Bill > A07723

This bill expands the list of qualifying offenses for which a court may deny bail or pretrial release. The legislation amends sections of the criminal procedure law to add numerous specific criminal offenses to the list of "qualifying offenses," which allows judges more discretion in determining pretrial detention. The expanded list now includes a wide range of additional crimes, such as: specific drug-related offenses, more sex and child-related crimes, offenses involving weapons, crimes against animals, hate crimes, offenses involving obstruction of governmental administration, prostitution-related offenses in school zones, and crimes involving tampering with physical evidence. The bill also makes some technical changes, such as replacing gendered language like "he or she" with the gender-neutral "they" and adding specific subsections of existing penal law to the qualifying offenses. Importantly, for these qualifying offenses, courts can choose to release a defendant on their own recognizance, set bail, impose non-monetary conditions, or commit the defendant to sheriff's custody, depending on the specific circumstances of the case. The changes aim to provide law enforcement and judicial systems with more flexibility in handling potentially dangerous defendants before trial.

Housing and Urban Affairs

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A7723