Establishes the crime of unlawful tampering of the milk supply in the first degree

BILL NUMBER:S4159

Title of bill

An act to amend the penal law, in relation to establishing the crime of unlawful tampering of the milk supply in the first degree

Purpose or general idea of bill

This bill creates a new crime of unlawful tampering with a milk supply in the first degree (a class D felony up to seven years imprisonment) in situations where a person unlawfully impairs or adulterates a milk supply thereby causing it to be discarded by the dairy farmer. In addition, this bill seeks to hold the perpetrator liable for the market value of the damaged milk supply when the dairy farmer is forced to discard the tainted milk.

Justification

A recent surge in the number of apparent milk tampering cases in Western New York's agricultural community has brought about the specter of food supply terrorism to the heart of our dairy industry. Because the dairy industry is the single largest sector of New York State's vast and diverse agricultural industry, accounting for over 49 percent of the State's farm cash receipts and worth over $1.54 billion annually, this threat cannot be taken lightly. This bill seeks to protect New York's milk supply from criminals who purposefully taint such supply by holding them liable for the crime, imposing tough penalties, and requiring such criminals to account for the damage they caused to the dairy farmer whose often sole source of income has been destroyed.

Prior legislative history

Senate:

This is a New Bill.

Assembly:

2014: Referred to Codes, A.6607

Fiscal implications

None

Effective date

This act shall take effect 1st of November.