BILL NUMBER:  S4776

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the penal law, in relation to false personation and
impersonation committed to gain admission to a transportation facility
or public place and impersonation of a pilot or member of an aviation
flight or ground crew; and in relation to including theft of an
official law enforcement or fire department identification under the
crime of grand larceny in the third degree


 PURPOSE :

To establish the class E felony of false personation at a
transportation facility or public place, and the class E felony of
criminal impersonation at a transportation facility or public place.
This legislation Includes stolen official law enforcement or fire
department identification under the crime of grand larceny in the
third degree, a more appropriate charge than a monetary-value based
charge. Also establishes a criminal offense to address impersonation
of a pilot, as well as impersonation of a flight or ground crew member

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1 of this bill would amend § 190.00 of the penal law to define
              

"public place" and "transportation facility." §2 would add a new §
190.24 to establish a new class E felony of false personation at a
transportation facility or public place. A person would be guilty of
this offense when he or she knowingly misrepresents his or her actual
name, date of birth or address to another person with the intent to
obtain admittance into or upon that part of a transportation facility
or public place which requires proof of identity to enter.

§3 of the bill would amend § 190.26 of the penal law to include within
the class E felony of criminal impersonation in the second degree, a
person who impersonates another and does an act in such assumed
character with intent to obtain admittance into or upon that part of a
transportation facility or public place which requires proof of
identity to enter.

Section 4. amends § 155.35 of the penal law to include within Grand
Larceny in the Third Degree stolen property which consists of an
official law enforcement or fire department identification issued by a
federal, state or municipal law enforcement agency or fire department.

Section 5. amends § 190.25 of the penal law by adding a new
subdivision 4, which would include within Criminal Impersonation in
the Second Degree persons pretending to be a pilot, or flight or
ground crew member, while upon an aircraft or in an airport.

Section 6. Is the effective date.

 JUSTIFICATION :
Since the tragedy of September 11th, 2001 security at airports has
been dramatically heightened to increase the safety of the passengers
and our nation. With nearly 34.8 million passengers traveling through
New York airports in 1999 and that figure steadily increasing, it is
important to ensure that the credentials of the people with access to
the most secure areas of airliners and airports are authentic. While
federal agencies exercise jurisdiction over many aspects of air
travel, the security of the airports and grounds are largely the
responsibility of state and local law enforcement personnel. For
people stopped at the airport with fake pilot or crew uniforms or ID,
there is no appropriate charge. Thus, in order to effectively deter

pilot or crew impersonation, the penal law should be updated to
reflect the recognized risk of pilot or crew impersonation.

Also, the maximum penalty under current law for use of false
identification to obtain entrance to an airport or public building,
where proof of identification is required, is a class A misdemeanor.
The need for heightened security at our airports and public buildings
has brought about a corresponding need to increase the severity of
penalties for offenses involving the use of false identification
documents to obtain entrance to these places.  Current law penalties
have not been increased to reflect the more serious nature of these
fraudulent acts. This bill will increase the penalty from the current
level of a class A misdemeanor to a class E felony.

In addition, What is a police badge worth to someone who is not a
police officer? In the current climate of heightened security and
awareness of safety issues, it is a critical question. Hundreds of
police and fire department badges and IDs are stolen across the
country each year. These forms of identification can become a
tremendous danger to society if obtained for nefarious use.

These government issued IDs could allow a person to impersonate
legitimate law enforcement and public safety personnel and gain access
to certain high security areas and effectively avoid close scrutiny in
many secure situations.

Currently, there is no value enhancement to these IDs, so they may
only be charged based upon their nominal monetary value, not their
actual value. The New York State Penal Law recognizes value
enhancements when the stolen item is of far greater import than its
nominal cost, but does not currently address police and fire
identification.

In addition, psychologists have shown that people often accept the
authority of a person in uniform without question, which obviously
presents a problem if the person wearing a uniform is doing so
fraudulently. Given the widespread, limited oversight access to
equipment that could be used to damage property or cause loss of life
that legitimate personnel have, it is clear that we must ensure that
legitimate, properly credentialed personnel alone are permitted to
enter secure areas.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :
2007-2008 Passed Senate (S.1533A).
2005-2006 Passed Senate (S.783).
2003-2004 Passed Senate (S.4584).
2002 Passed Senate (S.7205).

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
November 1 after enactment.