S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4838
 
                        2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               March 2, 2017
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. GALLIVAN -- 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 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:
 § 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
 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.

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

                                                            LBD00104-01-7

 S. 4838                             2
 
   Endangering  the  welfare of a child IN THE SECOND DEGREE is a class A
 misdemeanor.
   §  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:
 § 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.
   §  3.  The penal law is amended by adding a new section 260.09 to read
 as follows:
 § 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.
   § 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
 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

 S. 4838                             3
 
 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.
   § 5. Section 260.15 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 447 of the
 laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows:
 § 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.
   § 6. This act shall take effect on the first of January next  succeed-
 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.