NY State Senate Bill 2017-S2250

Senate Bill S2250

2017-2018 Legislative Session

Establishes criminal offenses for the theft and unlawful possession of a blank official New York state prescription form

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Codes Committee

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

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 03, 2018	referred to codes
Jan 12, 2017	referred to codes

co-Sponsors

2017-S2250 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A6753
Current Committee:: Senate Codes
Law Section:: Penal Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§155.30 & 165.45, add §220.67, Pen L
Versions Introduced in 2017-2018 Legislative Session:: S2250, A6753

2017-S2250 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Includes within the class D felony of grand larceny in the fourth degree, the theft of a blank official New York state prescription form; includes within the class D felony of criminal possession of stolen property in the fourth degree, the possession of a stolen blank official New York state prescription form; establishes the class A misdemeanor of criminal possession of a prescription form, for the unlawful possession of a blank official New York state prescription form.

2017-S2250 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S2250

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend the penal law, in relation to the
theft and unlawful possession of a blank official New York state
prescription form

 PURPOSE :

This bill criminalizes the theft and unlawful possession of a blank
official New York state prescription form.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section one of the bill adds subsection (12) to § 155.30 of the Penal
Law to include a blank official New York state prescription form to
the list of property covered by grand larceny in the fourth degree.

Section two of the bill adds subsection (8) to § 165.45 of the Penal
Law to include a blank official New York state prescription form to
the list of property covered by criminal possession of stolen property
in the fourth degree.

Section three adds a § 220.67 to the Penal Law to create the crime of
criminal possession of a prescription form. A person is guilty of
criminal possession of a prescription form when such person knowingly
possesses a blank official New York State prescription form, unless

such person is legally authorized to possess the form or such person
is an employee of a person legally authorized to posses the form
acting within the scope of his or her employment.

Section four provides an effective date or the first of November
succeeding its enactment.

 JUSTIFICATION :

Prescription drug abuse is a growing crisis in both New York State and
the country at large. In this state, there has been armed violence,
deaths by overdose and suicide, and increasing rates of addiction.
New York State has a preeminent program for combating prescription
theft and forgery. In the mid-1980s, the state instituted triplicate
forms for controlled substances and saw a 54% decrease in forgeries.
Unfortunately, this system and current penal laws are insufficient to
counter the theft, possession, and sale of blank official prescription
forms. Current law forces authorities to wait until someone sells a
prescription form before law enforcement can act.

The Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement estimates that since 2008,
approximately 1.4 million official scripts have been stolen from NYC
hospitals alone. In 2011, the Office of the New York City special
Prosecutor exposed a drug ring on Staten Island and indicted 31
people. The extensive drug trafficking ring sold Oxycodone to
customers out of an ice cream truck. The endeavor injected nearly
43,000 pills into the New York City metropolitan area, worth an
estimated $1 million. Prosecutors also found 300 illegally obtained
prescription forms. The leaders of the drug ring purchased the blank
prescription forms from a medical receptionist who pilfered them from
her employer. Unfortunately, in similar situations, current law
precludes the investigators from acting until the person taking or
holding a blank form sells it to someone else.

This bill creates a criminal penalty for three specific situations.
First, grand larceny, a class E felony, will punish someone who steals
a blank prescription form. Second, criminal possession of stolen
property, which occurs when someone possesses a blank prescription
form, knowing ii is stolen and intending to benefit from it. This is
also a class E felony. Finally, criminal possession of a prescription
form, a class A misdemeanor, punishes someone who knowingly and
unlawfully possesses a blank official New York state prescription
form. These changes are necessary to combat the criminal diversion of
prescription drugs, which feeds addiction, increases overdose and
suicide rates, and fuels profits for drug dealers and other criminals.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

2015-2016: S.3402 - Passed Senate, died in Assembly
2013-2014: S.2940 - Passed Senate, died in Assembly (both years)

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect on the first of November succeeding its
enactment.

