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- Referred to codes
- Referred to codes
Full text
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Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the penal law, in relation to payment of restitution to a municipality
Purpose
This bill would require defendants to pay restitution upon a conviction of vandalism or arson upon a municipality.
Summary of provisions
Section 1 of this bill amends subdivision 10 of § 60.27 of the Penal Law by making restitution mandatory for a defendant who commits any of the enumerated offenses against a municipality. Municipality is defined as a state, county, city, town, village, school district, library district, fire district, water or sewer district or any other political subdivision within the territorial limits of the State of New York.
Justification
Crimes against property are becoming more and more common place. Myriad instances of vandalism fill the newspapers. When these crimes are committed against public property, the taxpayer bears the financial burden. This year alone, recent Long Island examples include: two Plain-view men setting a high school dugout and school flagpole on fire, the vandalism of more than 30 school buses in Dix Hills at the cost of over $10,000, and racial epithets painted on the doors of Islip High School. Current law allows for restitution at the discretion of the sentencing court. This legislation would make restitution mandatory whenever the victim of these specifically enumerated crimes is a public entity. This strikes an appropriate balance between the discretion of the current statute and the need to protect taxpayer property.
Legislative history
2005-06: Passed Senate/Referred to Assembly Codes Cmte. 2007-08: Passed Senate/Assembly Codes Cmte.
Fiscal implications
None.
Local fiscal implications
This bill may have a positive fiscal impact because for every sentence of restitution there is a surcharge for the local court.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.