Establishes the homeless protection act which designates certain offenses against homeless persons as hate crimes; includes the definition of homelessness.

---

S918-2011 Actions

• Jan 4, 2012: REFERRED TO CODES
• Jan 5, 2011: REFERRED TO CODES

S918-2011 Memo

BILL NUMBER:S918

TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend the penal law, in relation to designating offenses against
homeless persons as hate crimes

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This bill would protect the homeless from the abuse and attacks often
levied against them by designating such attacks as hate crimes.

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Amends subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 485.05 of the penal law as
added by chapter 107 of the laws of 2000 to include "homelessness" as
a defining category in groups legally recognized as protected under
hate crimes law. Section 2 also defines the term "homelessness" as a
set of circumstances in which a person or persons are undomiciled,
with no address, regular residence, or resides in a place not
designed for regular sleeping accommodation, a shelter, a residential
program for victims of domestic violence or in a hotel/motel on a
temporary basis.

JUSTIFICATION:
In the summer of 2009 the National Coalition for the Homeless released
a report documenting a rise in violence against the homeless in the
past ten years. Over the last decade there have been approximately
860 attacks, and 244 of them resulted in the victim's death. These
unprovoked attacks are often perpetrated by young men with no
relation to the victim. They prey on, the homeless precisely because
they are vulnerable.
These attacks have been as extreme as setting a victim on fire, as
well as videotaping attacks to post on the Internet, only further
encouraging the maltreatment of the homeless. Designating these
attacks as hate crimes emphasizes the humanity of the homeless and
challenges the misconception that these are people who have been
forgotten.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2009-2010 - S.8032A/A.9222A Remained in the Senate Committee and
the Assembly Committee on Codes

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.

S918-2011 Text

                      S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
  ________________________________________________________________________

                                     918

                         2011-2012 Regular Sessions

                              I N  SENATE

                                 (PREFILED)

                               January 5, 2011
                                 ___________

  Introduced  by  Sens.  BRESLIN, ADAMS, HASSELL-THOMPSON, HUNTLEY, KLEIN,
    KRUEGER, OPPENHEIMER, PARKER, PERKINS,  STAVISKY  --  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 homeless persons as hate crimes

    THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
  BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


    Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as
  the "homeless protection act".
    S  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

   EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                        [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                             LBD04141-01-1

 S. 918                              2

  the people's burden under paragraph (a) or (b)  of  subdivision  one  of
  this section.
    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 DOMES-
  TIC VIOLENCE, OR RESIDES IN A HOTEL/MOTEL ON A TEMPORARY BASIS.
    S 3. This act shall take effect immediately.