S 3644: Designates certain offenses against emergency medical services personnel, firefighters, and law enforcement officers as hate crimes; includes the definition of emergency medical services personnel, firefighters, and law enforcement officers.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3644 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE January 29, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. MURRAY, BORRELLO, OBERACKER, RHOADS -- 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 designating offenses against law enforcement officers as hate crimes The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivisions 1, 2 and 4 of section 485.05 of the penal law, 2 as amended by chapter 8 of the laws of 2019, are amended to read as 3 follows: 4 1. A person commits a hate crime when [he or she] such person commits 5 a specified offense and either: 6 (a) intentionally selects the person against whom the offense is 7 committed or intended to be committed in whole or in substantial part 8 because of a belief or perception regarding the race, color, national 9 origin, ancestry, gender, gender identity or expression, religion, reli- 10 gious practice, age, disability, or because of actual or perceived 11 employment as emergency medical services personnel, a firefighter or a 12 law enforcement officer, or sexual orientation of a person, regardless 13 of whether the belief or perception is correct, or 14 (b) intentionally commits the act or acts constituting the offense in 15 whole or in substantial part because of a belief or perception regarding 16 the race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, gender identity or 17 expression, religion, religious practice, age, disability, or because of 18 actual or perceived employment as emergency medical services personnel, 19 a firefighter or a law enforcement officer, or sexual orientation of a 20 person, regardless of whether the belief or perception is correct. 21 2. Proof of race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, gender 22 identity or expression, religion, religious practice, age, disability, 23 or because of actual or perceived employment as emergency medical 24 services personnel, a firefighter or a law enforcement officer, or sexu- EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD07535-01-5 
 S. 3644 2 1 al orientation of the defendant, the victim or of both the defendant and 2 the victim does not, by itself, constitute legally sufficient evidence 3 satisfying the people's burden under paragraph (a) or (b) of subdivision 4 one of this section. 5 4. For purposes of this section: 6 (a) the term "age" means sixty years old or more; 7 (b) the term "disability" means a physical or mental impairment that 8 substantially limits a major life activity; 9 (c) the term "gender identity or expression" means a person's actual 10 or perceived gender-related identity, appearance, behavior, expression, 11 or other gender-related characteristic regardless of the sex assigned to 12 that person at birth, including, but not limited to, the status of being 13 transgender; 14 (d) the term "emergency medical services personnel" means persons 15 trained and certified or licensed to provide emergency medical care, 16 whether on a paid or volunteer basis, as part of a basic life support or 17 advanced life support pre-hospital emergency care service or in an emer- 18 gency department or pediatric critical care or specialty unit in a 19 licensed hospital; 20 (e) the term "firefighter" means any firefighter regularly employed by 21 a fire department of any municipality of the state of New York; and 22 (f) the term "law enforcement officer" means any active or retired 23 city or state law enforcement officer, peace officer, sheriff, deputy 24 sheriff, probation or parole officer, marshal, deputy, wildlife enforce- 25 ment agency, state correctional officer, or commissioned agent of the 26 department of corrections and community supervision, as well as any 27 federal law enforcement officer or employee, whose permanent duties 28 include making arrests, performing search and seizures, execution of 29 criminal arrest warrants, execution of civil seizure warrants, any civil 30 functions performed by sheriffs or deputy sheriffs, enforcement of penal 31 or traffic laws, or the care, custody, control or supervision of incar- 32 cerated individuals. 33 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.