S 10359 NY
Prohibits people from engaging in protest outside a place of religious worship
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Summary
This bill establishes criminal penalties for interference with religious worship by adding new crimes to the Penal Law. It makes it a class A misdemeanor to engage in protest outside a place of religious worship within twenty-five feet of the building, including its parking lot, entrance, driveway, or driveway entrance. The bill also establishes as criminal interference with religious worship in the second degree other conduct that uses force, threats, or physical obstruction to injure, intimidate, or interfere with someone exercising the right to religious freedom, or intentionally damages the property of a place of religious worship, or prevents entrance to or exit from such a place. A person who commits this crime after having been previously convicted of criminal interference with religious worship is guilty of criminal interference with religious worship in the first degree, a class E felony. The bill takes effect immediately.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Official abstract
Prohibits people from engaging in protests outside a place of religious worship; establishes that protests must be a minimum of twenty-five feet away from a place of religious worship.
Sponsor (1)
- Steve Rhoads Republican · primary
Action history (1)
- May 15, 2026 REFERRED TO CODES · upper
Text versions (2)
Full text
Full text imported from assembly.state.ny.us
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Bill No.: Summary Actions Committee Votes Floor Votes Memo Text LFIN Chamber Video/Transcript S10359 Summary: BILL NO S10359   SAME AS No Same As   SPONSOR RHOADS   COSPNSR   MLTSPNSR   Add §§240.80 & 240.81, amd §§240.70 & 240.71, Pen L   Prohibits people from engaging in protests outside a place of religious worship; establishes that protests must be a minimum of twenty-five feet away from a place of religious worship.
Go to top S10359 Text:
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________
10359
IN SENATE
May 15, 2026 ___________
Introduced by Sen. 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 prohibiting persons from protesting within twenty-five feet of houses of worship
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 240.80 to 2 read as follows: 3 § 240.80 Criminal interference with religious worship in the second 4 degree. 5 1. A person is guilty of criminal interference with religious worship 6 in the second degree when: 7 (a) by force or threat of force or by physical obstruction, such 8 person intentionally injures, intimidates or interferes with, or 9 attempts to injure, intimidate or interfere with, another person because 10 such person was or is seeking to exercise the right of religious freedom 11 at a place of religious worship; or 12 (b) such person intentionally damages the property of a place of reli- 13 gious worship; or 14 (c) such person or persons engages in protest outside a place of reli- 15 gious worship within twenty-five feet of such place to include its park- 16 ing lot, entrance, driveway or driveway entrance; or 17 (d) such person or persons prevents the entrance to a place of reli- 18 gious worship or prevents the exit from a place of religious worship. 19 2. For the purposes of this section: 20 (a) the term "interferes with" means to restrict a person's freedom of 21 movement; and 22 (b) the term "intimidates" means to place a person in reasonable 23 apprehension of physical injury to themselves or to another person. 24 Criminal interference with or religious worship in the second degree 25 is a class A misdemeanor. 26 § 2. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 240.81 to read 27 as follows:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD14578-02-6
S. 10359 2
1 § 240.81 Criminal interference with religious worship in the second 2 degree. 3 A person is guilty of criminal interference with religious worship in 4 the first degree when such person commits the crime of criminal inter- 5 ference with religious worship in the second degree and has been previ- 6 ously convicted of the crime of criminal interference with religious 7 worship in the first or second degree. 8 Criminal interference with religious worship in the first degree is a 9 class E felony. 10 § 3. Section 240.70 of the penal law, as added by chapter 635 of the 11 laws of 1999, is amended to read as follows: 12 § 240.70 Criminal interference with health care services [ or religious 13 worship ] in the second degree. 14 1. A person is guilty of criminal interference with health services 15 [ or religious worship ] in the second degree when: 16 (a) by force or threat of force or by physical obstruction, [ he or 17 she ] such person intentionally injures, intimidates or interferes with, 18 or attempts to injure, intimidate or interfere with, another person 19 because such other person was or is obtaining or providing reproductive 20 health services; or 21 (b) by force or threat of force or by physical obstruction, [ he or 22 she ] such person intentionally injures, intimidates or interferes with, 23 or attempts to injure, intimidate or interfere with, another person in 24 order to discourage such other person or any other person or persons 25 from obtaining or providing reproductive health services; or 26 (c) [ by force or threat of force or by physical obstruction, he or she 27 intentionally injures, intimidates or interferes with, or attempts to 28 injure, intimidate or interfere with, another person because such person 29 was or is seeking to exercise the right of religious freedom at a place 30 of religious worship; or 31 (d) he or she ] such person intentionally damages the property of a 32 health care facility, or attempts to do so, because such facility 33 provides reproductive health services[ , or intentionally damages the 34 property of a place of religious worship ]. 35 2. A parent or legal guardian of a minor shall not be subject to pros- 36 ecution for conduct otherwise prohibited by paragraph (a) or (b) of 37 subdivision one of this section which is directed exclusively at such 38 minor. 39 3. For purposes of this section: 40 (a) the term "health care facility" means a hospital, clinic, physi- 41 cian's office or other facility that provides reproductive health 42 services, and includes the building or structure in which the facility 43 is located; 44 (b) the term "interferes with" means to restrict a person's freedom of 45 movement; 46 (c) the term "intimidates" means to place a person in reasonable 47 apprehension of physical injury to [ himself or herself ] themselves or to 48 another person; 49 (d) the term "physical obstruction" means rendering impassable ingress 50 to or egress from a facility that provides reproductive health services 51 [ or to or from a place of religious worship, ] or rendering passage to or 52 from such a facility [ or place of religious worship ] unreasonably diffi- 53 cult or hazardous; and 54 (e) the term "reproductive health services" means health care services 55 provided in a hospital, clinic, physician's office or other facility and 56 includes medical, surgical, counseling or referral services relating to
S. 10359 3
1 the human reproductive system, including services relating to pregnancy 2 or the termination of a pregnancy. 3 Criminal interference with health care services [ or religious worship ] 4 in the second degree is a class A misdemeanor. 5 § 4. Section 240.71 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 493 of the 6 laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows: 7 § 240.71 Criminal interference with health care services [ or religious 8 worship ] in the first degree. 9 A person is guilty of criminal interference with health care services 10 [ or religious worship ] in the first degree when [ he or she ] such person 11 commits the crime of criminal interference with health care services [ or 12 religious worship ] in the second degree and has been previously 13 convicted of the crime of criminal interference with health care 14 services [ or religious worship ] in the first or second degree or aggra- 15 vated interference with health care services in the first or second 16 degree. 17 Criminal interference with health care services [ or religious worship ] 18 in the first degree is a class E felony. 19 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
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