Bill Text: NY A01818 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Provides that a person is guilty of criminal impersonation in the second degree when a person pretends to be a servicemember or former servicemember, or a first responder, or as having received a decoration or medal; establishes a stolen valor fee.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 10-1)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-05-22 - reported referred to ways and means [A01818 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A01818-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          1818

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 23, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  DINOWITZ, BENEDETTO, COLTON, PEOPLES-STOKES,
          GUNTHER, WOERNER, RIVERA, STECK, BRABENEC -- Multi-Sponsored by --  M.
          of A. GLICK, RAMOS -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes

        AN  ACT  to  amend  the  penal law, in relation to creating the crime of
          stolen valor

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Section 10.00 of the penal law is amended by adding two new
     2  subdivisions 22 and 23 to read as follows:
     3    22.  "Member  of  the  military or reserves" means (a) a member of the
     4  United States army, navy, air force, marines, coast guard, army national
     5  guard, air national guard and/or reserves thereof or (b) a member of the
     6  New York guard or the New York naval militia.
     7    23. "Veteran" means a person who was  a  member  of  the  military  or
     8  reserves  as  defined in subdivision twenty-two of this section, but who
     9  has since been discharged from such services.
    10    § 2. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 190.28  to  read
    11  as follows:
    12  § 190.28 Stolen valor.
    13    A  person  is  guilty  of stolen valor when he or she pretends to be a
    14  member of the military or reserves as defined by subdivision  twenty-two
    15  of section 10.00 of this chapter, or pretends to be a veteran as defined
    16  by  subdivision  twenty-three of section 10.00 of this chapter, or wears
    17  or displays without authority, any uniform, badge or other  insignia  or
    18  facsimile  thereof,  by  which such member of the military or veteran is
    19  lawfully distinguished or expresses by his or her words or actions  that
    20  he  or she is acting with the approval or authority of any department of
    21  defense branch or the United States Coast Guard for the purpose of frau-
    22  dulently obtaining money or other benefits.
    23    Stolen valor is a class A misdemeanor.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00836-01-3
        A. 1818                             2

     1    § 3. Subdivisions 1, 2 and 3 of section 60.35 of  the  penal  law,  as
     2  amended  by  section  1  of  part  E  of chapter 56 of the laws of 2004,
     3  subparagraphs (i), (ii) and (iii) of paragraph (a) of subdivision  1  as
     4  amended  by  section  1 of part DD of chapter 56 of the laws of 2008 and
     5  paragraph  (b) of subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 320 of the laws of
     6  2006, are amended to read as follows:
     7    1. (a) Except as provided in section  eighteen  hundred  nine  of  the
     8  vehicle  and  traffic law and section 27.12 of the parks, recreation and
     9  historic preservation law, whenever  proceedings  in  an  administrative
    10  tribunal or a court of this state result in a conviction for a felony, a
    11  misdemeanor, or a violation, as these terms are defined in section 10.00
    12  of  this  chapter,  there  shall  be  levied  at  sentencing a mandatory
    13  surcharge, sex offender registration fee,  DNA  databank  fee  [and],  a
    14  crime  victim  assistance fee, and a stolen valor fee in addition to any
    15  sentence required or permitted by law, in accordance with the  following
    16  schedule:
    17    (i)  a person convicted of a felony shall pay a mandatory surcharge of
    18  three hundred dollars and a crime victim assistance fee  of  twenty-five
    19  dollars;
    20    (ii)  a  person  convicted  of  a  misdemeanor  shall  pay a mandatory
    21  surcharge of one hundred seventy-five dollars and a crime victim assist-
    22  ance fee of twenty-five dollars;
    23    (iii) a  person  convicted  of  a  violation  shall  pay  a  mandatory
    24  surcharge  of  ninety-five  dollars and a crime victim assistance fee of
    25  twenty-five dollars;
    26    (iv) a person convicted of a sex offense as defined by subdivision two
    27  of section one hundred sixty-eight-a of the correction law or a sexually
    28  violent offense as defined by subdivision three of section  one  hundred
    29  sixty-eight-a  of  the  correction law shall, in addition to a mandatory
    30  surcharge and crime victim assistance fee, pay a sex offender  registra-
    31  tion fee of fifty dollars[.];
    32    (v)  a person convicted of a designated offense as defined by subdivi-
    33  sion seven of section nine hundred  ninety-five  of  the  executive  law
    34  shall,  in addition to a mandatory surcharge and crime victim assistance
    35  fee, pay a DNA databank fee of fifty dollars[.];
    36    (vi) a person convicted of any offense pursuant to section  190.28  of
    37  this  chapter  shall,  in  addition  to  a mandatory surcharge and crime
    38  victim assistance fee, pay any other fee required by this  article,  and
    39  pay a stolen valor fee in the amount of two hundred fifty dollars.
    40    (b)  When  the  felony or misdemeanor conviction in subparagraphs (i),
    41  (ii) or (iv) of paragraph  (a)  of  this  subdivision  results  from  an
    42  offense  contained in article one hundred thirty of this chapter, incest
    43  in the third, second or first degree  as  defined  in  sections  255.25,
    44  255.26 and 255.27 of this chapter or an offense contained in article two
    45  hundred  sixty-three  of  this chapter, the person convicted shall pay a
    46  supplemental sex offender victim fee of one thousand dollars in addition
    47  to the mandatory surcharge and any other fee.
    48    2. Where a person is convicted of two or  more  crimes  or  violations
    49  committed  through  a single act or omission, or through an act or omis-
    50  sion which in itself constituted one of the  crimes  or  violations  and
    51  also  was  a  material  element  of  the other, the court shall impose a
    52  mandatory surcharge and a crime victim assistance fee, and where  appro-
    53  priate  a supplemental sex offender victim fee or a stolen valor fee, in
    54  accordance with  the  provisions  of  this  section  for  the  crime  or
    55  violation  which  carries  the  highest  classification,  and  no  other
    56  sentence to pay a mandatory surcharge, crime victim assistance fee [or],
        A. 1818                             3

