Senate BillIntroduced
S 5281: Deems individuals facing criminal charges as being incapable of consent when the actor is a police officer, peace officer or other law enforcement agent who knows or reasonably should know that such person is facing pending charges unless such person is a member of the same family or household as such police officer, peace officer or other law enforcement agent.
What S 5281 does, verified January 11, 2026
The bill aims to amend the penal law to expand the definition of a person incapable of consent in cases where the accused is a law enforcement officer. A person facing pending criminal charges and being held by a law enforcement officer will be deemed incapable of consent. This exception only applies to law enforcement officers who know or reasonably should know the person is facing pending charges. The provision does not apply to family members or household members, as defined by the criminal procedure law. The amendment takes effect immediately.
Bill journey
1IntroducedCurrent
2In CommitteePending
3First Chamber FloorPending
4Second ChamberPending
5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: REFERRED TO CODES (2026-01-07)Alert me
Quick answers about S 5281
- What is the current status of S 5281?
- As of January 11, 2026, S 5281 is recorded as "Introduced": it has been introduced and is waiting for its first committee hearing or floor vote. The last recorded action, on January 7, 2026, was "REFERRED TO CODES".
- Did S 5281 pass?
- Not yet. S 5281 has been introduced and has not passed either house.
- Who wrote S 5281, and where is it now?
- S 5281 was authored by Sen. Luis Sepúlveda with 1 coauthor. Its committee of record is Senate Codes.
Author and sponsors
Full contact details, staff, and committees with Connect, $16/moUnlockRecent actions2 total · showing 2
| Jan. 07, 2026 | REFERRED TO CODES |
| Feb. 20, 2025 | REFERRED TO CODES |
Latest bill textIntroduced version, February 20, 2025 · 339 words
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5281 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE February 20, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. SEPULVEDA, FERNANDEZ -- 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 deeming persons incapable of consent when such persons are facing pending criminal charges and the actor is a police officer, peace officer or other law enforcement agent who knows or reasonably should know that such person is facing pending charges The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraph (j) of subdivision 3 of section 130.05 of the 2 penal law, as added by section 1 of part JJ of chapter 55 of the laws of 3 2018, is amended and a new paragraph (l) is added to read as follows: 4 (j) detained or otherwise in the custody of a police officer, peace 5 officer, or other law enforcement official and the actor is a police 6 officer, peace officer or other law enforcement official who either: (i) 7 is detaining or maintaining custody of such person; or (ii) knows, or 8 reasonably should know, that at the time of the offense, such person was 9 detained or in custody[.]; or 10 (l) facing pending criminal charges and the actor is a police officer, 11 peace officer or other law enforcement agent who knows or reasonably 12 should know that such person is facing pending charges unless such 13 person is a member of the same family or household as defined in para- 14 graphs (b), (c) and (d) of subdivision one of section 530.11 of the 15 criminal procedure law as such police officer, peace officer or other 16 law enforcement agent. 17 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD09898-01-5
Text of S 5281 as introduced, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions