NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A6929
SPONSOR: McGowan TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the penal law, in relation to expanding the criteria for
a hate crime
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
Expands the criteria for a hate crime
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section I: is amended by adding a new subsection (b) which reads:
commits a specified offense or a violation of section 140.05 of this
chapter in or on the grounds of a church, synagogue, mosque or other
house of worship.
Section II: is amended by adding criminal violations to the list of
specified offenses, which in conjunction with one the elements of
Section I constitute a hate crime.
JUSTIFICATION:
As a result of the rash crimes perpetrated against houses of worship and
the outcry from religious communities for action, it is the obligation
of the legislature to protect the sanctity of these places. A crime
committed against people participating in religious practices in a house
of worship or a crime committed upon a house of worship should be
considered a hate crime regardless of the intent of the perpetrator.
This is a crucial step in protecting the religious communities in our
state from being the victims of hate crimes and safeguarding a citizens'
right of religious freedom under the Constitution.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
N/A
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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6929
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 9, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. MCGOWAN -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to expanding the criteria for
a hate crime
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 485.05 of the penal law, as
2 amended by chapter 8 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
3 1. A person commits a hate crime when he or she:
4 (a) commits a specified offense and either:
5 [(a)] (i) intentionally selects the person against whom the offense is
6 committed or intended to be committed in whole or in substantial part
7 because of a belief or perception regarding the race, color, national
8 origin, ancestry, gender, gender identity or expression, religion, reli-
9 gious practice, age, disability or sexual orientation of a person,
10 regardless of whether the belief or perception is correct, or
11 [(b)] (ii) intentionally commits the act or acts constituting the
12 offense in whole or in substantial part because of a belief or percep-
13 tion regarding the race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender,
14 gender identity or expression, religion, religious practice, age, disa-
15 bility or sexual orientation of a person, regardless of whether the
16 belief or perception is correct; or
17 (b) commits a specified offense or a violation of section 140.05 of
18 this chapter in or on the grounds of a church, synagogue, mosque or
19 other house of worship.
20 § 2. Subdivision 2 of section 485.10 of the penal law, as added by
21 chapter 107 of the laws of 2000, is amended to read as follows:
22 2. When a person is convicted of a hate crime pursuant to this article
23 and the specified offense is a violation, a misdemeanor or a class C, D
24 or E felony, the hate crime shall be deemed to be one category higher
25 than the specified offense the defendant committed, or one category
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11072-01-3
A. 6929 2
1 higher than the offense level applicable to the defendant's conviction
2 for an attempt or conspiracy to commit a specified offense, whichever is
3 applicable.
4 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
