NY State Senate Bill 2019-S6920

Senate Bill S6920

2019-2020 Legislative Session

Establishes the crimes of spoofing a police agency telephone number in the first and second degrees as a class E felony and a class A misdemeanor

download bill text pdf

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 08, 2020	referred to codes
Dec 20, 2019	referred to rules

2019-S6920 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Codes
Law Section:: Penal Law
Laws Affected:: Add §§190.90 & 190.95, Pen L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2021-2022: S388
2025-2026: S7627

2019-S6920 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Establishes the crimes of spoofing a police agency telephone number in the first and second degrees as a class E felony and a class A misdemeanor.

2019-S6920 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S6920

SPONSOR: KAPLAN
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the penal law, in relation to establishing the crimes of
spoofing a police agency telephone number in the first and second
degrees

 
PURPOSE:

This legislation creates the crime of spoofing a police agency in the
second degree a Class A misdemeanor, as well as the crime of spoofing a
police agency in the first degree a class E Felony.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: Section 1 creates the crime of spoofing a
police agency in the second degree when a person with intent to defraud
another person, or to harass, annoy, threaten, or alarm another person
places a telephone call whereby the ID displays a phone number of a
police agency or any other political subdivision of this state, a class
A misdemeanor.

Section 2 creates the crime of spoofing a police agency in the first
degree when a person with intent to defraud another person, or to
harass, annoy, threaten, or alarm another person places a telephone call
whereby the ID displays a phone number of a police agency or any other
political subdivision of this state when they had previously been
convicted of spoofing a police agency in the second degree within the
last ten years.

Section 3 is the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

There are many instances where individuals receive annoying and unwanted
calls. However, when these individuals use fr audulent spoofed telephone
numbers representing police, district attorneys, or other political
subdivisions the danger is increased.  There is a certain belief that
when someone receives a call from a number they believe to be the police
there is a level of trust and respect, making the copying of these
numbers even more dangerous and warranting being made illegal. We must
work to ensure that communication from the police is not fabricated, or
used to defraud the public. This legislation seeks to protect the commu-
nication abilities of the police, and ensuring individuals are not
harassed or taken advantage of.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

None.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day.

2019-S6920 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6920
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             December 20, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  KAPLAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
 
 AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to establishing the crimes of
   spoofing a police agency telephone number  in  the  first  and  second
   degrees

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 190.90  to
 read as follows:
 § 190.90 SPOOFING A POLICE AGENCY TELEPHONE NUMBER IN THE SECOND DEGREE.
   A PERSON IS GUILTY OF SPOOFING A POLICE AGENCY TELEPHONE NUMBER IN THE
 SECOND  DEGREE WHEN, WITH INTENT TO DEFRAUD ANOTHER PERSON OR TO HARASS,
 ANNOY, THREATEN, OR ALARM ANOTHER PERSON, HE OR SHE PLACES  A  TELEPHONE
 CALL  WHEREBY THE ID DISPLAY OF THE PERSON RECEIVING THE CALL DISPLAYS A
 PHONE NUMBER OF A POLICE AGENCY OF THIS STATE OR ANY POLITICAL  SUBDIVI-
 SION OF THIS STATE OR DISPLAYS ANY OTHER INFORMATION THAT WOULD INDICATE
 THAT  SUCH PHONE CALL WAS PLACED BY A POLICE AGENCY OF THIS STATE OR ANY
 POLITICAL SUBDIVISION OF THIS STATE.
   SPOOFING A POLICE AGENCY TELEPHONE NUMBER IN THE SECOND  DEGREE  IS  A
 CLASS A MISDEMEANOR.
   §  2.  The penal law is amended by adding a new section 190.95 to read
 as follows:
 § 190.95 SPOOFING A POLICE AGENCY TELEPHONE NUMBER IN THE FIRST DEGREE.
   A PERSON IS GUILTY OF SPOOFING A POLICE AGENCY TELEPHONE NUMBER IN THE
 FIRST DEGREE WHEN HE OR SHE COMMITS THE CRIME OF SPOOFING A POLICE AGEN-
 CY TELEPHONE NUMBER IN THE SECOND DEGREE AND HE OR SHE HAS  BEEN  PREVI-
 OUSLY  CONVICTED  WITHIN  THE LAST TEN YEARS OF SPOOFING A POLICE AGENCY
 TELEPHONE NUMBER IN THE SECOND DEGREE OR SPOOFING A POLICE AGENCY  TELE-
 PHONE NUMBER IN THE FIRST DEGREE.
   SPOOFING  A  POLICE  AGENCY  TELEPHONE NUMBER IN THE FIRST DEGREE IS A
 CLASS E FELONY.
   § 3. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth  day  after  it  shall
 have become a law.

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD14333-04-9

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