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Who cares
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Sponsors
2 Co-sponsors
History
- Referred to codes
- Referred to codes
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to fingerprinting persons arrested for or charged with violations of certain local laws governing food and general vending
Purpose
To provide for the fingerprinting of persons arrested for or charged with violations of local laws governing food and general vending.
Summary of provisions
This proposal would amend subdivision 1 of section 160.10 of the Criminal Procedure Law ("C.P.L.") to authorize police officers and other appropriate officials to take the fingerprints of individuals arrested for or charged with a violation of sections 17-307, 17-315,20-453 or 20-465 of the Administrative Code of the City of New York.
Existing law
Section 160.10 of the Criminal Procedure Law
Justification
In New York City - particularly in certain neighborhoods, unlicensed food and general vendors overwhelm the streets and sidewalks, causing both pedestrian and vehicular traffic congestion. These vendors unfairly compete with local merchants, as well as with properly licensed vendors, all of whom are adversely affected by their presence. Despite the size of the problem, however; police, prosecutors and the courts are unable to manage the problem without the authority to fingerprint. Courts have held that fingerprints may only be taken with explicit statutory authority (see, g, People v. O'Rourke, 83 Misc.2d 51 (N.Y. City Criminal Court 1975)).
This lack of authority to fingerprint those who violate the vending laws has been particularly troublesome in several ways: for example, it has been the experience of the New York City Police Department that many illegal vendors repeatedly break the law, rarely appear before the court when released on desk appearance tickets, and frequently present false identification when arrested. In those cases in which they do make an appearance, the court has no way of knowing the number of times such vendors may have been charged with the same offense in the past, and might only impose a nominal fine.
The problem is slightly different with respect to licensed vendors who disobey time, place and manner restrictions: they are definitively identified but they pay the nominal fine that may be imposed as a sentence and they consider it a cost of doing business. They then return to the same illegal location or erect the same illegal vending display. For licensed and unlicensed vendors, the City's alternative remedy is to issue a notice of violation, a civil enforcement process involving a summons returnable to the Environmental Control Board, which can result in the imposition of substantial civil penalties. Even in this forum, unlicensed violators rarely appear and are frequently judgment proof. Licensed violators, too, may avoid the penalties arising from adjudication in view of the difficulty of collecting fines and recovering suspended or revoked licenses until expiration.
It is important to note that this bill should not be construed to apply beyond street vending.
Legislative history
New Bill.
Fiscal implications
None.
Local fiscal implications
To be determined.
Effective date
Ninety days after it shall have become a law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.