S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
6763
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
May 8, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. JONES -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Codes
AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to the crimes of falsely
reporting an incident 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. Subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 240.55 of the penal law, as
amended by chapter 561 of the laws of 1999, are amended to read as
follows:
1. Initiates or circulates a false report or warning of an alleged
occurrence or impending occurrence of a fire, explosion, [or] the
release of a hazardous substance, OR THE USE OF A DEADLY WEAPON OR
DANGEROUS INSTRUMENT under circumstances in which it is not unlikely
that public alarm or inconvenience will result;
2. Reports, by word or action, to any official or quasi-official agen-
cy or organization having the function of dealing with emergencies
involving danger to life or property, an alleged occurrence or impending
occurrence of a fire, explosion, [or] the release of a hazardous
substance, OR THE USE OF A DEADLY WEAPON OR DANGEROUS INSTRUMENT which
did not in fact occur or does not in fact exist; or
§ 2. Subdivision 5 of section 240.60 of the penal law, as added by
chapter 561 of the laws of 1999, is amended to read as follows:
5. Knowing the information reported, conveyed or circulated to be
false or baseless and under circumstances in which it is likely public
alarm or inconvenience will result, he or she initiates or circulates a
report or warning of an alleged occurrence or an impending occurrence of
a fire, an explosion, [or] the release of a hazardous substance OR THE
USE OF A DEADLY WEAPON OR DANGEROUS INSTRUMENT upon school grounds and
it is likely that persons are present on said grounds.
§ 3. Severability. If any item, clause, sentence, subparagraph, subdi-
vision, section or other part of this act, or the application thereof to
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10786-01-3
A. 6763 2
any person or circumstances shall be held to be invalid, such holding
shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder of this act, or the
application of such section or part of a section held invalid, to any
other person or circumstances, but shall be confined in its operation
to the item, clause, sentence, subparagraph, subdivision, section or
other part of this act directly involved in such holding, or to the
person and circumstances therein involved.
§ 4. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
have become a law.