NY State Senate Bill 2019-S2571

Senate Bill S2571

2019-2020 Legislative Session

Requires police officers and peace officers to issue appearance tickets to individuals charged with certain offenses instead of arresting such individuals

download bill text pdf

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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Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 08, 2020	referred to codes
May 29, 2019	reported and committed to rules
Jan 28, 2019	referred to codes

Votes

- May 29, 2019 - Codes Committee Vote
  S2571
  
  6
  
  Aye
  
  5
  
  Nay
  
  2
  
  Aye with Reservations
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  0
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Codes Committee Vote: May 29, 2019
      
      aye (6)
      
      Bailey
      
      Benjamin
      
      Biaggi
      
      Kavanagh
      
      Lanza
      
      Myrie
      
      nay (5)
      
      Akshar
      
      Boyle
      
      Gallivan
      
      Kaminsky
      
      O'Mara
      
      aye wr (2)
      
      Gounardes
      
      Savino

co-Sponsors

View additional co-sponsors

2019-S2571 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A4053
Current Committee:: Senate Codes
Law Section:: Criminal Procedure Law
Laws Affected:: Add §140.60, CP L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2015-2016: A9898
2017-2018: S6360, A3201
2021-2022: A2306
2023-2024: A1654

2019-S2571 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires police officers and peace officers to issue appearance tickets to individuals charged with certain offenses instead of arresting such individuals.

2019-S2571 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S2571

SPONSOR: BAILEY
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the criminal procedure law, in
relation to requiring police officers and peace officers to issue
appearance tickets to individuals charged with certain offenses instead
of arresting such individuals

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA:

The purpose of this legislation is to limit arrests for minor non-crimi-
nal offenses by requiring police officers and peace officers to issue
appearance tickets rather than arresting individuals.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1. Article 140 of the Criminal Procedure Law, as added by Chap-
ter 996 of the Laws of 1970 is amended by adding a new section which
provides that

1. A police officer or peace officer shall not arrest a person for an

offense described in paragraph 3, unless one of the conditions in para-
graph 2 applies. Instead of making an arrest, a police officer or peace
officer may issue either an appearance ticket requiring such person to
appear before a local criminal court.

2. An officer shall make an arrest under the provision set forth in this
subsection: if the officer is unable to ascertain the person's identity,
the officer has reasonable cause to believe that the person has commit-
ted a crime in addition to an offense described in subdivision three of
this section, or the person presents an immediate threat of bodily inju-
ry to that person or another.

3. This section shall apply to the enforcement of the offenses listed
therein.

Section 2. provides that this act shall take effect on the thirtieth day
after it shall have become law.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Since 1994, the New York Police Department has prioritized the enforce-
ment of low-level offenses, particularly in low-income communities of
color. While many of these offenses are minor and are not legally
considered crimes, they can still constitute grounds for arrest at the
discretion of individual police officers. Other offenses, such as
sitting on the steps of a subway platform or being in a public park
after hours, are charged as misdemeanors even though they would be
considered violations in any other setting.

"Broken Windows" policing - the idea that cracking down on small signs
of 'disorder' can prevent more serious offenses, means that New Yorkers
are needlessly brought into the criminal justice system for everyday
activities like sitting on a park bench after hours, placing their
groceries on the seat in an empty subway car, or entering the apartment
building of a family member or friend.

Many people arrested for violations and other minor offenses in New York
City and across the state face severe and long- term consequences. In
addition to the jail time, New Yorkers have: faced challenges continuing
their education because of missed class, financial aid implications and
other reasons; missed thousands of dollars in lost wages; had their
supervised release from prison revoked, lost their place in a shelter;
been fired from their jobs; become ineligible for public housing; and
had their possessions lost or damaged by police.

In addition to being arrested, this aggressive enforcement also means
that hundreds of thousands of summonses are issued each year for small
offenses. This enforcement is also disparate depending on the communi-
ties across the state. These trivial activities have been essentially
decriminalized and go unenforced in some neighborhoods, while other New
Yorkers are criminalized and face severe consequences for the same
behavior, because police officers and peace officers have the discretion
to decide when to charge someone with a misdemeanor or an appearance
ticket.

To address unnecessary arrests for minor, non-criminal violations, and
to make it uniform across the state, this bill requires police officers
and peace officers to issue appearance tickets to individuals charged
with certain offenses instead of charging such individuals with misde-
meanors.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2017-18: S.6360/A.3201(Aubrey)- Referred to Codes

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall have
become law.

