Senate Bill S7426

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S7426

SPONSOR: SEWARD
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the criminal procedure law, in
relation to authorizing peace officers designated to investigate insur-
ance frauds to execute arrest warrants and search warrants

 
PURPOSE:

To facilitate the investigation and prosecution of insurance fraud in
New York State by authorizing DFS fraud investigators to execute arrest
warrants and search warrants.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

This bill amends sections 2.20 of the criminal procedure law to author-
ize investigators of the insurance frauds bureau of the new department
of financial services to request and execute arrest and search warrants.

 
EXISTING LAW:
              

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Auto insurance premiums are rising, particularly downstate, and insur-
ance fraud is a principal cause of the increases.  Insurance fraud auto,
medical and property - costs New York consumers over S1 billion per year
in increased premiums and it continues to grow. The state has an obli-
gation to ensure that criminals profiting from insurance fraud are
brought to justice; and this bill will further this goal by ensuring
that insurance fraud investigators of the DFS are able to fight insur-
ance fraud without being hindered because they lack the authority to
independently execute search and arrest warrants.

The mission of the frauds bureau of the DFS is to investigate allega-
tions of insurance fraud and assist in the prosecution of offenders.
Penalties for insurance fraud range from a class A misdemeanor to a
class B felony. In addition to enforcing penal law provisions relating
to insurance fraud, investigators regularly identify other violations of
laws perpetrated by persons under investigation Most insurance fraud
investigators are former police officers with significant law enforce-
ment investigative experience.  Despite these qualifications, under
current law, fraud investigators as peace officers are unable to arrest
felons for whom they have obtained warrants, losing time and effective-
ness by relying on municipal police or sheriffs' departments to provide
available officers to execute warrants.

Under current law, insurance fraud bureau investigators are designated
as peace officers and are unable to act independently in the execution
of search and arrest warrants Rather, investigators are currently
required to coordinate with other law enforcement agencies to execute
these functions, resulting in delays and hindering their ability to
apprehend individuals committing insurance fraud Insurance fraud may not
be a priority of local police departments who may already be under-
staffed, which may result in delays and deter the investigation and
prosecution of insurance fraud. This bill would give fraud investigators
the authority to independently execute search and arrest
warrants,thereby facilitating their apprehension of criminals engaging
in insurance fraud.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

S.2377-B of 2011-12;
S.3054 of 2009-10;
S.2453 of 2007-08;
S3549 of 2013

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to the state

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
90 days after becoming a law