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Assembly Bill A5476

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Relates to the unlawful wearing of a body vest

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Assembly Committee

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2023-A5476 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:
Assembly Codes
Law Section:
Penal Law
Laws Affected:
Amd §§270.20 & 70.25, Pen L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:
2015-2016: A8380
2017-2018: A4243, A10894
2019-2020: A6388
2021-2022: A4739
2025-2026: A3316

2023-A5476 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Makes it unlawful to wear a body vest while committing any crime while possessing a deadly weapon.

2023-A5476 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf 

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5476
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                              March 10, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by M. of A. SMITH -- read once and referred to the Committee
   on Codes
 
 AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to the unlawful wearing of  a
   body vest
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section 1. Subdivision 1 of  section  270.20  of  the  penal  law,  as
 amended  by  chapter  371  of  the  laws  of 2022, is amended to read as
 follows:
 § 270.20 Unlawful wearing of body armor.
   1. A person is guilty of the  unlawful  wearing  of  body  armor  when
 acting  either alone or with one or more other persons he OR SHE commits
 any [violent felony offense defined in  section  70.02]  MISDEMEANOR  OR
 FELONY  DEFINED  IN  THIS  CHAPTER while possessing a [firearm, rifle or
 shotgun] DEADLY WEAPON DEFINED IN SECTION 10.00 OF THIS CHAPTER  and  in
 the  course  of  and  in  furtherance of such crime he or she wears body
 armor.
   2. For the purposes of this section "body  armor"  means  any  product
 that  is a personal protective body covering intended to protect against
 gunfire, regardless of whether such product is to be worn  alone  or  is
 sold as a complement to another product or garment.
   The unlawful wearing of body armor is a class E felony.
   §  2. Section 70.25 of the penal law is amended by adding a new subdi-
 vision 2-h to read as follows:
   2-H. WHENEVER A PERSON IS CONVICTED OF UNLAWFUL WEARING OF A BODY VEST
 AS DEFINED IN SECTION 270.20 OF THIS CHAPTER, THE  SENTENCE  IMPOSED  BY
 THE  COURT  FOR  SUCH  OFFENSE  SHALL  RUN CONSECUTIVELY TO ANY SENTENCE
 IMPOSED UPON CONVICTION OF A MISDEMEANOR OR FELONY  OFFENSE  DEFINED  IN
 THIS CHAPTER ARISING FROM THE SAME CRIMINAL TRANSACTION.
   §  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.
                                                            LBD01033-01-3

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