Bill Text: NY A01215 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Enhances criminal penalties for criminal mischief and larceny offenses committed at a place of religious worship and for cemetery desecration.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 25-6)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to codes [A01215 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-A01215-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1215 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 13, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. ROZIC, VANEL, ZEBROWSKI, HYNDMAN, COOK, GLICK, DINOWITZ, GUNTHER, COLTON, LAVINE, AUBRY, CARROLL, EICHENSTEIN, D. ROSENTHAL, DICKENS, SEAWRIGHT, THIELE, WILLIAMS, FALL, CRUZ, SAYEGH, JACOBSON, STIRPE, MILLER, REYES, DiPIETRO, J. M. GIGLIO, MORI- NELLO, SMULLEN, DeSTEFANO -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. SIMON -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to criminal mischief and larceny offenses committed at a place of religious worship and to cemetery desecration The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 145.05 of the penal law, as 2 amended by chapter 276 of the laws of 2003, is amended and a new subdi- 3 vision 3 is added to read as follows: 4 2. damages property of another person in an amount exceeding two 5 hundred fifty dollars[.]; or 6 3. damages property which, regardless of its nature or value, is in 7 any building, structure or upon the curtilage of such building or struc- 8 ture used as a place of religious worship by a religious corporation, as 9 incorporated under the religious corporations law or the education law, 10 or used as a museum whose central purpose is religious in nature. 11 § 2. Section 145.10 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 961 of the 12 laws of 1971, is amended to read as follows: 13 § 145.10 Criminal mischief in the second degree. 14 A person is guilty of criminal mischief in the second degree when with 15 intent to damage property of another person, and having no right to do 16 so nor any reasonable ground to believe that he or she has such right, 17 he or she: 18 1. damages property of another person in an amount exceeding one thou- 19 sand five hundred dollars[.]; or EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD02490-01-3A. 1215 2 1 2. damages property which consists of a scroll, a religious vestment, 2 a vessel, an item comprising a display of religious symbols which forms 3 a representative expression of faith or any other item kept or used in 4 connection with religious worship in any building, structure or upon the 5 curtilage of such building or structure used as a place of religious 6 worship by a religious corporation, as incorporated under the religious 7 corporations law or the education law, or used as a museum whose central 8 purpose is religious in nature. 9 Criminal mischief in the second degree is a class D felony. 10 § 3. Section 145.22 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 353 of the 11 laws of 2007, is amended to read as follows: 12 § 145.22 Cemetery desecration in the [second] third degree. 13 A person is guilty of cemetery desecration in the [second] third 14 degree when: (a) with intent to damage property of another person[,] 15 and having no right to do so nor any reasonable ground to believe that 16 he or she has such right, he or she damages any real or personal proper- 17 ty used or maintained as a cemetery, mausoleum, columbarium, lot, plot, 18 grave, burial place, crypt, vault or other place of interment or tempo- 19 rary storage of human remains or cremated human remains, or any monu- 20 ment, headstone, marker, plaque, statue, vase, urn, decoration, flag 21 holder, or other embellishment that is located on or adjacent to, or is 22 otherwise associated with, any such cemetery, mausoleum, columbarium, 23 lot, plot, grave, burial place, crypt, vault, or other place of inter- 24 ment or temporary storage; or 25 (b) with intent to steal personal property, he or she steals personal 26 property which is located at a cemetery, mausoleum, columbarium, lot, 27 plot, grave, burial place, crypt, vault or other place of interment or 28 temporary storage of human remains or cremated human remains, or any 29 monument, headstone, marker, plaque, statue, vase, urn, decoration, flag 30 holder, or other embellishment that is located on or adjacent to, or is 31 otherwise associated with, any such cemetery, mausoleum, columbarium, 32 lot, plot, grave, burial place, crypt, vault, or other place of inter- 33 ment or temporary storage, and which property is owned by the person or 34 organization which maintains or owns such place or the estate, next-of- 35 kin or representatives of the deceased person interred or stored there. 36 Cemetery desecration in the [second] third degree is a class A misde- 37 meanor. 38 § 4. Section 145.23 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 353 of the 39 laws of 2007, is amended to read as follows: 40 § 145.23 Cemetery desecration in the [first] second degree. 