2019-S2571 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2571
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 28, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  BAILEY,  BENJAMIN,  HOYLMAN,  MONTGOMERY, PARKER,
   SANDERS, SEPULVEDA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed
   to be committed to the Committee on Codes
 
 AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law,  in  relation  to  requiring
   police  officers  and  peace  officers  to issue appearance tickets to
   individuals charged with certain offenses instead  of  arresting  such
   individuals
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. The criminal procedure law  is  amended  by  adding  a  new
 section 140.60 to read as follows:
 § 140.60 APPEARANCE TICKETS.
   1.  NOTWITHSTANDING THE PROVISIONS OF ANY OTHER LAW TO THE CONTRARY, A
 POLICE OFFICER OR PEACE OFFICER SHALL NOT ARREST A PERSON FOR AN OFFENSE
 DESCRIBED IN SUBDIVISION THREE OF THIS SECTION, UNLESS ONE OF THE CONDI-
 TIONS IN SUBDIVISION TWO OF THIS SECTION APPLIES. A  POLICE  OFFICER  OR
 PEACE OFFICE MAY ISSUE EITHER AN APPEARANCE TICKET REQUIRING SUCH PERSON
 TO  APPEAR  BEFORE A LOCAL CRIMINAL COURT AT A DESIGNATED FUTURE TIME IN
 CONNECTION WITH AN ACCUSATORY INSTRUMENT TO BE FILED AGAINST SUCH PERSON
 THEREIN OR A NOTICE OF VIOLATION AND HEARING TO COMMENCE A PROCEEDING TO
 RECOVER A CIVIL PENALTY IN AN ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDING BEFORE AN ADMIN-
 ISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL HAVING JURISDICTION OVER SUCH PROCEEDING IN  LIEU  OF
 MAKING AN ARREST.
   2.  A  POLICE OFFICER, ACTING PURSUANT TO SECTION 140.10 OF THIS ARTI-
 CLE, OR A PEACE OFFICER, ACTING PURSUANT TO SECTION 140.25 OF THIS ARTI-
 CLE, MAY ARREST A PERSON FOR AN OFFENSE DESCRIBED IN  SUBDIVISION  THREE
 OF THIS SECTION ONLY IF:
   (A) THE OFFICER IS UNABLE TO ASCERTAIN THE PERSON'S IDENTITY. AN OFFI-
 CER  MAY  RELY  ON  VARIOUS FACTORS RELEVANT TO ESTABLISHING IDENTITY IN
 ASCERTAINING A PERSON'S IDENTITY, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO  PERSONAL
 KNOWLEDGE  OF SUCH PERSON, SUCH PERSON'S SELF-IDENTIFICATION, AND PHOTO-
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD05614-01-9

 S. 2571                             2
 
 GRAPHIC IDENTIFICATION. THERE IS NO REQUIREMENT THAT  A  PERSON  PRESENT
 PHOTOGRAPHIC  IDENTIFICATION  IN ORDER TO BE ISSUED AN APPEARANCE TICKET
 IN LIEU OF ARREST; HOWEVER, IF OFFERED BY SUCH PERSON, AN OFFICER  SHALL
 ACCEPT AS EVIDENCE OF IDENTITY FORMS OF IDENTIFICATION INCLUDING BUT NOT
 LIMITED  TO  A  VALID DRIVER'S LICENSE OR NON-DRIVER IDENTIFICATION CARD
 ISSUED BY THE COMMISSIONER OF MOTOR VEHICLES, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT,ANY
 UNITED STATES TERRITORY, COMMONWEALTH OR  POSSESSION,  THE  DISTRICT  OF
 COLUMBIA,  A  STATE GOVERNMENT OR MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT WITHIN THE UNITED
 STATES OR A PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT OF THE DOMINION  OF  CANADA;  A  VALID
 PASSPORT  ISSUED  BY  THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT OR ANY OTHER COUNTRY;
 AND IDENTIFICATION CARD ISSUED BY THE ARMED FORCES OF THE UNITED STATES;
 AND AN ELECTRONIC BENEFIT TRANSFER CARD;
   (B) THE OFFICER HAS REASONABLE CAUSE TO BELIEVE THAT  THE  PERSON  HAS
 COMMITTED  A  CRIME  IN  ADDITION TO AN OFFENSE DESCRIBED IN SUBDIVISION
 THREE OF THIS SECTION; OR
   (C) THE PERSON PRESENTS AN IMMEDIATE THREAT OF BODILY INJURY  TO  THAT
 PERSON OR ANOTHER.
   3.  THIS  SECTION  SHALL  APPLY  TO  THE  ENFORCEMENT OF THE FOLLOWING
 OFFENSES:
   (A) A PETTY OFFENSE, AS DEFINED IN SUBDIVISION THIRTY-NINE OF  SECTION
 1.20 OF THIS CHAPTER;
   (B) AN OFFENSE CONTAINED IN TITLE 21 OF CHAPTER XXI OF SUBCHAPTER D OF
 THE STATE CODES, RULES AND REGULATIONS;
   (C) AN OFFENSE CONTAINED IN CHAPTER 1 OF TITLE 56 OF THE NEW YORK CITY
 RULES AND REGULATIONS; AND
   (D) A VIOLATION OF SECTION 153.09 OF THE NEW YORK CITY HEALTH CODE.
   §  2.  This  act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
 have become a law.

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