Includes within the class D felony of assault in the second degree, the intentional causing of physical injury to an election officer while such person is performing their assigned duties; amends aggravated harassment and obstruction of governmental administration to include election officers.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9257
IN ASSEMBLY
February 9, 2022
___________
Introduced by M. of A. DINOWITZ -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee 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:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 11 of section 120.05 of the penal law, as
2 separately amended by chapters 268 and 281 of the laws of 2016, is
3 amended to read as follows:
4 11. With intent to cause physical injury to a train operator, ticket
5 inspector, conductor, signalperson, bus operator, station agent, station
6 cleaner or terminal cleaner employed by any transit agency, authority or
7 company, public or private, whose operation is authorized by New York
8 state or any of its political subdivisions, a city marshal, a school
9 crossing guard appointed pursuant to section two hundred eight-a of the
10 general municipal law, a traffic enforcement officer, traffic enforce-
11 ment agent, prosecutor as defined in subdivision thirty-one of section
12 1.20 of the criminal procedure law, sanitation enforcement agent, New
13 York city sanitation worker, public health sanitarian, New York city
14 public health sanitarian, registered nurse, licensed practical nurse,
15 emergency medical service paramedic, [or] emergency medical service
16 technician, or election officer as defined in section 1-104 of the
17 election law, he or she causes physical injury to such train operator,
18 ticket inspector, conductor, signalperson, bus operator, station agent,
19 station cleaner or terminal cleaner, city marshal, school crossing guard
20 appointed pursuant to section two hundred eight-a of the general munici-
21 pal law, traffic enforcement officer, traffic enforcement agent, prose-
22 cutor as defined in subdivision thirty-one of section 1.20 of the crimi-
23 nal procedure law, registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, public
24 health sanitarian, New York city public health sanitarian, sanitation
25 enforcement agent, New York city sanitation worker, emergency medical
26 service paramedic, [or] emergency medical service technician or election
27 officer, while such employee is performing an assigned duty on, or
28 directly related to, the operation of a train or bus, including the
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14441-02-2
A. 9257 2
1 cleaning of a train or bus station or terminal, or such city marshal,
2 school crossing guard, traffic enforcement officer, traffic enforcement
3 agent, prosecutor as defined in subdivision thirty-one of section 1.20
4 of the criminal procedure law, registered nurse, licensed practical
5 nurse, public health sanitarian, New York city public health sanitarian,
6 sanitation enforcement agent, New York city sanitation worker, emergency
7 medical service paramedic, [or] emergency medical service technician, or
8 election officer is performing an assigned duty; or
9 § 2. Section 195.05 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 269 of
10 the laws of 1998, is amended to read as follows:
11 § 195.05 Obstructing governmental administration in the second degree.
12 A person is guilty of obstructing governmental administration when he
13 or she intentionally obstructs, impairs or perverts the administration
14 of law or other governmental function or prevents or attempts to prevent
15 a public servant, including an election officer, from performing an
16 official function, by means of intimidation, physical force or interfer-
17 ence, or by means of any independently unlawful act, or by means of
18 interfering, whether or not physical force is involved, with radio,
19 telephone, television or other telecommunications systems owned or oper-
20 ated by the state, or a county, city, town, village, fire district or
21 emergency medical service or by means of releasing a dangerous animal
22 under circumstances evincing the actor's intent that the animal obstruct
23 governmental administration.
24 Obstructing governmental administration is a class A misdemeanor.
25 § 3 . Section 240.30 of the penal law is amended by adding a new
26 subdivision 3-a to read as follows:
27 3-a. With the intent to harass, annoy, threaten or alarm an election
28 officer, he or she strikes, shoves, kicks, or otherwise subjects another
29 person to physical contact, or attempts or threatens to do the same
30 while such election officer is performing his or her official duties; or
31 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
