STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5156
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
May 5, 2015
___________
Introduced by Sen. ORTT -- 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 the aggravated harassment
of an employee by a patient in a state forensic psychiatric institu-
tion
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 240.32 of the penal law, as amended by section
2 127-p of subpart B of part C of chapter 62 of the laws of 2011 and the
3 opening paragraph as amended by chapter 180 of the laws of 2013, is
4 amended to read as follows:
5 § 240.32 Aggravated harassment of an employee [by an inmate].
6 An inmate [or], respondent or patient is guilty of aggravated harass-
7 ment of an employee [by an inmate] when, with intent to harass, annoy,
8 threaten or alarm a person in a facility, including a state forensic
9 psychiatric institution operated and maintained by the office of mental
10 health, whom he or she knows or reasonably should know to be an employee
11 of such facility or the board of parole or the office of mental health,
12 or a probation department, bureau or unit or a police officer, he or she
13 causes or attempts to cause such employee to come into contact with
14 blood, seminal fluid, urine, feces, or the contents of a toilet bowl, by
15 throwing, tossing or expelling such fluid or material.
16 For purposes of this section, "inmate" means an inmate or detainee in
17 a correctional facility, local correctional facility or a hospital, as
18 such term is defined in subdivision two of section four hundred of the
19 correction law. For purposes of this section, "respondent" means a juve-
20 nile in a secure facility operated and maintained by the office of chil-
21 dren and family services who is placed with or committed to the office
22 of children and family services. For purposes of this section,
23 "patient" means a patient residing in a state forensic psychiatric
24 institution, regardless of the length of patient stay, operated and
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10835-01-5
S. 5156 2
1 maintained by the office of mental health. For purposes of this section,
2 "facility" means a correctional facility or local correctional facility,
3 hospital, as such term is defined in subdivision two of section four
4 hundred of the correction law, [or] a secure facility operated and main-
5 tained by the office of children and family services, or a state foren-
6 sic psychiatric institution operated and maintained by the office of
7 mental health.
8 Aggravated harassment of an employee [by an inmate] is a class E felo-
9 ny.
10 § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed-
11 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.