2017-S2250 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2250
 
                        2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 12, 2017
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sens. HANNON, 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 the theft and unlawful
   possession of a blank official New York state prescription form
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Subdivisions  9, 10 and 11 of section 155.30 of the penal
 law, subdivision 9 as amended by chapter 479 of the laws of 2010, subdi-
 vision 10 as added by chapter 491 of the laws of 1992 and subdivision 11
 as added by chapter 394 of the laws of  2005,  are  amended  and  a  new
 subdivision 12 is added to read as follows:
   9. The property consists of a scroll, religious vestment, a vessel, an
 item  comprising  a display of religious symbols which forms a represen-
 tative expression of faith, or  other  miscellaneous  item  of  property
 which:
   (a) has a value of at least one hundred dollars; and
   (b)  is  kept  for or used in connection with religious worship in any
 building, structure or upon the curtilage of such building or  structure
 used  as  a  place  of  religious worship by a religious corporation, as
 incorporated under the  religious  corporations  law  or  the  education
 law[.]; OR
   10. The property consists of an access device which the person intends
 to use unlawfully to obtain telephone service[.]; OR
   11.  The  property  consists of anhydrous ammonia or liquified ammonia
 gas and the actor intends to use, or knows  another  person  intends  to
 use,  such  anhydrous  ammonia  or  liquified ammonia gas to manufacture
 methamphetamine[.]; OR
   12.  THE  PROPERTY  CONSISTS  OF  A  BLANK  OFFICIAL  NEW  YORK  STATE
 PRESCRIPTION FORM, AS SET FORTH IN SECTION TWO HUNDRED EIGHTY-ONE OF THE
 PUBLIC HEALTH LAW.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD02905-01-7

 S. 2250                             2
 
   § 2. Subdivisions 6 and 7 of section 165.45 of the penal law, subdivi-
 sion  6 as added by chapter 450 of the laws of 1990 and subdivision 7 as
 added by chapter 394 of the laws of 2005, are amended and a new subdivi-
 sion 8 is added to read as follows:
   6.  The  property  consists of a scroll, religious vestment, vessel or
 other item of property having a value of at least  one  hundred  dollars
 kept for or used in connection with religious worship in any building or
 structure  used  as  a  place of religious worship by a religious corpo-
 ration, as incorporated under the  religious  corporations  law  or  the
 education law[.]; OR
   7. The property consists of anhydrous ammonia or liquified ammonia gas
 and  the  actor  intends to use, or knows another person intends to use,
 such anhydrous ammonia or liquified ammonia  gas  to  manufacture  meth-
 amphetamine[.]; OR
   8.   THE  PROPERTY  CONSISTS  OF  A  BLANK  OFFICIAL  NEW  YORK  STATE
 PRESCRIPTION FORM, AS SET FORTH IN SECTION TWO HUNDRED EIGHTY-ONE OF THE
 PUBLIC HEALTH LAW.
   § 3. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 220.67  to  read
 as follows:
 § 220.67 CRIMINAL POSSESSION OF A PRESCRIPTION FORM.
   A  PERSON IS GUILTY OF CRIMINAL POSSESSION OF A PRESCRIPTION FORM WHEN
 SUCH  PERSON  KNOWINGLY  POSSESSES  A  BLANK  OFFICIAL  NEW  YORK  STATE
 PRESCRIPTION FORM, AS SET FORTH IN SECTION TWO HUNDRED EIGHTY-ONE OF THE
 PUBLIC HEALTH LAW, UNLESS:
   (A) SUCH PERSON IS LEGALLY AUTHORIZED, ACCORDING TO THE LAWS AND REGU-
 LATIONS OF NEW YORK STATE, TO POSSESS SUCH PRESCRIPTION FORM; OR
   (B)  SUCH  PERSON  IS  AN  EMPLOYEE  OF A PERSON LEGALLY AUTHORIZED TO
 POSSESS SUCH PRESCRIPTION FORM, ACCORDING TO THE LAWS AND REGULATIONS OF
 NEW YORK STATE, AND POSSESSES SUCH PRESCRIPTION FORM DURING  THE  COURSE
 AND SCOPE OF SUCH PERSON'S EMPLOYMENT.
   CRIMINAL POSSESSION OF A PRESCRIPTION FORM IS A CLASS A MISDEMEANOR.
   § 4. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed-
 ing the date upon which it shall have become a law.

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Senate Bill S2250

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