NY State Assembly Bill 2009-A10051

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Assembly Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
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Actions

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Date of Action	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
May 18, 2010	held for consideration in codes
Feb 26, 2010	referred to codes

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2009-A10051 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Assembly Codes
Law Section:: General Business Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §399-qq, Gen Bus L; amd §265.01, Pen L
Versions Introduced in 2011-2012 Legislative Session:: A7104

2009-A10051 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to the sale or promotional distribution of machetes and includes the possession of a machete under the crime of criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree.

2009-A10051 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                BILL NUMBER:A10051

TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the general business law, in relation to
the sale or promotional distribution of machetes; and to amend the penal
law, in relation to including possession of a machete under the crime of
criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree

PURPOSE: To prohibit the sale of machetes to minors, and to include them
specifically within the definition of a dangerous weapon.

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: Section one amends Section 399-qq of the
General  Business law to define a machete, and to prohibit their sale to
persons under the age of eighteen. Section two amends Section 265.01 (2)
of the Penal Law  to  define  a  machete  as  a  dangerous  weapon  when
possessed with intent to use unlawfully against another person.

JUSTIFICATION: Machetes are long heavy single bladed tools with a varie-
ty  of legitimate uses, including landscaping, brush clearance, camping,
and trail clearance in the wilderness. In other  lands  they  are  quite
common  for agricultural purposes as well. There are a good many reasons
why law abiding New  Yorkers  would  wish  to  purchase  and  possess  a
machete.  Sadly, this tool is capable of use as a weapon, and a horrify-
ingly effective one at that.

Machetes are usable as essentially a short sword, and their sharp  heavy
blades  are  fully capable of chopping off a limb or even decapitating a

person with a single stroke. Even worse, criminal gangs such  as  MS  13
have taken note of the fact that machetes are not only deadly but cheap,
unrestricted,  and  offered  for sale at most any home center or outdoor
supply store. As a weapon of intimidation the machete  is  a  terrifying
piece  of  hardware, well suited to intimidation and extortion given its
ability to disfigure as well as  killing.  Further,  according  to  some
reports  gangs  in  Brooklyn  have now started to poison their machetes,
just to make sure that a wound is eventually fatal even if  the  initial
injury  was  not  itself  lethal.    In October 2009 a gang of teenagers
killed a young New Hampshire mother and grievously wounded her  11  year
old  daughter  with  a  machete, and in January 2010 the suspect charged
stated his regret that the girl survived. That same month a 15 year  old
teen  in  Orange  county New York was charged with planning a Columbine-
style attack at the Monroe-Woodbury High School.

The legislature reasonably banned the sale of box cutters to  minors  in
2005,  and it seems more than logical that these far more deadly instru-
ments be treated identically. There is simply no valid reason to allow a
minor to purchase such an instrument on their own.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: New Bill

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None

EFFECTIVE DATE: Immediately.

2009-A10051 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  10051

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                            February 26, 2010
                               ___________

Introduced  by  M.  of  A. J. MILLER, CALHOUN, FINCH, McDONOUGH, POWELL,
  RAIA, WEISENBERG -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M.  of  A.  CASTRO,  CROUCH,
  MAYERSOHN,  McKEVITT, OAKS, SALADINO, TOWNSEND, ZEBROWSKI -- read once
  and referred to the Committee on Codes

AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation  to  the  sale  or
  promotional  distribution  of machetes; and to amend the penal law, in
  relation to including possession of a machete under the crime of crim-
  inal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1.  Section  399-qq  of the general business law, as added by
chapter 243 of the laws of 2005, is amended to read as follows:
  S 399-qq.  Sale  or  promotional  distribution  of  MACHETES,  utility
knives,  box cutters, or box cart cutters. 1. No person, firm, or corpo-
ration shall sell or offer to sell or give away as either  a  retail  or
wholesale  promotion  a  MACHETE, utility knife, box cutter, or box cart
cutter to any person under eighteen years of age.
  2. For purposes of  this  section,  the  term  "utility  knife",  "box
cutter", or "box cart cutter" means a knife consisting of a razor blade,
retractable  or non-retractable, attached to or contained within a plas-
tic or metal housing.  THE TERM "MACHETE" SHALL MEAN  ANY  HEAVY  BLADED
SINGLE EDGED KNIFE WITH A BLADE OF TWELVE INCHES OR MORE DESIGNED PRIMA-
RILY FOR CUTTING BRUSH OR VEGETATION.
  3.  The  provisions  of  this section shall not preclude the temporary
transfer of a MACHETE, utility knife, box cutter, or box cart cutter  to
a  person  under  eighteen  years of age by such person's employer where
such device is possessed only on the employer's premises and only during
the course and scope of such person's employment.
  4. No provision of this  section  shall  be  deemed  to  restrict  the
authority  of  any  county,  city,  town or village to enact and enforce
additional  local  laws,  ordinances  or  codes,  or  portions  thereof,
provided the provisions thereof are not inconsistent with the provisions
of this section.

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD15346-02-0

A. 10051                            2

  5.  Any  person,  firm,  or corporation who violates the provisions of
this section shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more  than  five
hundred dollars.
  S  2.  Subdivision 2 of section 265.01 of the penal law, as amended by
chapter 220 of the laws of 1988, is amended to read as follows:
  (2) He possesses any dagger, dangerous knife, dirk,  razor,  stiletto,
imitation  pistol,  MACHETE, or any other dangerous or deadly instrument
or weapon with intent to use the same unlawfully against another; or
  S 3. This act shall take effect immediately, provided,  however,  that
section  two of this act shall take effect on the first of November next
succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.

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Assembly Bill A10051

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Assembly Committee

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co-Sponsors

multi-Sponsors

2009-A10051 (ACTIVE) - Details

2009-A10051 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2009-A10051 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2009-A10051 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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Sponsored By

MILLER J

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Assembly Committee

Actions

co-Sponsors

Nancy Calhoun

Gary Finch

David McDonough

Adam Clayton Powell IV

multi-Sponsors

Nelson Castro

Clifford Crouch

Nettie Mayersohn

Thomas McKevitt

2009-A10051 (ACTIVE) - Details

2009-A10051 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2009-A10051 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2009-A10051 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments