BILL NUMBER: S870
SPONSOR: BAILEY
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the penal law and the general business law, in relation
to criminal mischief and securities fraud
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To raise the existing monetary thresholds for felony-level criminal
mischief and securities fraud.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section one of the bill amends subdivision 2 of section 145.05 of the
Penal Law to raise the monetary property damage threshold from $250 to
$1,000. Section two of the bill amends section 145.10 of the Penal Law
to raise the monetary property damage threshold from $1,500 to $3,000.
Section three of the bill amends subdivision 6 of section 352-c of the
general business law to raise the monetary threshold from $250 to
$1,000.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Current monetary thresholds for criminal mischief in the second and
third degrees are too low and should be raised to conform to the higher
thresholds established by the Legislature in 1986 for comparable theft
and stolen property-related felony offenses such as grand larceny, crim-
inal possession of stolen property and insurance fraud. Accordingly,
this measure attempts to adjust for inflation. Present monetary thresh-
olds are unrealistically low and unduly strain police resources. While
felony arrests for low-level thefts are routinely reduced to misdemea-
nors by prosecutors and judges, the police must adhere to the law as it
is written, which results in a substantial allocation of resources and
reduces the number of police officers available for patrol. In addition,
this measure would correct a related anomaly in the law amending subdi-
vision six of the General Business Law section 352-c to raise to $1,000
the current $250 threshold for the class E felony securities fraud
offense.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2021-22: Referred to Codes
2023-24: Referred to Codes
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately, with provisions.

Statutes affected:
S870: 145.05 penal law, 145.05(2) penal law, 145.10 penal law, 352-c general business law, 352-c(6) general business law