Bill Text: NY A05341 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Enacts the "New York accountability in reporting act"; establishes the crimes of offering a false report for filing in the second degree and offering a false report for filing in the first degree; includes falsely reporting an incident as a specified offense for the purposes of hate crimes; requires the creation of public databases for false reporting; provides for a civil remedy for convictions of such crimes.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 18-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-05 - print number 5341a [A05341 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-A05341-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5341--A 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY March 7, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. GIBBS, DARLING, AUBRY, HYNDMAN, CRUZ, LEVENBERG, WALKER, REYES, SIMONE, JACKSON, RAGA, ALVAREZ, CUNNINGHAM, WEPRIN, SHIMSKY -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. SIMON -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes -- recommitted to the Committee on Codes in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the penal law, the executive law and the civil rights law, in relation to enacting the "New York accountability in reporting act" The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "New York accountability in reporting act". 3 § 2. The penal law is amended by adding two new sections 175.50 and 4 175.55 to read as follows: 5 § 175.50 Offering a false report for filing in the second degree. 6 A person is guilty of offering a false report for filing in the second 7 degree when, having previously been disciplined by his or her employer 8 for filing a false report, and knowing that a written report contains a 9 false statement or information about another person, in whole or in 10 substantial part because of a belief or perception regarding the race, 11 color, national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, religious practice, 12 age, disability or sexual orientation of such other person, the person 13 offers or presents such report to his or her employer with the knowledge 14 or belief that it will be filed with, registered or recorded in or 15 otherwise become a part of the records of such employer. For the 16 purposes of this section, "person" means an individual employed by any 17 state or municipal office, agency or department. 18 Offering a false report for filing in the second degree is a class A 19 misdemeanor. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD03213-03-3A. 5341--A 2 1 § 175.55 Offering a false report for filing in the first degree. 2 A person is guilty of offering a false report for filing in the first 3 degree when having previously been convicted of offering a false report 4 for filing in the second degree and having previously been placed on 5 unpaid leave by his or her employer for filing a later false report, 6 such person, knowing that a written report contains a false statement or 7 information about another person, in whole or in substantial part 8 because of a belief or perception regarding the race, color, national 9 origin, ancestry, gender, religion, religious practice, age, disability 10 or sexual orientation of such other person, offers or presents such 11 report to his or her employer with the knowledge or belief that it will 12 be filed with, registered or recorded in or otherwise become a part of 13 the records of such employer. For the purposes of this section, 14 "person" means an individual employed by any state or municipal office, 15 agency or department. 16 Offering a false report for filing in the first degree is a class E 17 felony. 18 § 3. Subdivision 3 of section 485.05 of the penal law, as amended by 19 section 3 of part R of chapter 55 of the laws of 2020, is amended to 20 read as follows: 21 3. A "specified offense" is an offense defined by any of the following 22 provisions of this chapter: section 120.00 (assault in the third 23 degree); section 120.05 (assault in the second degree); section 120.10 24 (assault in the first degree); section 120.12 (aggravated assault upon a 25 person less than eleven years old); section 120.13 (menacing in the 26 first degree); section 120.14 (menacing in the second degree); section 27 120.15 (menacing in the third degree); section 120.20 (reckless endan- 28 germent in the second degree); section 120.25 (reckless endangerment in 29 the first degree); section 121.12 (strangulation in the second degree); 30 section 121.13 (strangulation in the first degree); subdivision one of 31 section 125.15 (manslaughter in the second degree); subdivision one, two 32 or four of section 125.20 (manslaughter in the first degree); section 33 125.25 (murder in the second degree); section 120.45 (stalking in the 34 fourth degree); section 120.50 (stalking in the third degree); section 35 120.55 (stalking in the second degree); section 120.60 (stalking in the 36 first degree); subdivision one of section 130.35 (rape in the first 37 degree); subdivision one of section 130.50 (criminal sexual act in the 38 first degree); subdivision one of section 130.65 (sexual abuse in the 39 first degree); paragraph (a) of subdivision one of section 130.67 40 (aggravated sexual abuse in the second degree); paragraph (a) of subdi- 41 vision one of section 130.70 (aggravated sexual abuse in the first 42 degree); section 135.05 (unlawful imprisonment in the second degree); 43 section 135.10 (unlawful imprisonment in the first degree); section 44 135.20 (kidnapping in the second degree); section 135.25 (kidnapping in 45 the first degree); section 135.60 (coercion in the third degree); 46 section 135.61 (coercion in the second degree); section 135.65 (coercion 47 in the first degree); section 140.10 (criminal trespass in the third 48 degree); section 140.15 (criminal trespass in the second degree); 49 section 140.17 (criminal trespass in the first degree); section 140.20 50 (burglary in the third degree); section 140.25 (burglary in the second 51 degree); section 140.30 (burglary in the first degree); section 145.00 52 (criminal mischief in the fourth degree); section 145.05 (criminal 53 mischief in the third degree); section 145.10 (criminal mischief in the 54 second degree); section 145.12 (criminal mischief in the first degree); 55 section 150.05 (arson in the fourth degree); section 150.10 (arson in 56 the third degree); section 150.15 (arson in the second degree); sectionA. 