NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A6378
SPONSOR: Weprin (MS) TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the penal law, in relation to bias-related graffiti
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of this bill amends' Section 485.05 of the Penal Law as
amended by chapter 405 of the laws of 2010, by adding section 145.60.,
This subdivision adds the language, "etches, paints, covers, draws upon
or Otherwise places a mark upon public or private property" to the crime
of aggravated harassment in the first degree.
Section 2 amends the Penal Law by adding a new section 60.31, which
allows the court to order the person convicted of the offense defined in
Section 1 to participate in a diversity training program, at his/her
expense.
Section 3 amends Section 502 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law by adding a
new subdivision 8, which requires that the Commissioner of the Depart-
ment of Motor Vehicles not issue a driver's license to any person
convicted of the offense defined in Section 1 until such time as imposed
by the sentencing court has elapsed.
Section 4 amends subdivision 3 of Section 510 of the Vehicle and Traffic
Law by adding a new paragraph j-1, which allows the court to suspend for
up to one year, the driver's license of any person convicted of the
offense defined in Section 1.
JUSTIFICATION:
This bill proposes enhanced penalties for bias-related graffiti in
recognition of the particularly sensitive nature of such graffiti.
Graffiti that is based upon hate should receive a tighter penalty.
Enhancing the penalty will serve to reinforce the seriousness of this
crime and prove to offenders that New York State does not tolerate bias
in any form. Currently, graffiti is treated as a Class A misdemeanor in
Section 145.60 of the Penal Law. This legislation would include bias-re-
lated graffiti under the section of law that currently covers dese-
cration of religious property. Under this bill, bias-related graffiti
would be considered a Class E felony. This would increase the allowable
penalty for bias-related graffiti from up to one year in jail under a
Class A misdemeanor to a range of 1 1/3 to 4 years for a Class E felony
at the discretion of the judge. Recent incidents of bias-related graff-
iti in Westchester County (racial) and King's County (religious) exem-
plify the need to give prosecutors greater leverage in prosecuting such
offenders.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
02/06/17 referred to codes
01/03/18 referred to codes
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the first of November next suc date on
which it shall have become a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6378
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
April 5, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. WEPRIN, PEOPLES-STOKES -- Multi-Sponsored by --
M. of A. COOK, DAVILA, DINOWITZ, McDONOUGH -- read once and referred
to the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to bias-related graffiti
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 3 of section 485.05 of the penal law, as
2 amended by section 3 of part R of chapter 55 of the laws of 2020, is
3 amended to read as follows:
4 3. A "specified offense" is an offense defined by any of the following
5 provisions of this chapter: section 120.00 (assault in the third
6 degree); section 120.05 (assault in the second degree); section 120.10
7 (assault in the first degree); section 120.12 (aggravated assault upon a
8 person less than eleven years old); section 120.13 (menacing in the
9 first degree); section 120.14 (menacing in the second degree); section
10 120.15 (menacing in the third degree); section 120.20 (reckless endan-
11 germent in the second degree); section 120.25 (reckless endangerment in
12 the first degree); section 121.12 (strangulation in the second degree);
13 section 121.13 (strangulation in the first degree); subdivision one of
14 section 125.15 (manslaughter in the second degree); subdivision one, two
15 or four of section 125.20 (manslaughter in the first degree); section
16 125.25 (murder in the second degree); section 120.45 (stalking in the
17 fourth degree); section 120.50 (stalking in the third degree); section
18 120.55 (stalking in the second degree); section 120.60 (stalking in the
19 first degree); subdivision one of section 130.35 (rape in the first
20 degree); subdivision one of section 130.50 (criminal sexual act in the
21 first degree); subdivision one of section 130.65 (sexual abuse in the
22 first degree); paragraph (a) of subdivision one of section 130.67
23 (aggravated sexual abuse in the second degree); paragraph (a) of subdi-
24 vision one of section 130.70 (aggravated sexual abuse in the first
25 degree); section 135.05 (unlawful imprisonment in the second degree);
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07754-01-3
A. 6378 2
1 section 135.10 (unlawful imprisonment in the first degree); section
2 135.20 (kidnapping in the second degree); section 135.25 (kidnapping in
3 the first degree); section 135.60 (coercion in the third degree);
4 section 135.61 (coercion in the second degree); section 135.65 (coercion
5 in the first degree); section 140.10 (criminal trespass in the third
6 degree); section 140.15 (criminal trespass in the second degree);
7 section 140.17 (criminal trespass in the first degree); section 140.20
8 (burglary in the third degree); section 140.25 (burglary in the second
9 degree); section 140.30 (burglary in the first degree); section 145.00
10 (criminal mischief in the fourth degree); section 145.05 (criminal
11 mischief in the third degree); section 145.10 (criminal mischief in the
12 second degree); section 145.12 (criminal mischief in the first degree);
13 section 145.60 (making graffiti); section 150.05 (arson in the fourth
14 degree); section 150.10 (arson in the third degree); section 150.15
15 (arson in the second degree); section 150.20 (arson in the first
16 degree); section 155.25 (petit larceny); section 155.30 (grand larceny
17 in the fourth degree); section 155.35 (grand larceny in the third
18 degree); section 155.40 (grand larceny in the second degree); section
19 155.42 (grand larceny in the first degree); section 160.05 (robbery in
20 the third degree); section 160.10 (robbery in the second degree);
21 section 160.15 (robbery in the first degree); section 240.25 (harassment
22 in the first degree); subdivision one, two or four of section 240.30
23 (aggravated harassment in the second degree); section 490.10 (soliciting
24 or providing support for an act of terrorism in the second degree);
25 section 490.15 (soliciting or providing support for an act of terrorism
26 in the first degree); section 490.20 (making a terroristic threat);
27 section 490.25 (crime of terrorism); section 490.30 (hindering prose-
28 cution of terrorism in the second degree); section 490.35 (hindering
29 prosecution of terrorism in the first degree); section 490.37 (criminal
30 possession of a chemical weapon or biological weapon in the third
31 degree); section 490.40 (criminal possession of a chemical weapon or
32 biological weapon in the second degree); section 490.45 (criminal
33 possession of a chemical weapon or biological weapon in the first
34 degree); section 490.47 (criminal use of a chemical weapon or biological
35 weapon in the third degree); section 490.50 (criminal use of a chemical
36 weapon or biological weapon in the second degree); section 490.55 (crim-
37 inal use of a chemical weapon or biological weapon in the first degree);
38 or any attempt or conspiracy to commit any of the foregoing offenses.
39 § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed-
40 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.
