Bill Text: NY S09154 | 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: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-05-21 - PRINT NUMBER 9154A [S09154 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S09154-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          9154

                    IN SENATE

                                       May 1, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen. SKOUFIS -- 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  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  four
     2  new subdivisions 23, 24, 25, and 26 to read as follows:
     3    23.  "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    24. "Veteran" means a person who was  a  member  of  the  military  or
     8  reserves as defined in subdivision twenty-three of this section, but who
     9  has since been discharged from such services.
    10    25.  "First  responder"  means a firefighter, law enforcement officer,
    11  paramedic, emergency medical technician, emergency services  dispatcher,
    12  or  other  individual,  including an employee of a legally organized and
    13  recognized volunteer organization, whether compensated or not,  who,  in
    14  the course of his or her professional duties, responds to fire, medical,
    15  hazardous material, or other similar emergencies.
    16    26.  "First responder agency" means a state or local district, munici-
    17  pality, or other political subdivision that employs a  first  responder,
    18  to  provide  fire protection, paramedic services, law enforcement, emer-
    19  gency services, or rescue or recovery services, or a  recognized  volun-
    20  teer organization that provides fire protection, paramedic services, law
    21  enforcement, emergency services, or rescue or recovery services.
    22    §  2.  The penal law is amended by adding a new section 190.28 to read
    23  as follows:
    24  § 190.28 Stolen valor.
    25    A person is guilty of stolen valor when he or she  pretends  to  be  a
    26  member  of  the  military  or reserves as defined by subdivision twenty-
    27  three of section 10.00 of this chapter, or pretends to be a  veteran  as
    28  defined  by subdivision twenty-four of section 10.00 of this chapter, or

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00836-04-4
        S. 9154                             2

     1  pretends to be a first responder as defined by  subdivision  twenty-five
     2  of  section 10.00 of this chapter, or wears or displays without authori-
     3  ty, any uniform, badge or other insignia or facsimile thereof, or  holds
     4  oneself out to be a recipient of a decoration or medal created by feder-
     5  al or state laws and regulations to honor the members or veterans of the
     6  United  States Armed Forces or the organized militia or first responders
     7  by which such member of the military,  veteran  or  first  responder  is
     8  lawfully  distinguished or expresses by his or her words or actions that
     9  he or she is acting with the approval or authority of any department  of
    10  defense  branch, the United States Coast Guard or first responder agency
    11  for the purpose of fraudulently obtaining money or other benefits.
    12    Stolen valor is a class A misdemeanor.
    13    § 3. Subdivisions 1, 2 and 3 of section 60.35 of  the  penal  law,  as
    14  amended  by  section  1  of  part  E  of chapter 56 of the laws of 2004,
    15  subparagraphs (i), (ii) and (iii) of paragraph (a) of subdivision  1  as
    16  amended  by  section  1 of part DD of chapter 56 of the laws of 2008 and
    17  paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 320 of the laws  of
    18  2006, are amended to read as follows:
    19    1.  (a)  Except  as  provided  in section eighteen hundred nine of the
    20  vehicle and traffic law and section 27.12 of the parks,  recreation  and
    21  historic  preservation  law,  whenever  proceedings in an administrative
    22  tribunal or a court of this state result in a conviction for a felony, a
    23  misdemeanor, or a violation, as these terms are defined in section 10.00
    24  of this chapter,  there  shall  be  levied  at  sentencing  a  mandatory
    25  surcharge,  sex  offender  registration  fee,  DNA databank fee [and], a
    26  crime victim assistance fee, and a stolen valor fee in addition  to  any
    27  sentence  required or permitted by law, in accordance with the following
    28  schedule:
    29    (i) a person convicted of a felony shall pay a mandatory surcharge  of
    30  three  hundred  dollars and a crime victim assistance fee of twenty-five
    31  dollars;
    32    (ii) a person  convicted  of  a  misdemeanor  shall  pay  a  mandatory
    33  surcharge of one hundred seventy-five dollars and a crime victim assist-
    34  ance fee of twenty-five dollars;
    35    (iii)  a  person  convicted  of  a  violation  shall  pay  a mandatory
    36  surcharge of ninety-five dollars and a crime victim  assistance  fee  of
    37  twenty-five dollars;
    38    (iv) a person convicted of a sex offense as defined by subdivision two
    39  of section one hundred sixty-eight-a of the correction law or a sexually
    40  violent  offense  as defined by subdivision three of section one hundred
    41  sixty-eight-a of the correction law shall, in addition  to  a  mandatory
    42  surcharge  and crime victim assistance fee, pay a sex offender registra-
    43  tion fee of fifty dollars[.];
    44    (v) a person convicted of a designated offense as defined by  subdivi-
    45  sion  seven  of  section  nine  hundred ninety-five of the executive law
    46  shall, in addition to a mandatory surcharge and crime victim  assistance
    47  fee, pay a DNA databank fee of fifty dollars[.];
    48    (vi)  a  person convicted of any offense pursuant to section 190.28 of
    49  this chapter shall, in addition  to  a  mandatory  surcharge  and  crime
    50  victim  assistance  fee, pay any other fee required by this article, and
    51  pay a stolen valor fee in the amount of two hundred fifty dollars.
    52    (b) When the felony or misdemeanor conviction  in  subparagraphs  (i),
    53  (ii)  or  (iv)  of  paragraph  (a)  of  this subdivision results from an
    54  offense contained in article one hundred thirty of this chapter,  incest
    55  in  the  third,  second  or  first degree as defined in sections 255.25,
    56  255.26 and 255.27 of this chapter or an offense contained in article two
        S. 9154                             3

