Relates to creating the crime of criminal destruction in the first and second degrees

BILL NUMBER:S2458

Title of bill

An act to amend the penal law, in relation to criminal destruction

Purpose

To specify that willful and knowing destruction of an experimental research crop is criminal destruction.

Summary of provisions

Amends the Penal Law by adding two new sections on criminal destruction. A person is guilty of criminal destruction in the second degree when he or she willfully and knowingly damages or destroys any field crop product that is grown for personal or commercial purposes, or for testing or research purposes in the context of a product development program in conjunction or coordination with a private research facility or a university or any federal, state, or local government agency. If the value of such field crop product is greater than ten thousand dollars based on the market value of the crop prior to the damage or destruction, and production, research, testing, replacement, and crop development costs directly related to the crop that has been damaged or destroyed as part of the value of the crop, then such person is guilty of criminal destruction in the first degree. Criminal destruction in the second degree is a class E felony and in the first degree is a class D felony.

Justification

Over the past two to three years there has been a serious rise in domestic terrorism by groups who vandalize or destroy property for a "political cause". The attacks of these extremists are especially alarming to agricultural and higher education communities. Agricultural research takes significant investment and the destruction of a research crop may cause for more serious damage than is reflected by the market value of the crop in the field. For example, a graduate student's three year doctoral project was destroyed in an attack at UC-Davis that appeared to be indiscriminate, with 85% of the damaged crops being crops that were traditionally bred. Similarly, in July of 2000 vandals chopped down acres of corn at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory destroying two years of genetic experiments that were the result of natural plant breeding, not genetic modification. These acts of destruction are criminal acts, regardless of their supposed political purpose. The penal law should recognize the seriousness of these acts, and needs a specific mechanism to calculate the value to the researcher of these field crops. This legislation provides that mechanism.

Legislative history

S.996 of 2009-2010 S.1556 of 2007-2008 S.1486 of 2005-2006 S.884 of 2003-2004 S.4756 of 2001-2002

Fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

First day of November next succeeding enactment.