Assembly Bill A7459

2019-2020 Legislative Session

Relates to mercantile establishments and the defense of lawful detention

download bill text pdf

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status Via S1769 - In Senate 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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2019-A7459 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Senate Version of this Bill:
S1769
Law Section:
General Business Law
Laws Affected:
Amd §218, Gen Bus L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:
2013-2014: A9672
2015-2016: A5581
2017-2018: A2061
2021-2022: A310, S3009
2023-2024: A4218, S3241

2019-A7459 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to mercantile establishments and the defense of lawful detention; sets requirements that the release from detention shall not be conditioned on signing of any documents or agreements, if anything is signed a copy must be provided to the individual or their parent or guardian.

2019-A7459 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7459
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                                May 6, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by M. of A. STECK -- read once and referred to the Committee
   on Economic Development
 
 AN ACT to amend the general business  law,  in  relation  to  mercantile
   establishments and the defense of lawful detention
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section 1. Section 218 of the general  business  law,  as  amended  by
 chapter 374 of the laws of 1994, is amended to read as follows:
   §  218.  1.  Defense  of  lawful  detention.   In any action for false
 arrest, false imprisonment, unlawful detention, defamation of character,
 assault, trespass, or invasion of civil rights, brought by any person by
 reason of having been detained on or in the immediate  vicinity  of  the
 premises  of  (a)  a  retail mercantile establishment for the purpose of
 investigation or questioning as to criminal possession of an anti-secur-
 ity item as defined in section 170.47 of the penal  law  or  as  to  the
 ownership  of  any  merchandise, or (b) a motion picture theater for the
 purposes of investigation or questioning as to the  unauthorized  opera-
 tion  of  a  recording device in a motion picture theater, it shall be a
 defense to such action that the person  was  detained  in  a  reasonable
 manner  and  for not more than a reasonable time to permit such investi-
 gation or questioning by a peace officer acting pursuant to his  OR  HER
 special  duties, police officer or by the owner of the retail mercantile
 establishment or motion picture theater, his OR HER authorized  employee
 or agent, and that such officer, owner, employee or agent had reasonable
 grounds  to  believe  that the person so detained was guilty of criminal
 possession of an anti-security item as defined in section 170.47 of  the
 penal  law  or  was  committing  or attempting to commit larceny on such
 premises of such merchandise or was engaged in the  unauthorized  opera-
 tion of a recording device in a motion picture theater.
   2.  As  used  in this section, "reasonable grounds" shall include, but
 not be limited to, knowledge that  a  person  [(i)]  (A)  has  concealed
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

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