S970-2011 Actions

• Mar 12, 2012: COMMITTEE DISCHARGED AND COMMITTED TO RULES
• Mar 12, 2012: NOTICE OF COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION - REQUESTED
• Jan 4, 2012: REFERRED TO CODES
• Jan 5, 2011: REFERRED TO CODES

S970-2011 Memo

BILL NUMBER:S970              REVISED 01/10/2011

TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend the penal law and the general business law, in relation to
criminal mischief and securities fraud

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To raise the existing monetary
thresholds for Felony-Level Criminal Mischief and Securities Fraud.

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill amends
subdivision 2 of section 145.05 of the Penal Law to raise the
monetary property damage threshold from ($250) to $1,000.

Section 2 of the bill amends section 145.10 of the Penal Law to raise
the monetary property damage threshold from ($1,500) to $3,000.
Section 3 of the bill amends subdivision 6 of section 352-c of the
general business to raise the monetary threshold from ($250) to $1,000.

JUSTIFICATION:
Current monetary thresholds for
criminal mischief in
the second and third degrees (Penal Law sections 145.05 (2) and
145.10, respectively) are too low and should be raised to conform to
the higher thresholds established by the Legislature in 1986 for
comparable theft and stolen property-related felony offenses such as
grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property and insurance
fraud.

Accordingly, this measure adjusts for inflation to reflect the
realities of the monetary world of 2009. Present monetary thresholds
are unrealistically low and unduly strain police resources. While
felony arrests for low-level thefts are routinely reduced to
misdemeanors by prosecutors and judges, the police must adhere to the
law and process a three hundred dollar theft as a felony. This
requires substantial allocation of resources and reduces the number
of police officers available for patrol. In addition, this measure
would correct a related anomaly in the law amending subdivision six
of the General Business Law section 352-c to raise to $1,000 the
current $250 threshold for the class E felony securities fraud offense.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
Senate
2009-10: S.4688 - Passed Senate
Assembly
2009-10: A.8195 (Lentol) - Referred to Codes

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

S970-2011 Text

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

                                     970

                         2011-2012 Regular Sessions

                              I N  SENATE

                                 (PREFILED)

                               January 5, 2011
                                 ___________

  Introduced  by  Sens.  HASSELL-THOMPSON, DIAZ, KRUEGER -- read twice and
    ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee  on
    Codes

  AN  ACT to amend the penal law and the general business law, in relation
    to criminal mischief and securities fraud

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


    Section  1.  Subdivision  2  of  section  145.05  of the penal law, as
  amended by chapter 276 of the laws  of  2003,  is  amended  to  read  as
  follows:

    2.  damages  property  of  another  person in an amount exceeding [two
  hundred fifty] ONE THOUSAND dollars.
    S 2. Section 145.10 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 961 of the
  laws of 1971, is amended to read as follows:

  S 145.10 Criminal mischief in the second degree.
    A person is guilty of criminal mischief in the second degree when with
  intent to damage property of another person, and having no right  to  do
  so  nor  any  reasonable  ground  to  believe that he has such right, he
  damages property of another person in an amount  exceeding  [one]  THREE
  thousand [five hundred] dollars.
    Criminal mischief in the second degree is a class D felony.
    S  3.  Subdivision  6 of section 352-c of the general business law, as
  added by chapter 146 of the laws of 1982, is amended to read as follows:

    6. Any person, partnership, corporation,  company,  trust  or  associ-
  ation,  or  any  agent  or employee thereof who intentionally engages in
  fraud, deception, concealment, suppression, false pretense or fictitious
  or pretended purchase or sale, or who makes any material false represen-
  tation or statement with intent to deceive or defraud, while engaged  in
  inducing  or promoting the issuance, distribution, exchange, sale, nego-
  tiation or purchase within or from  this  state  of  any  securities  or

   EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                        [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                             LBD03780-01-1

 S. 970                              2

  commodities,  as defined in this article, and thereby wrongfully obtains
  property of a value in  excess  of  [two  hundred  fifty]  ONE  THOUSAND
  dollars, shall be guilty of a class E felony.
    S  4.  This  act  shall  take  effect  immediately  and shall apply to
  offenses committed on or after such  effective  date,  and  to  offenses
  committed  prior  to  such  effective date where the criminal proceeding
  arising out of the commission of such offense is pending on  the  effec-
  tive date of this act.