S1933 • 2025

Enacts "Paula's law"

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Sponsor: William Weber
Last action: 2026-05-18
Official status: In Senate Committee
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

Enacts "Paula's law"

Enacts "Paula's law" Provides that being eighteen years old or more, while in the course of committing rape in the first, second or third degree, criminal sexual act in the first, second or third degree, sexual abuse in the first degree, aggravated sexual abuse in the first, second, third or fourth degree, or incest in the first, second or third degree, against a person less than eighteen years old, such defendant intentionally causes the death of such person.

What This Bill Does

Enacts "Paula's law" Provides that being eighteen years old or more, while in the course of committing rape in the first, second or third degree, criminal sexual act in the first, second or third degree, sexual abuse in the first degree, aggravated sexual abuse in the first, second, third or fourth degree, or incest in the first, second or third degree, against a person less than eighteen years old, such defendant intentionally causes the death of such person.

Limits and Unknowns

This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

2026-05-18 Senate
DEFEATED IN CODES
2026-03-19 Senate
NOTICE OF COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION - REQUESTED
2026-01-07 Senate
REFERRED TO CODES
2025-01-14 Senate
REFERRED TO CODES

Official Summary Text

Enacts "Paula's law"
Provides that being eighteen years old or more, while in the course of committing rape in the first, second or third degree, criminal sexual act in the first, second or third degree, sexual abuse in the first degree, aggravated sexual abuse in the first, second, third or fourth degree, or incest in the first, second or third degree, against a person less than eighteen years old, such defendant intentionally causes the death of such person.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          1933

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                                    I N  S E N A T E

                                    January 14, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by Sens. WEBER, GALLIVAN, HELMING, MARTINS, MATTERA, MURRAY,
          ORTT, PALUMBO, RHOADS, ROLISON -- 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 enacting "Paula's law"

          THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
        BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

     1    Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as
     2  "Paula's law".
     3    §  2.  Legislative  intent.  This act is an expansion of "Joan's Law",
     4  enacted in 2004, which denies parole in these  circumstances  for  child
     5  victims under the age of fourteen. This act expands upon "Joan's Law" by
     6  including child victims under the age of eighteen.
     7    §  3.  Subdivision 5 of section 125.25 of the penal law, as amended by
     8  chapter 23 of the laws of 2024, is amended to read as follows:
     9    5. Being eighteen years old or more, while in the course of committing
    10  rape in the first, second or third degree, a crime formerly  defined  in
    11  section  130.50,  130.45  or  130.40  of this title, the crime of sexual
    12  abuse in the first degree, aggravated sexual abuse in the first, second,
    13  third or fourth degree, or incest in the first, second or third  degree,
    14  against  a  person  less than [fourteen] EIGHTEEN years old, [he or she]
    15  SUCH DEFENDANT intentionally causes the death of such person.
    16    § 4. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed-
    17  ing the date on which it shall have become a law.



         EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03456-01-5