5341--A 3 1 150.20 (arson in the first degree); section 155.25 (petit larceny); 2 section 155.30 (grand larceny in the fourth degree); section 155.35 3 (grand larceny in the third degree); section 155.40 (grand larceny in 4 the second degree); section 155.42 (grand larceny in the first degree); 5 section 160.05 (robbery in the third degree); section 160.10 (robbery in 6 the second degree); section 160.15 (robbery in the first degree); 7 section 240.25 (harassment in the first degree); subdivision one, two or 8 four of section 240.30 (aggravated harassment in the second degree); 9 section 240.50 (falsely reporting an incident in the third degree); 10 section 240.55 (falsely reporting an incident in the second degree); 11 section 240.60 (falsely reporting an incident in the first degree); 12 section 490.10 (soliciting or providing support for an act of terrorism 13 in the second degree); section 490.15 (soliciting or providing support 14 for an act of terrorism in the first degree); section 490.20 (making a 15 terroristic threat); section 490.25 (crime of terrorism); section 490.30 16 (hindering prosecution of terrorism in the second degree); section 17 490.35 (hindering prosecution of terrorism in the first degree); section 18 490.37 (criminal possession of a chemical weapon or biological weapon in 19 the third degree); section 490.40 (criminal possession of a chemical 20 weapon or biological weapon in the second degree); section 490.45 (crim- 21 inal possession of a chemical weapon or biological weapon in the first 22 degree); section 490.47 (criminal use of a chemical weapon or biological 23 weapon in the third degree); section 490.50 (criminal use of a chemical 24 weapon or biological weapon in the second degree); section 490.55 (crim- 25 inal use of a chemical weapon or biological weapon in the first degree); 26 or any attempt or conspiracy to commit any of the foregoing offenses. 27 § 4. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 76 to read 28 as follows: 29 § 76. False reporting database. The attorney general shall establish a 30 public, searchable database of all convictions under section 175.50 31 (offering a false report for filing in the second degree), section 32 175.55 (offering a false report for filing in the second degree), 33 section 240.50 (falsely reporting an incident in the third degree), 34 section 240.55 (falsely reporting an incident in the second degree), 35 and section 240.60 (falsely reporting an incident in the first degree) 36 of the penal law where a person committed the offense in whole or 37 in substantial part because of a belief or perception regarding the 38 race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, gender identity or 39 expression, religion, religious practice, age, disability or sexual 40 orientation of a person, regardless of whether the belief or percep- 41 tion is correct. 42 § 5. Subdivision 2 of section 79-n of the civil rights law, as amended 43 by chapter 213 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows: 44 2. Any person who intentionally selects a person or property for harm 45 or causes damage to the property of another or causes physical injury or 46 death to another, or subjects a person to conduct that would constitute 47 harassment under section 240.25 of the penal law, or subjects a person 48 to conduct that results in a conviction under section 175.50 (offering a 49 false report for filing in the second degree), section 175.55 (offering 50 a false report for filing in the second degree), section 240.50 51 (falsely reporting an incident in the third degree), section 240.55 52 (falsely reporting an incident in the second degree), and section 240.60 53 (falsely reporting an incident in the first degree) of the penal law, or 54 summons a police officer or peace officer without reason to suspect a 55 violation of the penal law, any other criminal conduct, or an imminent 56 threat to a person or property, in whole or in substantial part becauseA. 5341--A 4 1 of a belief or perception regarding the race, color, national origin, 2 ancestry, gender, religion, religious practice, age, disability or sexu- 3 al orientation of a person, regardless of whether the belief or percep- 4 tion is correct, or any person who aids or incites any such conduct, 5 shall be liable, in a civil action or proceeding maintained by such 6 individual or group of individuals, for injunctive relief, damages, or 7 any other appropriate relief in law or equity. If it shall appear to the 8 satisfaction of the court or justice that the respondent has, in fact, 9 violated this section, an injunction may be issued by such court or 10 justice, enjoining and restraining any further violation, without 11 requiring proof that any person has, in fact, been injured or damaged 12 thereby. For the purposes of this subdivision, a person lacks reason to 13 suspect a violation of the penal law, any other criminal conduct, or an 14 imminent threat to a person or property where a reasonable person would 15 not suspect such violation, conduct, or threat. 16 § 6. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 17 it shall have become a law.
