NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A9550
SPONSOR: Fall TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the penal law, in relation to assault in the second
degree of an operator or crew of a passenger commuter ferry
PURPOSE:
This legislation would amend the penal law to include the intentional
causing of physical injury to a passenger commuter ferry operator or
crew as a Class D felony of assault in the second degree.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
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 include within the
class D felony of assault in the second degree, the intentional causing
of physical injury to a passenger commuter ferry operator or crew.
Section 2. Establishes the enacting clause.
JUSTIFICATION:
This legislation seeks to address a deficiency within the NYS Penal Law
by classifying the intentional assault of ferry operators or crew of a
passenger commuter ferry as a Class D felony of assault in the second
degree. Under current law, ferry operators and crew are not provided the
same protections as their respective counterparts within other transit
sectors. An individual who assaults a ferry operator or crew member can
only be charged with assault in the 3rd degree. This discrepancy neces-
sitates corrective action to ensure uniformity and parity in safeguard-
ing all transit workers, including ferry personnel. This legislation
aims to close this regulatory gap and uphold the principle of providing
a secure work environment for all employees.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
S4171A of 2019-20; Passed Senate
A7216A of 2019-20; Died in Assembly Codes
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9550
IN ASSEMBLY
January 14, 2026
___________
Introduced by M. of A. FALL -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Codes
AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to assault in the second
degree of an operator or crew of a passenger commuter ferry
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 11 of section 120.05 of the penal law, as
2 amended by section 2 of part Z of chapter 55 of the laws of 2024, is
3 amended to read as follows:
4 11. With intent to cause physical injury to [a] an operator or crew of
5 a passenger commuter ferry as defined in subdivision (n) of section
6 three hundred of the tax law, train operator, ticket inspector, conduc-
7 tor, signalperson, bus operator, station agent, station cleaner, termi-
8 nal cleaner, station customer assistant, traffic checker; person whose
9 official duties include the sale or collection of tickets, passes,
10 vouchers, or other revenue payment media for use on a train, bus, or
11 ferry the collection or handling of revenues therefrom; a person whose
12 official duties include the maintenance, repair, inspection, trouble-
13 shooting, testing or cleaning of buses or ferries, a transit signal
14 system, elevated or underground subway tracks, transit station struc-
15 ture, including fare equipment, escalators, elevators and other equip-
16 ment necessary to passenger service, commuter rail tracks or stations,
17 train yard, revenue train in passenger service, a ferry station, or a
18 train or bus station or terminal; or a supervisor of such personnel,
19 employed by any transit or commuter rail agency, authority or company,
20 public or private, whose operation is authorized by New York state or
21 any of its political subdivisions, a city marshal, a school crossing
22 guard appointed pursuant to section two hundred eight-a of the general
23 municipal law, a traffic enforcement officer, traffic enforcement agent,
24 prosecutor as defined in subdivision thirty-one of section 1.20 of the
25 criminal procedure law, sanitation enforcement agent, New York city
26 sanitation worker, public health sanitarian, New York city public health
27 sanitarian, registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, emergency
28 medical service paramedic, or emergency medical service technician, [he
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02789-01-5
A. 9550 2
1 or she] such person causes physical injury to such train operator, tick-
2 et inspector, conductor, signalperson, bus operator, station agent,
3 station cleaner, terminal cleaner, station customer assistant, traffic
4 checker; person whose official duties include the sale or collection of
5 tickets, passes, vouchers or other revenue payment media for use on a
6 train, bus, or ferry or the collection or handling of revenues there-
7 from; a person whose official duties include the maintenance, repair,
8 inspection, troubleshooting, testing or cleaning of buses or ferries, a
9 transit signal system, elevated or underground subway tracks, transit
10 station structure, including fare equipment, escalators, elevators and
11 other equipment necessary to passenger service, commuter rail tracks or
12 stations, train yard, revenue train in passenger service, a ferry
13 station, or a train or bus station or terminal; or a supervisor of such
14 personnel, city marshal, school crossing guard appointed pursuant to
15 section two hundred eight-a of the general municipal law, traffic
16 enforcement officer, traffic enforcement agent, prosecutor as defined in
17 subdivision thirty-one of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law,
18 registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, public health sanitarian,
19 New York city public health sanitarian, sanitation enforcement agent,
20 New York city sanitation worker, emergency medical service paramedic, or
21 emergency medical service technician, while such employee is performing
22 an assigned duty on, or directly related to, the operation of a train or
23 bus, cleaning of a train or bus station or terminal, assisting custom-
24 ers, checking traffic, the sale or collection of tickets, passes, vouch-
25 ers, or other revenue media for use on a train, bus, or ferry or mainte-
26 nance or cleaning of a train, a bus, a ferry, or bus station or
27 terminal, signal system, elevated or underground subway tracks, transit
28 station structure, including fare equipment, escalators, elevators and
29 other equipment necessary to passenger service, commuter rail tracks or
30 stations, train yard or revenue train in passenger service, a ferry
31 station, or such city marshal, school crossing guard, traffic enforce-
32 ment officer, traffic enforcement agent, prosecutor as defined in subdi-
33 vision thirty-one of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law, regis-
34 tered nurse, licensed practical nurse, public health sanitarian, New
35 York city public health sanitarian, sanitation enforcement agent, New
36 York city sanitation worker, emergency medical service paramedic, or
37 emergency medical service technician is performing an assigned duty; or
38 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
