING CORPORATE CATASTROPHE WHEN
 SUCH PERSON RECKLESSLY CREATES A RISK OF A CATASTROPHE.
   RISKING CORPORATE CATASTROPHE IS A CLASS D FELONY.
 § 280.20 FAILURE TO PREVENT A CORPORATE CATASTROPHE.
   A PERSON, BEING A MEMBER, MANAGER, DIRECTOR, OR OFFICER  OF  A  CORPO-
 RATION  ACTING  IN  THE  PERFORMANCE  OR  FURTHERANCE OF THEIR CORPORATE
 DUTIES OR INTERESTS, IS GUILTY OF FAILURE TO PREVENT A CATASTROPHE  WHEN
 SUCH PERSON:
   1.  HAS  AN OFFICIAL, CONTRACTUAL, OR OTHER LEGAL DUTY TO TAKE REASON-
 ABLE MEASURES TO PREVENT OR MITIGATE  A  CATASTROPHE  AND  KNOWINGLY  OR
 RECKLESSLY FAILS TO DO SO; OR
   2. PERFORMS OR ASSENTS TO AN ACT CAUSING OR THREATENING A CATASTROPHE.
   FAILURE TO PREVENT A CORPORATE CATASTROPHE IS A CLASS D FELONY.
 § 280.25 ADDITIONAL PENALTY.
   EVERY  ENTITY,  WHETHER FOREIGN OR DOMESTIC, A MEMBER, MANAGER, DIREC-
 TOR, OR OFFICER OF WHICH IS GUILTY OF A CRIME DESCRIBED IN THIS ARTICLE,
 OR AN ANTICIPATORY OR INCHOATE  VERSION  THEREOF,  SHALL  FORFEIT  EVERY
 RIGHT  AND  FRANCHISE TO DO BUSINESS IN THIS STATE FOR A PERIOD NOT LESS
 THAN TWENTY YEARS. THE ATTORNEY GENERAL SHALL BE AUTHORIZED TO  MAINTAIN
 AN  ACTION  IN  ANY  COURT  OF  APPROPRIATE  JURISDICTION TO ENFORCE THE
 PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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Senate Bill S9159

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Codes Committee

Actions

2025-S9159 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S9159 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S9159 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S9159 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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Sponsored By

Michelle Hinchey

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Codes Committee

Actions

2025-S9159 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S9159 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S9159 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S9159 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments