What's happening
This bill adds homelessness as a protected category under New York's hate crime laws, making offenses against homeless people hate crimes.
Why it matters
Expands legal protection for homeless individuals. , recognizing that they are especially vulnerable to targeted violence and discrimination, and ensuring acts against them motivated by bias are prosecuted more severely.
Explicitly defines "homelessness" in law. , clarifying that people without a fixed, regular nighttime residence—including those in shelters, temporary hotels, or informal sleeping spaces—are covered, which provides clear guidance to law enforcement and courts.
Signals a shift in societal recognition. , acknowledging homelessness as a status deserving protection similar to race, gender, or religion, and potentially raising public awareness of violence and prejudice faced by homeless individuals.
May impact reporting and prosecution practices. , encouraging victims and witnesses to come forward and allowing prosecutors to seek enhanced penalties, which could have deterrent effects and shape future support services or policy interventions.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Protect Homeless from Hate Crimes
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to codes
- Referred to codes
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
643
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled)
January 9, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. L. ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to designating offenses against homeless persons as hate crimes
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "homeless protection act".
§ 2. Subdivisions 1, 2 and 4 of section 485.05 of the penal law, as added by chapter 107 of the laws of 2000, are amended to read as follows:
1. A person commits a hate crime when he or she commits a specified offense and either:
(a) intentionally selects the person against whom the offense is committed or intended to be committed in whole or in substantial part because of a belief or perception regarding the race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, religious practice, age, disability, homelessness, or sexual orientation of a person, regardless of whether the belief or perception is correct, or
(b) intentionally commits the act or acts constituting the offense in whole or in substantial part because of a belief or perception regarding the race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, religious practice, age, disability, homelessness, or sexual orientation of a person, regardless of whether the belief or perception is correct.
2. Proof of race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, religious practice, age, disability, homelessness, or sexual orientation of the defendant, the victim or of both the defendant and the victim does not, by itself, constitute legally sufficient evidence satisfying the people's burden under paragraph (a) or (b) of subdivision one of this section.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03349-01-9
A. 643 2
4. For purposes of this section:
(a) the term "age" means sixty years old or more;
(b) the term "disability" means a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity; and
(c) the term "homelessness" means the set of circumstances in which an individual or family is undomiciled, has no fixed address, lacks a fixed regular nighttime residence, resides in a place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings (such as a hallway, bus station, lobby or similar place), resides in a homeless shelter, resides in a residential program for victims of domestic violence, or resides in a hotel/motel on a temporary basis.
§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.