Relates to bail for certain offenses involving threats of mass harm against a school district, school, school staff or a student
This bill requires courts to consider bail for specific offenses targeting schools or students, including threats of mass harm, aggravated harassment, or terroristic threats against school districts, staff, or students. It amends criminal procedure law to mandate bail consideration when a defendant is charged with these offenses while already out on release or awaiting arraignment for a related crime. Prosecutors must show reasonable cause the defendant committed the offense, but courts may still release defendants on their own recognizance if the alleged harm (like minor property damage) is deemed negligible and unrelated to other criminal activity. The bill directly affects defendants charged with these school-targeted offenses during pretrial proceedings.
Bill status
in committee
1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Mar 2025
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Mar 6, 2025
Last action Jan 7, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison
What changed between versions
A6597
→
A6597A
·
3 edits
MINOR
The bill was amended to broaden its scope by adding 'terroristic threats' to the list of offenses that can trigger special bail procedures for school-related crimes. It also updated the bill's title to reflect 'threats of mass harm' instead of 'violent threats' and added new sponsors to the list of legislators who introduced the bill.
Scope change
The bill now applies to a wider range of offenses, specifically including terroristic threats against schools, in addition to existing threats of mass harm.
SCOPE
Added 'terroristic threats' to the list of qualifying offenses for special bail procedures in school-related cases.
DEFINITION
Changed the bill title from 'violent threats' to 'threats of mass harm' to better describe the scope of covered offenses.
TECHNICAL
Added new co-sponsors (Stern, Lavine, Wieder, Woerner, Berger, P. Carroll, Yeger, Durso, Mikulin) to the list of bill authors.
Floor votes
How they voted
No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
4
Key actions
2
Committee
2
Amendments
2
Jan 7, 2026
Committee
REFERRED TO CODES
lower
Mar 20, 2025
Lower · Passed
PRINT NUMBER 6597A
lower
Mar 20, 2025
Lower · Passed
AMEND (T) AND RECOMMIT TO CODES
lower
Mar 6, 2025
Committee
REFERRED TO CODES
lower
1 primary · 24 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Paula Kay
DDemocratic
Co
Andrew Hevesi
DDemocratic
Co
Andrew Molitor
RRepublican/Conservative
Co
Angelo Santabarbara
DDemocratic
Co
Anil Beephan
RRepublican/Conservative
Co
Aron Wieder
DDemocratic
Co
Brian Maher
RRepublican/Conservative
Co
Carrie Woerner
DDemocratic
Co
Charles Lavine
DDemocratic
Co
Chris Eachus
DDemocratic
Co
Jaime Williams
DDemocratic
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