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A10125Assembly2009-2010 SessionSame asS6226

Establishes the class E felony of dissemination of false missing child information

Sponsor Matthew TitoneAD-61+16 co-sponsorsAffects Legal
Status
In Assembly Committee
Codes
Impact
Pending
Passage
Pending

Bill progress

Step 2 of 7

In committee · Codes

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History

  1. Referred to codes

Companion bill

The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.

S6226Senate

Establishes the class E felony of dissemination of false missing child information

In Senate Committee · Codes · Sponsor Andrew J. Lanza

Full text

The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.

Sponsor's memo

BILL NUMBER:A10125

Title of bill

An act to amend the penal law, in relation to dissem- ination of false information about a missing child

Purpose

To establish a class E felony of dissemination of false miss- ing child information.

Summary provisions

Section one adds a new section 240.49 to the penal law, dissemination of false missing child information.

Justification

Across the United States there have been numerous false Amber Alerts being sent out via e-mail and text message. These false alerts prompt concerned citizens to contact law enforcement agencies who find out from authorities that such alerts are fake. These false alerts can have negative affect on public awareness and diminish such awareness when an official Amber Alert is issue by authorities. These false alerts, which are spread by electronic means (i.e. e-mail, text message, Facebook, and Twitter), only diminish the effectiveness of a authentic and genuine Amber Alert. Legislation is needed in New York to prevent someone from disseminating false alerts to the public. This bill would make it a class E felony for someone who knowingly and falsely gener- ates, by electronic or any other means, information that would make the public believe that an official alert has bee issued on a child that has been abducted or kidnapped. Currently, all official Amber Alerts are initially broadcasted through the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and if people have questions regarding the validity of an alert they can view them through the United States Justice Department at AmberAlert.gov.

Legislative history

New bill.

Fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

November 1.

Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.