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A731Assembly2025-2026 Session

Tougher Penalties for Repeat Drivers

Official title

“Relates to repeat offenders of driving accidents”

Sponsor Linda RosenthalAD-67Affects Legal
Status
In Assembly Committee
Codes
Impact
6/10
Moderate
Passage
8%

Bill progress

Step 2 of 7

In committee · Codes

What's happening

This bill amends laws to classify certain vehicle and traffic law offenses as felonies for repeat driving accident offenders.

Why it matters

  1. Expands felony classification. By including felonies and misdemeanors from the vehicle and traffic law in "second felony offender" definitions, this bill could lead to much harsher sentencing for individuals with repeat vehicle-related offenses, not just traditional crimes in the penal law.

  2. Potential for longer sentences and criminal records. Repeat driving accident offenders could face stricter criminal consequences, including longer prison terms and the lifelong impacts of felony convictions (such as loss of voting rights or employment barriers).

  3. Shifts traffic offenses into criminal justice system. The bill blurs the line between traffic violations and criminal actions, potentially treating habitual dangerous drivers with the same severity as other repeat felons, which may have broad implications for justice system resources and fairness in proportional punishment.

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Who cares

Headline styles

Tougher Penalties for Repeat Drivers

Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.

Sponsors

Primary sponsor
Linda Rosenthal

Assembly Member · Assembly District 67

Chair, Housing

No co-sponsors yet.

History

  1. Referred to codes
  2. Referred to codes

Full text

1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗

STATE OF NEW YORK

731

2025-2026 Regular Sessions

IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled)

January 8, 2025

Introduced by M. of A. ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes

AN ACT to amend the penal law and the criminal procedure law, in relation to repeat offenders of driving accidents

The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:

Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 70.06 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 410 of the laws of 1979, is amended to read as follows:

(a) A second felony offender is a person, other than a second violent felony offender as defined in section 70.04, who stands convicted of a felony defined in this chapter or in the vehicle and traffic law, other than a class A-I felony, after having previously been subjected to one or more predicate felony convictions as defined in paragraph (b) of this subdivision.

§ 2. Paragraphs (b) and (c) of subdivision 1 of section 160.10 of the criminal procedure law, paragraph (b) as amended by chapter 762 of the laws of 1971 and paragraph (c) as amended by chapter 23 of the laws of 2021, are amended to read as follows:

(b) A misdemeanor defined in the penal law or the vehicle and traffic law; or

(c) A misdemeanor defined outside the penal law or the vehicle and traffic law which would constitute a felony if such person had a previous judgment of conviction for a crime.

§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

[ ] is old law to be omitted.

LBD02617-01-5

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.