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S1150Senate2025-2026 Session

Protect Hospital Security Guards

Official title

“Relates to protecting registered security guards in a hospital or health care facility from assault; class D felony”

Sponsor Peter OberackerSD-51+3 co-sponsorsAffects Legal
Status
In Senate Committee
Codes
Impact
5/10
Moderate
Passage
19%

Bill progress

Step 2 of 7

In committee · Codes

What's happening

This bill adds registered security guards in hospitals or health care facilities to those protected by enhanced penalties for assault.

Why it matters

  1. Expands legal protections to hospital security personnel. , recognizing that registered security guards in hospitals and health care facilities face similar risks of workplace violence as other front-line medical staff.

  2. Signals to would-be offenders that assaults on hospital security staff will be prosecuted more severely. , which may deter violence in medical settings and potentially improve overall safety for patients, visitors, and staff.

  3. Acknowledges the vital and increasingly hazardous role of security guards in health care environments. , especially amid rising reports of aggression toward hospital workers, reinforcing their importance in maintaining a safe care environment.

  4. May prompt hospitals and health care facilities to review their security policies and training. , knowing that their guards now have the same legal protections as other protected professionals, possibly leading to safer and more supportive working conditions.

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Who cares

  • Registered security guards in hospitals and health care facilities

    The bill would extend second-degree assault protections to them when someone causes physical injury with intent to prevent them from performing a lawful duty.

  • Hospitals and health care facilities

    The bill would add registered security guards working in these settings to worker categories covered by specified felony assault provisions.

  • Likely support

    Prosecutors and criminal defense attorneys

    The bill would expand the circumstances in which injuring a registered hospital or health care facility security guard could support a class D felony assault charge.

Headline styles

Protect Hospital Security Guards

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

Sponsors

Primary sponsor
Peter Oberacker

Senator · Senate District 51

History

  1. Referred to codes
  2. Referred to codes

Full text

3 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗

STATE OF NEW YORK

1150

2025-2026 Regular Sessions

IN SENATE

January 8, 2025

Introduced by Sens. OBERACKER, BORRELLO, GALLIVAN, 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 protecting registered security guards in a hospital or health care facility from assault

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

Section 1. Subdivisions 3 and 11 of section 120.05 of the penal law, subdivision 3 as amended by chapter 267 of the laws of 2016 and subdivision 11 as amended by section 2 of part Z of chapter 55 of the laws of 2024, are amended to read as follows:

3. With intent to prevent a peace officer, a police officer, prosecutor as defined in subdivision thirty-one of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law, registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, public health sanitarian, New York city public health sanitarian, sanitation enforcement agent, New York city sanitation worker, a firefighter, including a firefighter acting as a paramedic or emergency medical technician administering first aid in the course of performance of duty as such firefighter, an emergency medical service paramedic or emergency medical service technician, or medical or related personnel in a hospital emergency department, a registered security guard in a hospital or health care facility, a city marshal, a school crossing guard appointed pursuant to section two hundred eight-a of the general municipal law, a traffic enforcement officer, traffic enforcement agent or employee of any entity governed by the public service law in the course of performing an essential service, from performing a lawful duty, by means including releasing or failing to control an animal under circumstances evincing the actor's intent that the animal obstruct the lawful activity of such peace officer, police officer, prosecutor as defined in subdivision thirty-one of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law, registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, public health sanitarian, New York city

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

[ ] is old law to be omitted.

LBD03520-01-5

public health sanitarian, sanitation enforcement agent, New York city sanitation worker, firefighter, paramedic, technician, city marshal, school crossing guard appointed pursuant to section two hundred eight-a of the general municipal law, traffic enforcement officer, traffic enforcement agent or employee of an entity governed by the public service law, [he or she] such person causes physical injury to such peace officer, police officer, prosecutor as defined in subdivision thirty-one of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law, registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, public health sanitarian, New York city public health sanitarian, sanitation enforcement agent, New York city sanitation worker, firefighter, paramedic, technician or medical or related personnel in a hospital emergency department, a registered security guard in a hospital or health care facility, city marshal, school crossing guard, traffic enforcement officer, traffic enforcement agent or employee of an entity governed by the public service law; or

