BILL NUMBER: S524A
SPONSOR: MAYER
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the penal law, in relation to establishing the crime of
voyeurism in the first and second degree
 
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this legislation is to create the crime of voyeurism.
The similar crime of unlawful surveillance currently in effect in New
York only applies to cases in which an imaging device, capable of
recording, is used, thus permitting those that are not using this type
of imaging device to escape prosecution if they.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 creates new sections 250.51 and 250.52 of the penal law to
establish, respectively, the crimes of voyeurism in the second and first
degrees.
Section 250.51 has two subdivisions, each of which describes actions
that constitute voyeurism in the second degree:
1. Trespassing or surreptitiously viewing a person using aòcamera,
phone, or other viewing device to observe someone dressing, undressing,
or exposing intimate parts in a place where the person reasonably
expects privacy, without that person's knowledge or consent, for
purposes such as amusement, profit, sexual gratification, or to degrade
or abuse the person.
2.Trespassing or surreptitiously viewing a person using a camera, phone,
or other viewing device to observe an identifiable person engaging in
sexual conduct in a place where the person reasonably expects privacy,
without that person's knowledge or consent, for purposes such as amuse-
ment, profit, sexual gratification, or to degrade or abuse the person.
The section specifies that voyeurism in the second degree is a class B
misdemeanor.
Section 250.52 establishes the crime of voyeurism in the first degree,
which is defined as committing the crime of voyeurism in the second
degree when one has been convicted of voyeurism in the first degree or
voyeurism in the second degree within the past ten years.
Section 2 amends subdivision 1 of section 250.65 of the penal law to add
firefighters, healthcare professionals, and correctional facility
personnel engaged in the conduct of their authorized duties to the cate-
gories of persons to which voyeurism and unlawful surveillance crimes do
not apply.
Section 3 provides the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
New York is among the minority of states that do not impose criminal
punishment for voyeuristic behavior. While the crime of unlawful
surveillance - which involves using an imaging device that is capable of
recording - has already been established in the penal law, those that
only view others can still cause substantial harm to their victims by
viewing them with the naked eye or with binoculars or a telescope, when
that person is in intimate circumstances and has the expectation of
privacy.
The degradation, embarrassment, and fear resulting from such improper
behavior should be properly punished in New York, and this bill will
accomplish that end in a measured and appropriate manner.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023/24: S2301 (Mayer)/ A3909 (Fahy): passed Senate (2023; 24); referred
to Codes (2023;24)
2021/22: S1053-A (Mayer) / A2386-A (Fahy): passed Senate (2021); passed
Senate (2022)
2019/20: S6703 (Mayer) / A8649 (Fahy): referred to Rules (2019);
referred to Codes (2020)
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
The provisions of the bill shall take effect immediately.

Statutes affected:
S524: 250.65 penal law, 250.65(1) penal law
S524A: 250.65 penal law, 250.65(1) penal law