BILL NUMBER: S2551
SPONSOR: MYRIE
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the penal law, in relation to fines for corporations
 
PURPOSE:
To update New York's financial sanctions on corporations.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends subdivision of section 80.10 of the penal law, as
amended by section 28 of subpart A of part H of chapter 55 of the laws
of 2014 which increases the current fines for corporations for an
offense to be; eighty thousand dollars for a felony conviction; forty
thousand dollars for a class A misdemeanor; fifteen thousand dollars for
a class B misdemeanor; and four thousand dollars for a conviction of a
violation. For offenses involving financial gain, a fine of up to three
times the corporation's gain from the offense.
Section 2 provides the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Under the penal law, people who break the law can be sent to jail or
prison for their actions. But, defendant corporations can only be sanc-
tioned by the imposition of a fine. Since 1965, New York's corporate
wrongdoers have not seen an increase in the size of fines that courts
may impose on them. Increasing the amounts of these fines to account for
the changes in the cost of living is long overdue. Crime in the suites
should not pay dividends for illegal behavior.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
S2311 of 2023-24: Passed Senate.
S277 of 2021-22: Referred to Codes.
S3165 of 2021-22: Referred to Codes.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Takes effect immediately