Replaces the word rape with the term sexual battery

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Joe DeStefano and 2 co-sponsors

The bill replaces the term "rape" with "sexual battery" in statutes to standardize terminology without changing offenses or penalties.

REFERRED TO CODES

Overview

Bill Number: A 6399

Title/Purpose: Replaces the word “rape” with the term “sexual battery” in applicable statutes.

Status: REFERRED TO CODES (introduced and assigned to the Codes Committee for consideration)

Introduced: March 4, 2025

Classification: bill

Related bills (prior-session): A 10412, A 4450

What the bill would do

The bill seeks to standardize terminology across the statutory code by substituting the term “sexual battery” for the word “rape” wherever it appears in the law. This is a terminology update intended to align language used in statutes with the term proposed by the bill.

The primary substantive changes, if any, would be linguistic rather than altering the elements, definitions, or penalties of offenses unless explicitly stated elsewhere in the bill text. Based on the title and description provided, the core objective is to use a single term (“sexual battery”) in place of “rape.”

Key provisions (inferred from the bill’s description)

Textual amendments: Amendments to statutes to replace occurrences of “rape” with “sexual battery.”

Cross-references: Adjustments to cross-references, definitions, and related phrases to ensure consistency with the new terminology.

Transitional provisions: Potential provisions to address cases pending review or judgment at the time of enactment (not specified in the information provided; would appear in the full text if included).

Effective date: Not specified in the information provided. The bill’s effective date, if enacted, would be stated in the enacted text.

Who/what would be affected

Legal statutes that currently use the term “rape” and any sections that reference related offenses, elements, or penalties.

Courts, prosecutors, defense counsel, law enforcement, and clerical/legislative staff responsible for updating forms, manuals, and codes to reflect the terminology change.

Procedural and timeline aspects

Status indicates the bill has been introduced and referred to the Codes Committee, a typical first step in the Assembly for bills dealing with statutory and criminal code provisions.

Legislative action logged: 2025-03-04 – REFERRED TO CODES.

Next steps: If the Codes Committee reviews and advances the bill, it would move to further floor consideration and potential passage by the Assembly, followed by negotiation with the Senate (and possible signatures by the governor) to become law. The specific timeline would depend on committee action and chamber priorities.

Potential impact and considerations

Clarity and consistency: Aims to create uniform terminology across the code, which can reduce confusion in interpretation and enforcement.

Transitional issues: Differences between old case law or longstanding practice referencing “rape” may require interpretation or transitional guidance.

Administrative costs: Likely modest, focused on updating statutory text, legal references, and related materials.

Public perception: Terminology change could affect how laws are discussed publicly and in education/outreach materials.

For further detail, the full text of A 6399 would provide exact section-by-section changes, any transitional language, and the bill’s stated effective date if enacted.

Bill