NY State Senate Bill 2013-S6396

Senate Bill S6396

2013-2014 Legislative Session

Creates class E felony of false personation at a transportation facility or public place for the knowing misrepresentation of personal information to gain access

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Codes Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 21, 2014	referred to codes

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2013-S6396 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Codes
Law Section:: Penal Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§190.00, 190.26, 155.35 & 190.25, add §190.24, Pen L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2009-2010: S4776
2011-2012: S5232

2013-S6396 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Creates class E felony of false personation at a transportation facility or public place as the knowing misrepresentation of one's name, address or date of birth to another person with intent to gain access to that portion of a public place or transportation facility, admission to which requires proof of identity; includes within the class E felony of criminal impersonation in the first degree the impersonation of another person with intent to gain access to that portion of a public place or transportation facility, admission to which requires proof of identity.

2013-S6396 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                BILL NUMBER:S6396

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 and 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
document 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:

2011-2012 Passed the Senate (S.5232)
2013: Passed the Senate (S. 759)

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.


EFFECTIVE DATE:

November 1 after enactment.

2013-S6396 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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

                                  6396

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            January 21, 2014
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  BALL  --  read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes

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  offi-
  cial law enforcement or fire department identification under the crime
  of grand larceny in the third degree

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

  Section 1.  The section heading of section 190.00 of the penal law  is
amended and two new subdivisions 8 and 9 are added to read as follows:
  [Issuing a bad check] OTHER FRAUDS; definitions of terms.
  8.  "PUBLIC  PLACE" SHALL HAVE THE SAME MEANING AS IS ASCRIBED TO SUCH
TERM BY SUBDIVISION ONE OF SECTION 240.00 OF THIS PART.
  9. "TRANSPORTATION  FACILITY"  SHALL  HAVE  THE  SAME  MEANING  AS  IS
ASCRIBED TO SUCH TERM BY SUBDIVISION TWO OF SECTION 240.00 OF THIS PART.
  S  2.  The penal law is amended by adding a new section 190.24 to read
as follows:
S 190.24 FALSE PERSONATION AT A TRANSPORTATION FACILITY OR PUBLIC PLACE.
  A PERSON IS GUILTY OF FALSE PERSONATION AT A  TRANSPORTATION  FACILITY
OR PUBLIC PLACE 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 PORTION OF A TRANSPORTATION FACILITY
OR PUBLIC PLACE, ADMISSION TO WHICH REQUIRES PROOF OF IDENTITY.
  FALSE PERSONATION AT A TRANSPORTATION FACILITY OR PUBLIC  PLACE  IS  A
CLASS E FELONY.
  S  3.  Section 190.26 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 2 of the
laws of 1998, subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 434  of  the  laws  of
2008, is amended to read as follows:
S 190.26 Criminal impersonation in the first degree.
  A  person is guilty of criminal impersonation in the first degree when
he OR SHE:

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD01403-01-3

S. 6396                             2

  1. (A) Pretends to be a police officer or a  federal  law  enforcement
officer  as enumerated in section 2.15 of the criminal procedure law, or
wears or displays without authority, any uniform, badge or other  insig-
nia  or  facsimile  thereof, by which such police officer or federal law
enforcement officer is lawfully distinguished or expresses by his or her
words or actions that he or she is acting with the approval or authority
of  any police department or acting as a federal law enforcement officer
with the approval of any agency that  employs  federal  law  enforcement
officers  as  enumerated  in section 2.15 of the criminal procedure law;
and
  [2.] (B) So acts with intent to  induce  another  to  submit  to  such
pretended  official  authority or otherwise to act in reliance upon said
pretense and in the course of  such  pretense  commits  or  attempts  to
commit a felony; or
  [3.]  2.  Pretending  to  be a duly licensed physician or other person
authorized to issue a prescription for any drug  or  any  instrument  or
device  used  in  the  taking  or  administering  of  drugs  for which a
prescription is required by law, communicates to a  pharmacist  an  oral
prescription  which  is  required  to  be reduced to writing pursuant to
section thirty-three hundred thirty-two of the public health law[.]; OR
  3. IMPERSONATES ANOTHER AND DOES AN ACT IN SUCH ASSUMED CHARACTER WITH
INTENT TO OBTAIN ADMITTANCE INTO OR UPON THAT PORTION OF  A  TRANSPORTA-
TION  FACILITY  OR  PUBLIC  PLACE,  ADMISSION TO WHICH REQUIRES PROOF OF
IDENTITY.
  Criminal impersonation in the first degree is a class E felony.
  S 4. Section 155.35 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 464 of the
laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows:
S 155.35 Grand larceny in the third degree.
  A person is guilty of grand larceny in the third degree when he or she
steals property and:
  1. when the value of the property exceeds three  thousand  dollars[,];
or
  2.  the  property is an automated teller machine or the contents of an
automated teller machine; OR
  3. THE PROPERTY CONSISTS  OF  AN  OFFICIAL  LAW  ENFORCEMENT  OR  FIRE
DEPARTMENT  IDENTIFICATION  ISSUED  BY A FEDERAL, STATE OR MUNICIPAL LAW
ENFORCEMENT AGENCY OR FIRE DEPARTMENT.
  Grand larceny in the third degree is a class D felony.
  S 5. Section 190.25 of the penal law is amended by adding a new subdi-
vision 5 to read as follows:
  5. WHEN UPON AN AIRCRAFT OR IN AN AIRPORT, PRETENDS TO BE A PILOT OR A
MEMBER OF AN AVIATION FLIGHT OR  GROUND  CREW,  OR  WEARS,  DISPLAYS  OR
POSSESSES  WITHOUT  AUTHORITY, ANY UNIFORM, BADGE, INSIGNIA, IDENTIFICA-
TION OR FACSIMILE THEREOF BY WHICH SUCH PILOT,  FLIGHT  OR  GROUND  CREW
MEMBER  IS  DISTINGUISHED;  OR  FALSELY EXPRESSES BY HIS OR HER WORDS OR
ACTIONS THAT HE OR SHE IS A PILOT OR FLIGHT OR GROUND CREW MEMBER, OR IS
ACTING WITH THE APPROVAL OR AUTHORITY OF ANY AIRLINE, AIRPORT, TRANSPOR-
TATION AUTHORITY OR AVIATION REGULATORY AGENCY.
  S 6. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed-
ing the date on which it shall have become a law.

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Senate Bill S6396

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Sponsored By

Greg Ball