S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
397--A
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
I N S E N A T E
(PREFILED)
January 7, 2015
___________
Introduced by Sens. GALLIVAN, GOLDEN, KENNEDY, LATIMER, PANEPINTO --
read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to
the Committee on Codes -- recommitted to the Committee on Codes in
accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill
amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
tee
AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to endangering the welfare of
a child in the first and second degrees
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Section 260.10 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 447
of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows:
S 260.10 Endangering the welfare of a child IN THE SECOND DEGREE.
A person is guilty of endangering the welfare of a child IN THE SECOND
DEGREE when:
1. He or she knowingly acts in a manner likely to be injurious to the
physical, mental or moral welfare of a child less than seventeen years
old or directs or authorizes such child to engage in an occupation
involving a substantial risk of danger to his or her life or health; or
2. Being a parent, guardian or other person legally charged with the
care or custody of a child less than eighteen years old, he or she fails
or refuses to exercise reasonable diligence in the control of such child
to prevent him or her from becoming an "abused child," a "neglected
child," a "juvenile delinquent" or a "person in need of supervision," as
those terms are defined in articles ten, three and seven of the family
court act.
3. A person is not guilty of the provisions of this section when he or
she engages in the conduct described in subdivision one of section
260.00 of this article: (a) with the intent to wholly abandon the child
by relinquishing responsibility for and right to the care and custody of
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01358-02-6
S. 397--A 2
such child; (b) with the intent that the child be safe from physical
injury and cared for in an appropriate manner; (c) the child is left
with an appropriate person, or in a suitable location and the person who
leaves the child promptly notifies an appropriate person of the child's
location; and (d) the child is not more than thirty days old.
Endangering the welfare of a child IN THE SECOND DEGREE is a class A
misdemeanor.
S 2. Section 260.11 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 89 of the
laws of 1984, is renumbered section 260.12 and amended to read as
follows:
S 260.12 Endangering the welfare of a child; corroboration.
A person shall not be convicted of endangering the welfare of a child
AS DEFINED IN SECTION 260.09 OR 260.10 OF THIS ARTICLE, or of an attempt
to commit the same, upon the testimony of a victim who is incapable of
consent because of mental defect or mental incapacity as to conduct that
constitutes an offense or an attempt to commit an offense referred to in
section 130.16, without additional evidence sufficient pursuant to
section 130.16 to sustain a conviction of an offense referred to in
section 130.16, or of an attempt to commit the same.
S 3. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 260.09 to read
as follows:
S 260.09 ENDANGERING THE WELFARE OF A CHILD IN THE FIRST DEGREE.
A PERSON IS GUILTY OF ENDANGERING THE WELFARE OF A CHILD IN THE FIRST
DEGREE WHEN:
1. HE OR SHE KNOWINGLY ACTS IN A MANNER WHICH CREATES A RISK OF EITHER
SERIOUS PHYSICAL INJURY OR PROLONGED IMPAIRMENT OF THE PHYSICAL, MENTAL
OR MORAL WELFARE CONDITION OF A CHILD LESS THAN SEVENTEEN YEARS OLD; OR
2. HE OR SHE RECKLESSLY ACTS IN A MANNER WHICH CREATES A RISK OF
EITHER SERIOUS PHYSICAL INJURY OR PROLONGED IMPAIRMENT OF THE PHYSICAL,
MENTAL OR MORAL WELFARE CONDITION OF A CHILD LESS THAN SEVENTEEN YEARS
OLD; OR
3. HE OR SHE COMMITS THE CRIME OF ENDANGERING THE WELFARE OF A CHILD
IN THE SECOND DEGREE WHEN:
(A) THE CHILD SUFFERED PHYSICAL INJURY; OR
(B) HE OR SHE HAS PREVIOUSLY BEEN CONVICTED OF ENDANGERING THE WELFARE
OF A CHILD IN THE SECOND DEGREE AS DEFINED IN SECTION 260.10 OF THIS
ARTICLE OR ENDANGERING THE WELFARE OF A CHILD IN THE FIRST DEGREE AS
DEFINED IN THIS SECTION.
ENDANGERING THE WELFARE OF A CHILD IN THE FIRST DEGREE IS A CLASS D
FELONY.
S 4. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 1 of section 70.02 of the penal law,
as amended by chapter 368 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as
follows:
(c) Class D violent felony offenses: an attempt to commit any of the
class C felonies set forth in paragraph (b); reckless assault of a child
as defined in section 120.02, assault in the second degree as defined in
section 120.05, menacing a police officer or peace officer as defined in
section 120.18, stalking in the first degree, as defined in subdivision
one of section 120.60, strangulation in the second degree as defined in
section 121.12, rape in the second degree as defined in section 130.30,
criminal sexual act in the second degree as defined in section 130.45,
sexual abuse in the first degree as defined in section 130.65, course of
sexual conduct against a child in the second degree as defined in
section 130.80, aggravated sexual abuse in the third degree as defined
in section 130.66, facilitating a sex offense with a controlled
substance as defined in section 130.90, ENDANGERING THE WELFARE OF A
S. 397--A 3
CHILD IN THE FIRST DEGREE AS DEFINED IN SECTION 260.09, labor traffick-
ing as defined in paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision three of section
135.35, criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree as defined
in subdivision five, six, seven, eight, nine or ten of section 265.02,
criminal sale of a firearm in the third degree as defined in section
265.11, intimidating a victim or witness in the second degree as defined
in section 215.16, soliciting or providing support for an act of terror-
ism in the second degree as defined in section 490.10, and making a
terroristic threat as defined in section 490.20, falsely reporting an
incident in the first degree as defined in section 240.60, placing a
false bomb or hazardous substance in the first degree as defined in
section 240.62, placing a false bomb or hazardous substance in a sports
stadium or arena, mass transportation facility or enclosed shopping mall
as defined in section 240.63, and aggravated unpermitted use of indoor
pyrotechnics in the first degree as defined in section 405.18.
S 5. Section 260.15 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 447 of the
laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows:
S 260.15 Endangering the welfare of a child; defense.
In any prosecution for endangering the welfare of a child, pursuant to
section 260.09 OR 260.10 of this article, based upon an alleged failure
or refusal to provide proper medical care or treatment to an ill child,
it is an affirmative defense that the defendant (a) is a parent, guardi-
an or other person legally charged with the care or custody of such
child; and (b) is a member or adherent of an organized church or reli-
gious group the tenets of which prescribe prayer as the principal treat-
ment for illness; and (c) treated or caused such ill child to be treated
in accordance with such tenets.
S 6. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
ing the date on which it shall have become a law; provided, however,
that if chapter 368 of the laws of 2015 shall not have taken effect on
or before such date then section four of this act shall take effect on
the same date and in the same manner as such chapter of the laws of 2015
takes effect.