     1  hundred sixty-three of this chapter, the person convicted  shall  pay  a
     2  supplemental sex offender victim fee of one thousand dollars in addition
     3  to the mandatory surcharge and any other fee.
     4    2.  Where  a  person  is convicted of two or more crimes or violations
     5  committed through a single act or omission, or through an act  or  omis-
     6  sion  which  in  itself  constituted one of the crimes or violations and
     7  also was a material element of the  other,  the  court  shall  impose  a
     8  mandatory  surcharge and a crime victim assistance fee, and where appro-
     9  priate a supplemental sex offender victim fee or a stolen valor fee,  in
    10  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  this  section  for  the  crime or
    11  violation  which  carries  the  highest  classification,  and  no  other
    12  sentence to pay a mandatory surcharge, crime victim assistance fee [or],
    13  supplemental  sex offender victim fee, or a stolen valor fee required by
    14  this section shall be imposed.  Where a person is convicted  of  two  or
    15  more  sex  offenses or sexually violent offenses, as defined by subdivi-
    16  sions two  and  three  of  section  one  hundred  sixty-eight-a  of  the
    17  correction  law,  committed through a single act or omission, or through
    18  an act or omission which in itself constituted one of the  offenses  and
    19  also  was  a  material element of the other, the court shall impose only
    20  one sex offender registration fee. Where a person is convicted of two or
    21  more designated offenses, as defined by  subdivision  seven  of  section
    22  nine  hundred  ninety-five  of  the  executive  law, committed through a
    23  single act or omission, or through an act or omission  which  in  itself
    24  constituted  one  of the offenses and also was a material element of the
    25  other, the court shall impose only one DNA databank fee.
    26    3. The mandatory surcharge, sex offender registration fee,  DNA  data-
    27  bank  fee,  crime victim assistance fee, [and] supplemental sex offender
    28  victim fee, and stolen valor fee provided for in subdivision one of this
    29  section shall be paid to the clerk of the court or administrative tribu-
    30  nal that rendered the conviction. Within the first ten days of the month
    31  following collection of the mandatory surcharge, crime victim assistance
    32  fee, and supplemental sex offender victim fee, the collecting  authority
    33  shall  determine the amount of mandatory surcharge, crime victim assist-
    34  ance fee, [and] supplemental sex offender victim fee, and  stolen  valor
    35  fee  collected  and,  if  it is an administrative tribunal, or a town or
    36  village justice court, it shall then pay such money to the  state  comp-
    37  troller  who  shall deposit such money in the state treasury pursuant to
    38  section one hundred twenty-one of the state finance law to the credit of
    39  the criminal justice improvement account established by section  ninety-
    40  seven-bb  of  the  state  finance  law. Within the first ten days of the
    41  month following collection of the sex offender registration fee and  DNA
    42  databank fee, the collecting authority shall determine the amount of the
    43  sex  offender registration fee and DNA databank fee collected and, if it
    44  is an administrative tribunal, or a town or village  justice  court,  it
    45  shall  then  pay  such  money to the state comptroller who shall deposit
    46  such money in the state treasury pursuant to section one  hundred  twen-
    47  ty-one  of  the  state finance law to the credit of the general fund. If
    48  such collecting authority is  any  other  court  of  the  unified  court
    49  system, it shall, within such period, pay such money attributable to the
    50  mandatory  surcharge or crime victim assistance fee to the state commis-
    51  sioner of taxation and finance to the credit  of  the  criminal  justice
    52  improvement  account established by section ninety-seven-bb of the state
    53  finance law.  If such collecting authority is any  other  court  of  the
    54  unified  court  system,  it  shall,  within  such period, pay such money
    55  attributable to the sex offender registration fee and the  DNA  databank
    56  fee  to  the state commissioner of taxation and finance to the credit of
        S. 9154                             4

     1  the general fund. Notwithstanding any other provision of  this  subdivi-
     2  sion, all monies paid to the state comptroller or to the commissioner of
     3  taxation  and finance which are attributable to monies collected for the
     4  stolen valor fee shall be credited to the veterans remembrance and ceme-
     5  tery  maintenance  and  operation  fund  established pursuant to section
     6  ninety-seven-mmmm of the state finance law.
     7    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.