NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A5475
SPONSOR: Ramos (MS) TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the penal law, in relation to a specified offense
PURPOSE OF BILL:
The purpose of this bill is to include aggravated harassment in the
first degree as a specified offense within the context of hate crimes.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section One amends subdivision three of section 485.05 of the penal law,
pertaining to hate crimes, by adding the crime of aggravated harassment
in the first degree to the list of specified offenses for which a hate
crime categorization would apply.
Section Two is the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Pursuant to the penal law, a hate crime is committed when a defendant
commits a specified offense and either intentionally selects their
victim or commits a criminal act because of a belief or perception
regarding their race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, reli-
gion, religious practice, age, disability or sexual orientation. A
crime committed under these circumstances is considered a hate crime
under the law regardless of whether the belief or perception is correct.
A person convicted of a specified offense, who is found to have commit-
ted such offense for one of the foregoing reasons, is subject to harsher
criminal penalties under the law and specific sentencing/release guide-
lines.
Aggravated harassment in the first degree is defined as damaging a prem-
ises primarily used for religious purposes, multiple convictions of
penal law section 240.30(3), etching, painting, drawing or otherwise
placing a swastika or noose on the property of another, or setting a
cross on fire in public view, with the intent to harass, annoy, threaten
or alarm another person because of a belief or perception regarding such
person's race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, reli-
gious practice, age, disability or sexual orientation. While aggravated
harassment crimes are committed for the same spiteful reasons that other
classified hate crimes are committed, resources and remedies specif-
ically allocated to deter hate crimes and rehabilitate or punish hate
crime offenders are not available in instances of these criminal acts
for the mere fact that it is not categorized. as a specific offense.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the state.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A.4840 of 2023-24 referred to codes
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall have
become law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5475
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 14, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. RAMOS, COOK, COLTON, GIBBS -- Multi-Sponsored by
-- M. of A. PEOPLES-STOKES -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Codes
AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to a specified offense
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 3 of section 485.05 of the penal law, as
2 amended by section 2 of part C of chapter 55 of the laws of 2024, is
3 amended to read as follows:
4 3. A "specified offense" is an offense defined by any of the following
5 provisions of this chapter: section 120.00 (assault in the third
6 degree); section 120.05 (assault in the second degree); section 120.06
7 (gang assault in the second degree); section 120.07 (gang assault in the
8 first degree); section 120.10 (assault in the first degree); section
9 120.12 (aggravated assault upon a person less than eleven years old);
10 section 120.13 (menacing in the first degree); section 120.14 (menacing
11 in the second degree); section 120.15 (menacing in the third degree);
12 section 120.20 (reckless endangerment in the second degree); section
13 120.25 (reckless endangerment in the first degree); section 121.11
14 (criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation); section 121.12
15 (strangulation in the second degree); section 121.13 (strangulation in
16 the first degree); subdivision one of section 125.15 (manslaughter in
17 the second degree); subdivision one, two or four of section 125.20
18 (manslaughter in the first degree); section 125.25 (murder in the second
19 degree); section 125.26 (aggravated murder); section 125.27 (murder in
20 the first degree); section 120.45 (stalking in the fourth degree);
21 section 120.50 (stalking in the third degree); section 120.55 (stalking
22 in the second degree); section 120.60 (stalking in the first degree);
23 section 130.20 (sexual misconduct); section 130.25 (rape in the third
24 degree); section 130.30 (rape in the second degree); section 130.35
25 (rape in the first degree); former section 130.40; former section
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05075-01-5
A. 5475 2
1 130.45; former section 130.50; section 130.52 (forcible touching);
2 section 130.53 (persistent sexual abuse); section 130.55 (sexual abuse
3 in the third degree); section 130.60 (sexual abuse in the second
4 degree); section 130.65 (sexual abuse in the first degree); section
5 130.65-a (aggravated sexual abuse in the fourth degree); section 130.66
6 (aggravated sexual abuse in the third degree); section 130.67 (aggra-
7 vated sexual abuse in the second degree); section 130.70 (aggravated
8 sexual abuse in the first degree); section 135.05 (unlawful imprisonment
9 in the second degree); section 135.10 (unlawful imprisonment in the
10 first degree); section 135.20 (kidnapping in the second degree); section
11 135.25 (kidnapping in the first degree); section 135.60 (coercion in the
12 third degree); section 135.61 (coercion in the second degree); section
13 135.65 (coercion in the first degree); section 140.10 (criminal trespass
14 in the third degree); section 140.15 (criminal trespass in the second
15 degree); section 140.17 (criminal trespass in the first degree); section
16 140.20 (burglary in the third degree); section 140.25 (burglary in the
17 second degree); section 140.30 (burglary in the first degree); section
18 145.00 (criminal mischief in the fourth degree); section 145.05 (crimi-
19 nal mischief in the third degree); section 145.10 (criminal mischief in
20 the second degree); section 145.12 (criminal mischief in the first
21 degree); section 150.05 (arson in the fourth degree); section 150.10
22 (arson in the third degree); section 150.15 (arson in the second
23 degree); section 150.20 (arson in the first degree); section 155.25
24 (petit larceny); section 155.30 (grand larceny in the fourth degree);
25 section 155.35 (grand larceny in the third degree); section 155.40
26 (grand larceny in the second degree); section 155.42 (grand larceny in
27 the first degree); section 160.05 (robbery in the third degree); section
28 160.10 (robbery in the second degree); section 160.15 (robbery in the
29 first degree); section 230.34 (sex trafficking); section 230.34-a (sex
30 trafficking of a child); section 240.25 (harassment in the first
31 degree); subdivision one, two or four of section 240.30 (aggravated
32 harassment in the second degree); section 240.31 (aggravated harassment
33 in the first degree); section 240.50 (falsely reporting an incident in
34 the third degree); section 240.55 (falsely reporting an incident in the
35 second degree); section 240.60 (falsely reporting an incident in the
36 first degree); subdivision one of section 265.03 (criminal possession of
37 a weapon in the second degree); subdivision one of section 265.04 (crim-
38 inal possession of a weapon in the first degree); section 490.10 (solic-
39 iting or providing support for an act of terrorism in the second
40 degree); section 490.15 (soliciting or providing support for an act of
41 terrorism in the first degree); section 490.20 (making a terroristic
42 threat); section 490.25 (crime of terrorism); section 490.30 (hindering
43 prosecution of terrorism in the second degree); section 490.35 (hinder-
44 ing prosecution of terrorism in the first degree); section 490.37 (crim-
45 inal possession of a chemical weapon or biological weapon in the third
46 degree); section 490.40 (criminal possession of a chemical weapon or
47 biological weapon in the second degree); section 490.45 (criminal
48 possession of a chemical weapon or biological weapon in the first
49 degree); section 490.47 (criminal use of a chemical weapon or biological
50 weapon in the third degree); section 490.50 (criminal use of a chemical
51 weapon or biological weapon in the second degree); section 490.55 (crim-
52 inal use of a chemical weapon or biological weapon in the first degree);
53 or any attempt or conspiracy to commit any of the foregoing offenses.
54 § 2. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
55 have become a law.
