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.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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9159
IN SENATE
February 9, 2026
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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:
1 Section 1. The penal law is amended by adding a new article 280 to
2 read as follows:
3 ARTICLE 280
4 CORPORATE CATASTROPHE
5 Section 280.00 Definition.
6 280.05 Aggravated corporate catastrophe.
7 280.10 Corporate catastrophe.
8 280.15 Risking corporate catastrophe.
9 280.20 Failure to prevent a corporate catastrophe.
10 280.25 Additional penalty.
11 § 280.00 Definition.
12 For the purposes of this article, "catastrophe" means widespread inju-
13 ry or damage by explosion, fire, flood, avalanche, collapse of building,
14 release of poison gas, radioactive material or other harmful or destruc-
15 tive force or substance, or by any other means of causing potentially
16 widespread injury or damage.
17 § 280.05 Aggravated corporate catastrophe.
18 A person is guilty of aggravated corporate catastrophe when such
19 person, being a member, manager, director, or officer of a corporation
20 acting in the performance or furtherance of their corporate duties or
21 interests, intentionally or knowingly causes a catastrophe.
22 Aggravated corporate catastrophe is a class B felony.
23 § 280.10 Corporate catastrophe.
24 A person, being a member, manager, director, or officer of a corpo-
25 ration acting in the performance or furtherance of their corporate
26 duties or interests, is guilty of corporate catastrophe when such person
27 recklessly causes a catastrophe.
28 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
1 § 280.15 Risking corporate catastrophe.
2 A person, being a member, manager, director, or officer of a corpo-
3 ration acting in the performance or furtherance of their corporate
4 duties or interests, is guilty of risking corporate catastrophe when
5 such person recklessly creates a risk of a catastrophe.
6 Risking corporate catastrophe is a class D felony.
7 § 280.20 Failure to prevent a corporate catastrophe.
8 A person, being a member, manager, director, or officer of a corpo-
9 ration acting in the performance or furtherance of their corporate
10 duties or interests, is guilty of failure to prevent a catastrophe when
11 such person:
12 1. has an official, contractual, or other legal duty to take reason-
13 able measures to prevent or mitigate a catastrophe and knowingly or
14 recklessly fails to do so; or
15 2. performs or assents to an act causing or threatening a catastrophe.
16 Failure to prevent a corporate catastrophe is a class D felony.
17 § 280.25 Additional penalty.
18 Every entity, whether foreign or domestic, a member, manager, direc-
19 tor, or officer of which is guilty of a crime described in this article,
20 or an anticipatory or inchoate version thereof, shall forfeit every
21 right and franchise to do business in this state for a period not less
22 than twenty years. The attorney general shall be authorized to maintain
23 an action in any court of appropriate jurisdiction to enforce the
24 provisions of this section.
25 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