41 A person is guilty of cemetery desecration in the [first] second 42 degree when, with intent to damage property of another person[,] and 43 having no right to do so nor any reasonable ground to believe that he or 44 she has such right, he or she: 45 (a) damages any real or personal property used or maintained as a 46 cemetery, mausoleum, columbarium, lot, plot, grave, burial place, crypt, 47 vault or other place of interment or temporary storage of human remains 48 or cremated human remains, or any monument, headstone, marker, plaque, 49 statue, vase, urn, decoration, flag holder, or other embellishment that 50 is located on or adjacent to, or is otherwise associated with, any such 51 cemetery, mausoleum, columbarium, lot, plot, grave, burial place, crypt, 52 vault, or other place of interment or temporary storage, in an amount 53 exceeding two hundred fifty dollars; or 54 (b) with intent to steal personal property, he or she steals personal 55 property, the value of which exceeds two hundred fifty dollars, which is 56 located at a cemetery, mausoleum, columbarium, lot, plot, grave, burialA. 1215 3 1 place, crypt, vault or other place of interment or temporary storage of 2 human remains or cremated human remains, or any monument, headstone, 3 marker, plaque, statue, vase, urn, decoration, flag holder, or other 4 embellishment that is located on or adjacent to, or is otherwise associ- 5 ated with, any such cemetery, mausoleum, columbarium, lot, plot, grave, 6 burial place, crypt, vault, or other place of interment or temporary 7 storage, and which property is owned by the person or organization which 8 maintains or owns such place or the estate, next-of-kin or represen- 9 tatives of the deceased person interred there; or 10 (c) commits the crime of cemetery desecration in the [second] third 11 degree as defined in section 145.22 of this article and has been previ- 12 ously convicted of the crime of cemetery desecration in the [second] 13 third degree, cemetery desecration in the second degree, aggravated 14 cemetery desecration in the second degree or aggravated cemetery dese- 15 cration in the first degree within the preceding five years. 16 Cemetery desecration in the [first] second degree is a class E felony. 17 § 5. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 145.24 to read 18 as follows: 19 § 145.24 Cemetery desecration in the first degree. 20 A person is guilty of cemetery desecration in the first degree when, 21 with intent to damage property of another person and having no right to 22 do so nor any reasonable ground to believe that he or she has such 23 right, he or she: 24 (a) damages any real or personal property used or maintained as a 25 cemetery, mausoleum, columbarium, lot, plot, grave, burial place, crypt, 26 vault or other place of interment or temporary storage of human remains 27 or cremated human remains, or any monument, headstone, marker, plaque, 28 statue, vase, urn, decoration, flag holder, or other embellishment that 29 is located on or adjacent to, or is otherwise associated with, any such 30 cemetery, mausoleum, columbarium, lot, plot, grave, burial place, crypt, 31 vault, or other place of interment or temporary storage, in an amount 32 exceeding two thousand dollars; or 33 (b) with intent to steal personal property, he or she steals personal 34 property, the value of which exceeds two thousand dollars, which is 35 located at a cemetery, mausoleum, columbarium, lot, plot, grave, burial 36 place, crypt, vault or other place of interment or temporary storage of 37 human remains or cremated human remains, or any monument, headstone, 38 marker, memorial, plaque, statue, vase, urn, decoration, flag holder, or 39 other embellishment that is located on or adjacent to, or is otherwise 40 associated with, any such cemetery, mausoleum, columbarium, lot, plot, 41 grave, burial place, crypt, vault, or other place of interment or tempo- 42 rary storage, and which property is owned by the person or organization 43 which maintains or owns such place or the estate, next-of-kin or repre- 44 sentatives of the deceased person interred there; or 45 (c) commits the crime of cemetery desecration in the second degree as 46 defined in section 145.23 of this article and has been previously 47 convicted of the crime of cemetery desecration in the third degree, 48 cemetery desecration in the second degree, cemetery desecration in the 49 first degree, aggravated cemetery desecration in the second degree or 50 aggravated cemetery desecration in the first degree. 51 Cemetery desecration in the first degree is a class D felony. 52 § 6. Section 60.29 of the penal law, as added by chapter 165 of the 53 laws of 1997, is amended to read as follows: 54 § 60.29 Authorized disposition; cemetery desecration. 55 When a person is convicted of an offense defined in section 145.22 56 [or], 145.23, or 145.24 of this chapter or of an attempt to commit suchA. 1215 4 1 an offense, and the sentence imposed by the court for such conviction 2 includes a sentence of probation or conditional discharge, such sentence 3 shall, where appropriate, be in accordance with paragraph (h) of subdi- 4 vision two of section 65.10 of this [article] title as such section 5 relates to cemetery crime. 