Criminal Justice

This bill creates a new criminal offense called "vehicular homicide" for drivers who cause another person's death through reckless conduct showing extreme disregard for human life. It directly affects drivers whose actions - like severe speeding or ignoring traffic signals - result in fatalities, even if they didn’t intend to cause death. The law classifies vehicular homicide as a class B felony, the same penalty as second-degree murder in New York, making it a serious criminal charge. This change would replace or add to existing laws for deaths caused by negligent or reckless driving.

This bill increases maximum fines for corporations convicted of crimes under New York's criminal law. It raises the top fine for felony convictions from $10,000 to $80,000 and for certain serious misdemeanors from $5,000 to $40,000. For offenses where fines are based on corporate gain, the maximum now triples that gain amount. Signed into law in October 2025, it directly affects corporations found guilty of criminal offenses in New York.

This bill (S 1648) would have amended New York's criminal procedure law to allow bail for defendants charged with "aggravated cruelty to animals" under Agriculture and Markets Law § 353-a. It specifically added this offense to existing bail eligibility provisions that previously included firearm-related crimes (like third-degree weapons possession). The bill was defeated in the Codes committee on May 5, 2025, and did not become law. It directly affected individuals charged with severe animal cruelty offenses by changing their bail eligibility under state law.