S 1694 New York Senate · 2025 Regular Session

Prohibits recording of the entrance of a school ground

Summary

Prohibits recording of the entrance or exit of a school ground or the entrance or exit to a property that contains school grounds within its boundaries.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Apr 2026

Senate Passage

Apr 2026

Assembly Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 13, 2025 Last action Apr 13, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

S1694 → S1694A · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to incorporate a new provision prohibiting the recording of school entrances into the existing harassment statute, rather than creating a separate new offense. This change aligns the anti-surveillance measure with the current legal framework for harassment and clarifies that the new conduct is treated as a violation rather than a crime.

Scope change

The bill's scope shifted from creating a standalone criminal offense to amending an existing harassment statute to include recording school grounds as one of the prohibited acts.

SCOPE

The bill was restructured to amend Section 240.26 of the Penal Law instead of adding a new section, integrating the anti-recording provision into the existing harassment in the second degree statute.

ENFORCEMENT

The penalty for the prohibited recording activity was changed from a fine of up to one thousand dollars per day to being classified as a 'violation,' which typically carries a lower penalty than a criminal offense.

REQUIREMENT

New language was added to exempt activities regulated by federal labor laws, such as those involving the National Labor Relations Act.

TECHNICAL

Gender-neutral language was added to the statute to replace gendered terms like 'He or she' with 'The actor'.

Floor votes · Senate Apr 13, 2026

How they voted

52–0

Passed · 11 other

Total votes 63

Apr 13, 2026

D Democratic41

35 Yea 6

85% Yea

R Republican22

17 Yea 5

77% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Apr 13, 2026

Committee

REFERRED TO CODES

lower

Apr 13, 2026

Upper · Passed

PASSED SENATE

upper

Jan 7, 2026

Committee

REFERRED TO CODES

upper

Jun 10, 2025

Committee

REFERRED TO CODES

lower

Jun 10, 2025

Upper · Passed

PASSED SENATE

upper

Apr 30, 2025

Upper · Passed

AMENDED ON THIRD READING 1694A

upper

Jan 13, 2025

Committee

REFERRED TO CODES

upper

1 primary · 3 co-sponsors