NY State Senate Bill S7657

Archive: Last Bill Status - Passed Senate

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

view actions (6)

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jun 09, 2014	referred to codes delivered to assembly passed senate
Jun 03, 2014	ordered to third reading cal.1146 committee discharged and committed to rules
May 23, 2014	referred to codes

Votes

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S7657 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Assembly Codes
Law Section:: Penal Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §220.00, add §125.24, Pen L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2015-2016: S4163
2017-2018: S2761
2019-2020: S4726
2021-2022: S5910
2023-2024: S7203

S7657 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Establishes the crime of homicide by sale of an opiate controlled substance; makes such crime a class A-1 felony.

S7657 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

BILL NUMBER:S7657

TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the penal law, in relation to homicide
by sale of an opiate controlled substance

PURPOSE:  This bill would criminalize the sale of an opiate controlled
substance when the unlawful transport or unlawful sale of an opiate
controlled substance causes the death of another.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends section 220.00 of the penal law by adding new
paragraph 21 that defines the term "opiate controlled substance" as a
controlled substance that is further classified under Public Health
Law as an opiate or opium derivative.

Section 2 amends the penal law to add new section 125.24, to create
the new crime of homicide by sale of an opiate controlled substance, a
class A-I felony, that is committed when one unlawfully imports into
the state or transports from one county to another within the state,
an opiate controlled substance and such causes the death of another.
This section also creates a defense to the crime when the defendant
jointly and simultaneously acquired and possessed such opiate
controlled substance for joint use with the deceased, with intent to
jointly inject, inhale or otherwise ingest.

Section 3 establishes the effective date as the ninetieth day after it
becomes law.

JUSTIFICATION:  Heroin use is steadily on the rise. Its impact now
reaches every aspect of our society regardless of income, education or
genders. The increasing-availability of this drug combined with more
powerful incarnations is creating an epidemic that is having a
dramatic impact across the state and leading to the unfortunate deaths
of too many New Yorkers. Currently, a person who provides an illicit
drug that results in the death of a user can typically only be charged
with criminal-sale of a controlled-substance, allowing those involved
in the illicit-drug trade to escape prosecution for the deaths caused
by their actions.

This law would hold drug dealers accountable for the true cost of
their activities, significantly diminish the open availability of
these dangerous drugs on our streets and give district attorneys-the
necessary tools to work up the criminal chain to the ultimate supplier
because facing life imprisonment for any amount of drugs that results
in death is a profound disincentive to sell drugs within the state of
New York.

This law seeks to punish those individuals involved in the illegal
drug trade and is not intended to punish those individuals who are
merely co-users. Therefore a co-user who shares the drugs with the
victim still has an incentive to follow the current good Samaritan law
and save the other person as he or she will be able to avoid
prosecution for homicide by sale of an opiate controlled substance and
instead admit to a lower felony because it still is a distribution.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: None.


FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:  This act shall take effect 90 days after it becomes
law.

S7657 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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

                                  7657

                            I N  S E N A T E

                              May 23, 2014
                               ___________

Introduced by Sens. ROBACH, BALL, BOYLE, FELDER, GALLIVAN, GOLDEN, GRIF-
  FO,  HANNON,  LANZA,  LARKIN,  LITTLE, MARCELLINO, MARCHIONE, MARTINS,
  MAZIARZ, NOZZOLIO, O'MARA, RANZENHOFER, RITCHIE, SAVINO, SEWARD, VALE-
  SKY, YOUNG -- 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 homicide by sale of an
  opiate controlled substance

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

  Section  1. Section 220.00 of the penal law is amended by adding a new
subdivision 21 to read as follows:
  21. "OPIATE CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE" MEANS ANY SUBSTANCE LISTED IN SCHED-
ULE I, II, III, IV OR V OF  SECTION  THIRTY-THREE  HUNDRED  SIX  OF  THE
PUBLIC HEALTH LAW THAT IS CLASSIFIED AS EITHER AN OPIATE OR OPIUM DERIV-
ATIVE UNDER SUCH LAW.
  S  2.  The penal law is amended by adding a new section 125.24 to read
as follows:
S 125.24 HOMICIDE BY SALE OF AN OPIATE CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE.
  A PERSON IS GUILTY  OF  HOMICIDE  BY  SALE  OF  AN  OPIATE  CONTROLLED
SUBSTANCE  WHEN ONE UNLAWFULLY TRANSPORTS BY IMPORTING INTO THE STATE OR
TRANSPORTING WITHIN THE STATE FROM ONE COUNTY INTO  ANOTHER,  OR  UNLAW-
FULLY  SELLS  AS  DEFINED  BY  SUBDIVISION ONE OF SECTION 220.00 OF THIS
CHAPTER, AN OPIATE CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE AS DEFINED BY SUBDIVISION  TWEN-
TY-ONE  OF  SECTION  220.00  OF THIS CHAPTER, AND SUCH OPIATE CONTROLLED
SUBSTANCE CAUSES THE DEATH OF ANOTHER.
  IT SHALL BE A DEFENSE TO HOMICIDE BY  SALE  OF  AN  OPIATE  CONTROLLED
SUBSTANCE  THAT  THE  DEFENDANT  JOINTLY AND SIMULTANEOUSLY ACQUIRED AND
POSSESSED SUCH OPIATE  CONTROLLED  SUBSTANCE  FOR  JOINT  USE  WITH  THE
DECEASED,  WITH THE INTENT TO JOINTLY INJECT, INHALE OR OTHERWISE INGEST
SUCH OPIATE CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE.
  HOMICIDE BY SALE OF AN OPIATE CONTROLLED  SUBSTANCE  IS  A  CLASS  A-I
FELONY.
  S  3.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
have become a law.

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

S                                                          LBD15347-01-4

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The New York State Senate

senate Bill S7657

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - Passed Senate

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Votes

Jun 9, 2014 - floor Vote

Floor Vote: Jun 9, 2014

Jun 3, 2014 - Rules committee Vote

Rules Committee Vote: Jun 3, 2014

Co-Sponsors

S7657 (ACTIVE) - Details

S7657 (ACTIVE) - Summary

S7657 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

S7657 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

senate Bill S7657

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Archive: Last Bill Status - Passed Senate

Your Voice

Actions

Votes

Jun 9, 2014 - floor Vote

Floor Vote: Jun 9, 2014

Jun 3, 2014 - Rules committee Vote

Rules Committee Vote: Jun 3, 2014

Co-Sponsors

S7657 (ACTIVE) - Details

S7657 (ACTIVE) - Summary

S7657 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

S7657 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments