Bill Text: NY S04004 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Makes technical corrections to the descriptions of certain bribery offenses and defenses.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - REFERRED TO CODES [S04004 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-S04004-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          4004

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    February 1, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen. HOYLMAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes

        AN ACT  to  amend  the  penal  law,  in  relation  to  making  technical
          corrections  to  the  descriptions  of  certain  bribery  offenses and
          defenses

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1. Section 200.00 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 833
     2  of the laws of 1986, is amended to read as follows:
     3  § 200.00 Bribery in the third degree.
     4    A person is guilty of bribery in the  third  degree  when  he  or  she
     5  confers,  or offers or agrees to confer, any benefit upon a public serv-
     6  ant [upon an agreement or understanding that] with the intent to  influ-
     7  ence  such public servant's vote, opinion, judgment, action, decision or
     8  exercise of discretion as a public servant [will thereby be influenced].
     9    Bribery in the third degree is a class D felony.
    10    § 2. Section 200.03 of the penal law, as  amended  by  section  18  of
    11  subpart  A  of  part  H of chapter 55 of the laws of 2014, is amended to
    12  read as follows:
    13  § 200.03 Bribery in the second degree.
    14    A person is guilty of bribery in the second  degree  when  he  or  she
    15  confers,  or offers or agrees to confer, any benefit valued in excess of
    16  five thousand dollars upon a public servant [upon an agreement or under-
    17  standing that] with the intent to influence such public servant's  vote,
    18  opinion,  judgment,  action,  decision  or  exercise  of discretion as a
    19  public servant [will thereby be influenced].
    20    Bribery in the second degree is a class C felony.
    21    § 3. Section 200.04 of the penal law, as  amended  by  section  19  of
    22  subpart  A  of  part  H of chapter 55 of the laws of 2014, is amended to
    23  read as follows:
    24  § 200.04 Bribery in the first degree.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD08699-01-1
        S. 4004                             2

     1    A person is guilty of bribery in the  first  degree  when  the  person
     2  confers,  or  offers  or agrees to confer: (1) any benefit upon a public
     3  servant [upon an agreement or understanding that]  with  the  intent  to
     4  influence  such  public servant's vote, opinion, judgment, action, deci-
     5  sion  or  exercise  of  discretion  as a public servant [will thereby be
     6  influenced] in the  investigation,  arrest,  detention,  prosecution  or
     7  incarceration  of any person for the commission or alleged commission of
     8  a class A felony defined in article two hundred twenty of this  part  or
     9  an  attempt to commit any such class A felony; or (2) any benefit valued
    10  in excess of one hundred thousand dollars upon a public servant [upon an
    11  agreement or understanding that]  with  the  intent  to  influence  such
    12  public  servant's  vote, opinion, judgment, action, decision or exercise
    13  of discretion as a public servant [will thereby be influenced].
    14    Bribery in the first degree is a class B felony.
    15    § 4. Section 200.05 of the penal law is amended to read as follows:
    16  § 200.05 Bribery; defense.
    17    In any prosecution for bribery[,]:  (1)  it  is  a  defense  that  the
    18  defendant  conferred  or  agreed to confer the benefit involved upon the
    19  public servant involved as a result of conduct of the latter  constitut-
    20  ing larceny committed by means of extortion, or an attempt to commit the
    21  same,  or  coercion,  or an attempt to commit coercion[.]; and (2) it is
    22  also a defense that the benefit that the defendant conferred, or offered
    23  or agreed to confer, upon the public servant was a  legitimate  campaign
    24  contribution,  unless  such  contribution  was made upon an agreement or
    25  understanding  that  such  public  servant's  vote,  opinion,  judgment,
    26  action,  decision  or  exercise  of discretion as a public servant would
    27  thereby be influenced.
    28    § 5. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed-
    29  ing the date on which it shall have become a law.