     1  supplemental sex offender victim fee, or a stolen valor fee required  by
     2  this  section  shall be imposed.   Where a person is convicted of two or
     3  more sex offenses or sexually violent offenses, as defined  by  subdivi-
     4  sions  two  and  three  of  section  one  hundred  sixty-eight-a  of the
     5  correction law, committed through a single act or omission,  or  through
     6  an  act  or omission which in itself constituted one of the offenses and
     7  also was a material element of the other, the court  shall  impose  only
     8  one sex offender registration fee. Where a person is convicted of two or
     9  more  designated  offenses,  as  defined by subdivision seven of section
    10  nine hundred ninety-five of  the  executive  law,  committed  through  a
    11  single  act  or  omission, or through an act or omission which in itself
    12  constituted one of the offenses and also was a material element  of  the
    13  other, the court shall impose only one DNA databank fee.
    14    3.  The  mandatory surcharge, sex offender registration fee, DNA data-
    15  bank fee, crime victim assistance fee, [and] supplemental  sex  offender
    16  victim fee, and stolen valor fee provided for in subdivision one of this
    17  section shall be paid to the clerk of the court or administrative tribu-
    18  nal that rendered the conviction. Within the first ten days of the month
    19  following collection of the mandatory surcharge, crime victim assistance
    20  fee,  and supplemental sex offender victim fee, the collecting authority
    21  shall determine the amount of mandatory surcharge, crime victim  assist-
    22  ance  fee,  [and] supplemental sex offender victim fee, and stolen valor
    23  fee collected and, if it is an administrative tribunal,  or  a  town  or
    24  village  justice  court, it shall then pay such money to the state comp-
    25  troller who shall deposit such money in the state treasury  pursuant  to
    26  section one hundred twenty-one of the state finance law to the credit of
    27  the  criminal justice improvement account established by section ninety-
    28  seven-bb of the state finance law. Within the  first  ten  days  of  the
    29  month  following collection of the sex offender registration fee and DNA
    30  databank fee, the collecting authority shall determine the amount of the
    31  sex offender registration fee and DNA databank fee collected and, if  it
    32  is  an  administrative  tribunal, or a town or village justice court, it
    33  shall then pay such money to the state  comptroller  who  shall  deposit
    34  such  money  in the state treasury pursuant to section one hundred twen-
    35  ty-one of the state finance law to the credit of the  general  fund.  If
    36  such  collecting  authority  is  any  other  court  of the unified court
    37  system, it shall, within such period, pay such money attributable to the
    38  mandatory surcharge or crime victim assistance fee to the state  commis-
    39  sioner  of  taxation  and  finance to the credit of the criminal justice
    40  improvement account established by section ninety-seven-bb of the  state
    41  finance  law.    If  such collecting authority is any other court of the
    42  unified court system, it shall,  within  such  period,  pay  such  money
    43  attributable  to  the sex offender registration fee and the DNA databank
    44  fee to the state commissioner of taxation and finance to the  credit  of
    45  the  general  fund. Notwithstanding any other provision of this subdivi-
    46  sion, all monies paid to the state comptroller or to the commissioner of
    47  taxation and finance which are attributable to monies collected for  the
    48  stolen valor fee shall be credited to the veterans remembrance and ceme-
    49  tery  maintenance  and  operation  fund  established pursuant to section
    50  ninety-seven-mmmm of the state finance law.
    51    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.