6 § 7. Paragraph (h) of subdivision 2 of section 65.10 of the penal law, 7 as amended by chapter 508 of the laws of 2001, is amended to read as 8 follows: 9 (h) Perform services for a public or not-for-profit corporation, asso- 10 ciation, institution, or agency, including but not limited to services 11 for the division of substance abuse services, services in an appropriate 12 community program for removal of graffiti from public or private proper- 13 ty, including any property damaged in the underlying offense, or 14 services for the maintenance and repair of real or personal property 15 used or maintained as a cemetery, mausoleum, columbarium, lot, plot, 16 grave, burial place, crypt, vault, or other place of interment or tempo- 17 rary storage of human remains or cremated human remains, or any monu- 18 ment, headstone, marker, plaque, statue, vase, urn, decoration, flag 19 holder, or other embellishment that is located on or adjacent to, or is 20 otherwise associated with, any such cemetery, mausoleum, columbarium, 21 lot, plot, grave, burial place, crypt, vault, or other place of inter- 22 ment or temporary storage. Provided, however, that the performance of 23 any such services shall not result in the displacement of employed work- 24 ers or in the impairment of existing contracts for services, nor shall 25 the performance of any such services be required or permitted in any 26 establishment involved in any labor strike or lockout. The court may 27 establish provisions for the early termination of a sentence of 28 probation or conditional discharge pursuant to the provisions of subdi- 29 vision three of section 410.90 of the criminal procedure law after such 30 services have been completed. Such sentence may only be imposed upon 31 conviction of a misdemeanor, violation, or class D or class E felony, or 32 a youthful offender finding replacing any such conviction, where the 33 defendant has consented to the amount and conditions of such service; 34 § 8. Subdivision 9 of section 155.30 of the penal law, as amended by 35 chapter 479 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows: 36 9. The property [consists of a scroll, religious vestment, a vessel,37an item comprising a display of religious symbols which forms a repre-38sentative expression of faith, or other miscellaneous item of property39which:40(a) has a value of at least one hundred dollars; and41(b) is kept for or used in connection with religious worship in], 42 regardless of its nature or value, is taken from any building, structure 43 or upon the curtilage of such building or structure used as a place of 44 religious worship by a religious corporation, as incorporated under the 45 religious corporations law or the education law. 46 § 9. Section 155.35 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 464 of the 47 laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows: 48 § 155.35 Grand larceny in the third degree. 49 A person is guilty of grand larceny in the third degree when he or she 50 steals property and: 51 1. when the value of the property exceeds three thousand dollars[,]; 52 or 53 2. the property is an automated teller machine or the contents of an 54 automated teller machine[.]; or 55 3. the property consists of a scroll, a religious vestment, a vessel, 56 an item comprising a display of religious symbols which form a represen-A. 1215 5 1 tative expression of faith or any other item kept or used in connection 2 with religious worship in any building, structure or upon the curtilage 3 of such building or structure used as a place of religious worship by a 4 religious corporation, as incorporated under the religious corporations 5 law or the education law, or used as a museum whose central purpose is 6 religious in nature. 7 Grand larceny in the third degree is a class D felony. 8 § 10. Subdivision 2 of section 155.40 of the penal law, as amended by 9 chapter 515 of the laws of 1986, is amended and a new subdivision 3 is 10 added to read as follows: 11 2. The property, regardless of its nature and value, is obtained by 12 extortion committed by instilling in the victim a fear that the actor or 13 another person will (a) cause physical injury to some person in the 14 future, or (b) cause damage to property, or (c) use or abuse his posi- 15 tion as a public servant by engaging in conduct within or related to his 16 official duties, or by failing or refusing to perform an official duty, 17 in such manner as to affect some person adversely[.]; or 18 3. The property consists of a scroll, a religious vestment, a vessel, 19 an item comprising a display of religious symbols which forms a repre- 20 sentative expression of faith, or other item of property which: 21 (a) has a value of at least two hundred fifty dollars; and 22 (b) is kept for or used in connection with religious worship in any 23 building, structure or upon the curtilage of such building or structure 24 used as a place of religious worship by a religious corporation, as 25 incorporated under the religious corporations law or the education law, 26 or used as a museum whose central purpose is religious in nature. 27 § 11. This act shall take effect on the first of November next 28 succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.
