NY State Senate Bill 2023-S537

Senate Bill S537

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Relates to falsely reporting an incident and falsifying business records by law enforcement officers

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Current 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 03, 2024	referred to codes
Jan 04, 2023	referred to codes

co-Sponsors

2023-S537 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Codes
Law Section:: Penal Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§240.60 & 175.10, Pen L
Versions Introduced in 2021-2022 Legislative Session:: S6218

2023-S537 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Provides that false reporting and falsifying business records by law enforcement officers shall be felonies.

2023-S537 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S537

SPONSOR: THOMAS
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the penal law, in relation to falsely reporting an inci-
dent and falsifying business records by law enforcement officers

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To increase penalties for police officers who falsely report an incident
or falsify business records from a misdemeanor to a felony.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one of the bill amends section 240.60 of the penal law to state
that when a police officer commits the crime of falsely reporting an
incident in the third degree, knowing that the information reported is
false or baseless, then it is a class D felony.

Section two of the bill amends section 175.10 of the penal law to state
that when a police officer commits the crime of falsifying business

records in the second degree then it is a class E felony.

Section three is the effective date.   
JUSTIFICATION:

It is crucial that police reports honestly and accurately describe
events. Police reports are often key documents and evidence relied on by
prosecutors, juries and judges. Police officers lie in police reports
because the claims, if true, would give justification to a stop, arrest,
or seizure.

When a police officer lies, provides false police reports, omits facts
from police reports or submits inaccurate information or evidence that
is police misconduct and increases the likelihood that innocent people
are wrongly prosecuted, convicted or jailed. As more police encounters
are recorded, by witnesses or body cameras worn by the officers, false
reporting is being exposed in cases where the officer's statement might
otherwise be accepted as truth.

Under existing penal law, falsifying a business record and falsely
reporting an incident are misdemeanors. This bill increases penalties
for police officers who commit these crimes from a misdemeanor to a
felony.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2021-22: S.6218 (Thomas) - Referred to Codes.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATION:s:

None to the state.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2023-S537 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    537
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              January 4, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  THOMAS, COMRIE -- read twice and ordered printed,
   and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes
 
 AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to falsely reporting an inci-
   dent and falsifying business records by law enforcement officers
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1. Section 240.60 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 528
 of the laws of 1995, subdivision 5 as added by chapter 561 of  the  laws
 of  1999,  subdivision 6 and the closing paragraph as amended by chapter
 301 of the laws of 2001, is amended to read as follows:
 § 240.60 Falsely reporting an incident in the first degree.
   A person is guilty of falsely  reporting  an  incident  in  the  first
 degree when he OR SHE:
   1.  commits  the  crime of falsely reporting an incident in the second
 degree as defined in section 240.55 of this article, and has  previously
 been convicted of that crime; or
   2.  commits  the  crime  of falsely reporting an incident in the third
 degree as defined in subdivisions one and two of section 240.50 of  this
 article or falsely reporting an incident in the second degree as defined
 in subdivisions one and two of section 240.55 of this article and anoth-
 er person who is an employee or member of any official or quasi-official
 agency  having the function of dealing with emergencies involving danger
 to life or property; or who is  a  volunteer  firefighter  with  a  fire
 department,  fire  company, or any unit thereof as defined in the volun-
 teer firefighters' benefit law; or who is a volunteer  ambulance  worker
 with a volunteer ambulance corporation or any unit thereof as defined in
 the  volunteer  ambulance  workers' benefit law suffers serious physical
 injury or is killed in the performance of his or her official duties  in
 traveling  to or working at or returning to a firehouse, police station,
 quarters or other base facility from the  location  identified  in  such
 report; or

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD01891-01-3

 S. 537                              2
 
   3.  commits  the  crime  of falsely reporting an incident in the third
 degree as defined in subdivisions one and two of section 240.50 of  this
 article or falsely reporting an incident in the second degree as defined
 in subdivisions one and two of section 240.55 of this article and anoth-
 er  person  suffers  serious physical injury or is killed as a result of
 any vehicular or other accident involving any emergency vehicle which is
 responding to, operating at, or returning from the  location  identified
 in such report.  [4.] An emergency vehicle as referred to in THIS subdi-
 vision [three of this section] shall include any vehicle operated by any
 employee  or  member of any official or quasi-official agency having the
 function of dealing with emergencies involving danger to life or proper-
 ty and shall include, but not necessarily be limited  to,  an  emergency
 vehicle which is operated by a volunteer firefighter with a fire depart-
 ment,  fire  company,  or  any  unit thereof as defined in the volunteer
 firefighters' benefit law; or by a volunteer  ambulance  worker  with  a
 volunteer  ambulance  corporation, or any unit thereof as defined in the
 volunteer ambulance workers' benefit law[.]; OR
   [5.] 4. 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  upon
 school  grounds  and  it  is  likely  that  persons  are present on said
 grounds[.]; OR
   [6.] 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 impending occurrence of  a
 fire,  explosion  or  the  release of a hazardous substance in or upon a
 sports stadium or arena, mass transportation facility, enclosed shopping
 mall, any public building or any public place, and  it  is  likely  that
 persons are present. For purposes of this subdivision, the terms "sports
 stadium  or  arena,  mass  transportation  facility or enclosed shopping
 mall" shall have their natural meaning and the  term  "public  building"
 shall  have  the  meaning  set  forth in section four hundred one of the
 executive law[.]; OR
   6. BEING A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER, HE OR SHE  COMMITS  THE  CRIME  OF
 FALSELY REPORTING AN INCIDENT IN THE THIRD DEGREE AS DEFINED IN SUBDIVI-
 SIONS  ONE AND TWO OF SECTION 240.50 OF THIS ARTICLE, KNOWING THE INFOR-
 MATION REPORTED TO BE FALSE OR BASELESS.
   Falsely reporting an incident in the first degree is a class D felony.
   § 2. Section 175.10 of the penal law is amended to read as follows:
 § 175.10 Falsifying business records in the first degree.
   A person is guilty of falsifying business records in the first  degree
 when:
   1.  he  OR SHE commits the crime of falsifying business records in the
 second degree, and when his OR HER intent to defraud includes an  intent
 to commit another crime or to aid or conceal the commission thereof; OR
   2.  BEING  A  LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL, HE OR SHE COMMITS THE CRIME OF
 FALSIFYING BUSINESS RECORDS IN THE SECOND DEGREE.
   Falsifying business records in the first degree is a class E felony.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

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Senate Bill S537

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Sponsored By

Kevin Thomas