ALBANY, N.Y., March 21 (Reuters) - Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance on Wednesday renewed his call for state lawmakers to pass a bill that would make it a felony to commit multiple domestic violence offenses.

Currently, offenders may only be charged with misdemeanors if they do not cause serious injury or death to a victim, regardless of the number of prior convictions. The proposal would create the felony crime of aggravated domestic violence for people convicted of at least two offenses in any five-year period.

A serial offender is "treated the same way on his first offense as he is on his hundredth," Vance told a crowd of more than 200 domestic violence prevention advocates at a lobbying event near the State Capitol in Albany. "That is not justice for victims."

Vance said the measure would aid victims and families because orders of protection issued in felony cases last longer than those for misdemeanor offenses.

"It sends a message to abusers and victims that the criminal justice system does not tolerate recurring acts of domestic violence," Vance said on Wednesday.

He pointed to a number of cases tried by his office in which victims were killed or seriously injured by repeat domestic violence offenders. In Manhattan between 2007 to 2011, Vance said, 685 people were convicted of two or more domestic violence offenses.

Sen. Daniel Squadron, a Democrat from Brooklyn, said he drew up the bill in honor of NYPD Officer Alain Schaberger, who was killed a year ago while responding to a domestic violence call. The suspect, George Villanueva, who had been convicted of a dozen domestic violence misdemeanors, pushed Schaberger over a staircase railing.

The officer's death "is a reminder that domestic violence starts in the home but its costs ripple out into the community," said Squadron.

The measure passed the state Assembly Wednesday, but is currently stalled in the Senate.

Last week, it was one of more than 300 Democrat-sponsored bills that was moved into a different legislative committee by Republican leaders in the Senate, which could make it more difficult to bring up for a vote.

Squadron said he is not sure whether the Senate will vote on the bill during the current session, which ends in June.

The New York City Bar Association this month released a memo in support of the bill, writing that "the felony level charge...will allow law enforcement to hold offenders responsible for repeatedly committing these offenses and possibly prevent further abuse."

Reporting by Dan Wiessner)

Follow us on Twitter: @ReutersLegal