Sponsor:
SQUADRON
Co-sponsor(s): HASSELL-THOMPSON, JOHNSON C
Committee: CODES
Law Section: Criminal Procedure Law
Co-sponsor(s): HASSELL-THOMPSON, JOHNSON C
Committee: CODES
Law Section: Criminal Procedure Law
S4045 Summary
Requires fingerprinting of persons charged with violations of certain local laws governing food and general vending.S4045 Actions
S4045 - REFERRED TO CODES - Apr 8, 2009S4045 Memo
BILL NUMBER: S4045
TITLE OF BILL : An act to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to fingerprinting persons arrested for or charged with violations of certain local laws governing food and general vending
PURPOSE : To provide for the fingerprinting of persons arrested for or charged with violations of local laws governing food and general vending.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS : This proposal would amend subdivision 1 of section 160.10 of the Criminal Procedure Law ("C.P.L.") to authorize police officers and other appropriate officials to take the fingerprints of individuals arrested for or charged with a violation of sections 17-307, 17-315,20-453 or 20-465 of the Administrative Code of the City of New York.
EXISTING LAW :
Section 160.10 of the Criminal Procedure Law
JUSTIFICATION : In New York City particularly in certain neighborhoods, unlicensed food and general vendors overwhelm the streets and sidewalks, causing both pedestrian and vehicular traffic congestion. These vendors unfairly compete with local merchants, as well as with properly licensed vendors, all of whom are adversely affected by their presence. Despite the size of the problem, however; police, prosecutors and the courts are unable to manage the problem without the authority to fingerprint. Courts have held that fingerprints may only be taken with explicit statutory authority (see, g, People v. O'Rourke, 83 Misc.2d 51 (N.Y. City Criminal Court 1975)). This lack of authority to fingerprint those who violate the vending laws has been particularly troublesome in several ways: for example, it has been the experience of the New York City Police Department that many illegal vendors repeatedly break the law, rarely appear before the court when released on desk appearance tickets, and frequently present false identification when arrested. In those cases in which they do make an appearance, the court has no way of knowing the number of times such vendors may have been charged with the same offense in the past, and might only impose a nominal fine. The problem is slightly different with respect to licensed vendors who
disobey time, place and manner restrictions: they are definitively identified but they pay the nominal fine that may be imposed as a sentence and they consider it a cost of doing business. They then return to the same illegal location or erect the same illegal vending display. For licensed and unlicensed vendors, the City's alternative remedy is to issue a notice of violation, a civil enforcement process involving a summons returnable to the Environmental Control Board, which can result in the imposition of substantial civil penalties. Even in this forum, unlicensed violators rarely appear and are frequently judgment proof. Licensed violators, too, may avoid the penalties arising from adjudication in view of the difficulty of collecting fines and recovering suspended or revoked licenses until expiration.
It is important to note that this bill should not be construed to apply beyond street vending.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY : New Bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS : None.
LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS : To be determined.
EFFECTIVE DATE : Ninety days after it shall have become a law.
S4045 Text
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K4045
2009-2010 Regular Sessions I N SENATE April 8, 2009
Introduced by Sens. SQUADRON, C. JOHNSON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to fingerprint ing persons arrested for or charged with violations of certain local laws governing food and general vending THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 160.10 of the criminal procedure law, as amended by chapter 762 of the laws of 1971, paragraph (d) as amended and paragraph (e) as added by chapter 344 of the laws of 1976, is amended to read as follows:
1. Following an arrest, or following the arraignment upon a local criminal court accusatory instrument of a defendant whose court attend ance has been secured by a summons or an appearance ticket under circum stances described in sections 130.60 and 150.70 OF THIS TITLE, the arresting or other appropriate police officer or agency must take or cause to be taken fingerprints of the arrested person or defendant if an offense which is the subject of the arrest or which is charged in the accusatory instrument filed is:
(a) A felony; or (b) A misdemeanor defined in the penal law; or (c) A misdemeanor defined outside the penal law which would consti tute a felony if such person had a previous judgment of conviction for a crime; or (d) Loitering, as defined in subdivision three of section 240.35 of the penal law; or (e) Loitering for the purpose of engaging in a prostitution offense as defined in subdivision two of section 240.37 of the penal law; OR (F) A VIOLATION OF SECTION 17-307, 17-315, 20-453 OR 20-465 OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE CODE OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK.
S 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law. EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD10580-01-9
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