11. With intent to cause physical injury to a train operator, ticket inspector, conductor, signalperson, bus operator, station agent, station cleaner, terminal cleaner, station customer assistant, traffic checker; person whose official duties include the sale or collection of tickets, passes, vouchers, or other revenue payment media for use on a train, bus, or ferry the collection or handling of revenues therefrom; a person whose official duties include the maintenance, repair, inspection, troubleshooting, testing or cleaning of buses or ferries, a transit signal system, elevated or underground subway tracks, transit station structure, including fare equipment, escalators, elevators and other equipment necessary to passenger service, commuter rail tracks or stations, train yard, revenue train in passenger service, a ferry station, or a train or bus station or terminal; or a supervisor of such personnel, employed by any transit or commuter rail agency, authority or company, public or private, whose operation is authorized by New York state or any of its political subdivisions, a city marshal, a school crossing guard appointed pursuant to section two hundred eight-a of the general municipal law, a traffic enforcement officer, traffic enforcement agent, prosecutor as defined in subdivision thirty-one of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law, sanitation enforcement agent, New York city sanitation worker, public health sanitarian, New York city public health sanitarian, registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, emergency medical service paramedic, [or] emergency medical service technician, [he or she] or a registered security guard in a hospital or health care facility, such person causes physical injury to such train operator, ticket inspector, conductor, signalperson, bus operator, station agent, station cleaner, terminal cleaner, station customer assistant, traffic checker; person whose official duties include the sale or collection of tickets, passes, vouchers or other revenue payment media for use on a train, bus, or ferry or the collection or handling of revenues therefrom; a person whose official duties include the maintenance, repair, inspection, troubleshooting, testing or cleaning of buses or ferries, a transit signal system, elevated or underground subway tracks, transit station structure, including fare equipment, escalators, elevators and other equipment necessary to passenger service, commuter rail tracks or stations, train yard, revenue train in passenger service, a ferry station, or a train or bus station or terminal; or a supervisor of such personnel, city marshal, school crossing guard appointed pursuant to section two hundred eight-a of the general municipal law, traffic enforcement officer, traffic enforcement agent, prosecutor as defined in subdivision thirty-one of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law, registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, public health sanitarian, New York city public health sanitarian, sanitation enforcement agent, New York city sanitation worker, emergency medical service paramedic, [or] emergency medical service technician, or a registered security guard in a hospital or health care facility, while such employee is performing an assigned duty on, or directly related to, the operation of a train or bus, cleaning of a train or bus station or terminal, assisting customers, checking traffic, the sale or collection of tickets, passes, vouchers, or other revenue media for use on a train, bus, or ferry or maintenance or cleaning of a train, a bus, a ferry, or bus station or terminal, signal system, elevated or underground subway tracks, transit station structure, including fare equipment, escalators, elevators and other equipment necessary to passenger service, commuter rail tracks or stations, train yard or revenue train in passenger service, a ferry station, or such city marshal, school crossing guard, traffic enforcement officer, traffic enforcement agent, prosecutor as defined in subdivision thirty-one of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law, registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, public health sanitarian, New York city public health sanitarian, sanitation enforcement agent, New York city sanitation worker, emergency medical service paramedic, or emergency medical service technician is performing an assigned duty; or

§ 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law.

Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.

Sponsor's memo

Title of bill

An act to amend the penal law, in relation to protecting registered security guards in a hospital or health care facility from assault

Purpose

To amend the penal law to raise the penalty for assault on any NYS registered security officer working in a hospital or health care facili- ty to a Class D Felony

Summary of provisions

Section 1. Raises the assault on any NYS security officer working in a hospital or health care facility from an assault in the third degree to assault in the second degree.

Section 2. Establishes effective date.

Justification

Security officers in hospitals work to provide a safe environment for patients, families of patients, and workers alike. Although current law includes enhanced penalties for assault against several professionals in the healthcare field, the current law fails to adequately protect regis- tered security officers in this field who face dangerous situations.

Under this legislation, NYS registered security officers working in a hospital or health care facility would be included in the definition of individuals with increased penalties for assault. This legislation will protect workers from assault while performing their duty.

Security officers in hospitals are individuals with a high risk of on-the-job assault. This legislation will provide equity to workers in hospitals who are not medical professionals.

Legislative history

S.5116/A5383 of 2023-2024-- Referred to Committee on Codes

S.6127/A.6992 of 2021-22

S.634/A.10420 of 2019-20

S.643 of 2017-18

S.6457 of 2015-16

Fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

This act shall take effect on the same date and in the same manner as chapter 472 of the laws of 2015, takes effect.

Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.