 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          7338
 
                    IN SENATE
 
                                     January 8, 2018
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  Sen.  GOLDEN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes
 
        AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to falsely reporting an inci-
          dent
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section  1.  Subdivisions  2 and 3 of section 240.55 of the penal law,
     2  subdivision 2 as amended by chapter 561 of the laws 1999,  and  subdivi-
     3  sion  3 as added by chapter 301 of the laws of 2001 and as renumbered by
     4  chapter 302 of the laws of 2001, are amended and a new subdivision 4  is
     5  added to read as follows:
     6    2. Reports, by word or action, to any official or quasi-official agen-
     7  cy  or  organization  having  the  function  of dealing with emergencies
     8  involving danger to life or property, an alleged occurrence or impending
     9  occurrence of a fire, explosion, or the release of a hazardous substance
    10  which did not in fact occur or does not in fact exist; [or]
    11    3. Knowing the information reported,  conveyed  or  circulated  to  be
    12  false  or  baseless and under circumstances in which it is likely public
    13  alarm or inconvenience will result, he or she initiates or circulates  a
    14  report or warning of an alleged occurrence or an impending occurrence of
    15  a  fire,  an explosion, or the release of a hazardous substance upon any
    16  private premises[.]; or
    17    4. Commits the crime of falsely reporting an  incident  in  the  third
    18  degree  as  defined  in  subdivisions two and three of section 240.50 of
    19  this article and another person suffers physical injury as a  result  of
    20  the  action  undertaken  by  an  employee  or  member of any official or
    21  quasi-official agency or organization having  the  function  of  dealing
    22  with  emergencies  involving  danger  to  life  or property; or who is a
    23  volunteer firefighter with a fire department, fire company, or any  unit
    24  thereof as defined in the volunteer firefighters' benefit law; or who is
    25  a  volunteer  ambulance worker with a volunteer ambulance corporation or
    26  any unit thereof as defined in the volunteer ambulance workers'  benefit
    27  law in response to such false report.
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD14080-02-8

        S. 7338                             2
 
     1    § 2. Section 240.60 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 528 of the
     2  laws  of 1995, subdivision 5 as added by chapter 561 of the laws of 1999
     3  and subdivision 6 and the closing paragraph as amended by chapter 301 of
     4  the laws of 2001, is amended to read as follows:
     5  § 240.60 Falsely reporting an incident in the first degree.
     6    A  person  is  guilty  of  falsely  reporting an incident in the first
     7  degree when he or she:
     8    1. commits the crime of falsely reporting an incident  in  the  second
     9  degree  as defined in section 240.55 of this article, and has previously
    10  been convicted of that crime; or
    11    2. commits the crime of falsely reporting an  incident  in  the  third
    12  degree  as defined in subdivisions one and two of section 240.50 of this
    13  article or falsely reporting an incident in the second degree as defined
    14  in subdivisions one and two of section 240.55 of this article and anoth-
    15  er person who is an employee or member of any official or quasi-official
    16  agency having the function of dealing with emergencies involving  danger
    17  to  life  or  property;  or  who  is a volunteer firefighter with a fire
    18  department, fire company, or any unit thereof as defined in  the  volun-
    19  teer  firefighters'  benefit law; or who is a volunteer ambulance worker
    20  with a volunteer ambulance corporation or any unit thereof as defined in
    21  the volunteer ambulance workers' benefit law  suffers  serious  physical
    22  injury  or is killed in the performance of his or her official duties in
    23  traveling to or working at or returning to a firehouse, police  station,
    24  quarters  or  other  base  facility from the location identified in such
    25  report; or
    26    3. commits the crime of falsely reporting an  incident  in  the  third
    27  degree  as defined in subdivisions one and two of section 240.50 of this
    28  article or falsely reporting an incident in the second degree as defined
    29  in subdivisions one and two of section 240.55 of this article and anoth-
    30  er person suffers serious physical injury or is killed as  a  result  of
    31  any vehicular or other accident involving any emergency vehicle which is
    32  responding  to,  operating at, or returning from the location identified
    33  in such report.
    34    [4.] An emergency vehicle as referred to in this subdivision [three of
    35  this section] shall include any vehicle  operated  by  any  employee  or
    36  member  of  any official or quasi-official agency having the function of
    37  dealing with emergencies involving danger to life or property and  shall
    38  include,  but  not necessarily be limited to, an emergency vehicle which
    39  is operated by a volunteer firefighter  with  a  fire  department,  fire
    40  company,  or  any unit thereof as defined in the volunteer firefighters'
    41  benefit law; or by a volunteer ambulance worker with a  volunteer  ambu-
    42  lance corporation, or any unit thereof as defined in the volunteer ambu-
    43  lance workers' benefit law[.]; or
    44    4.  commits  the  crime  of falsely reporting an incident in the third
    45  degree as defined in subdivisions two and three  of  section  240.50  of
    46  this article and another person suffers serious physical injury or death
    47  as  a  result  of  the action undertaken by an employee or member of any
    48  official or quasi-official agency or organization having the function of
    49  dealing with emergencies involving danger to life or property; or who is
    50  a volunteer firefighter with a fire department,  fire  company,  or  any
    51  unit  thereof  as defined in the volunteer firefighters' benefit law; or
    52  who is a volunteer ambulance worker with a  volunteer  ambulance  corpo-
    53  ration  or  any unit thereof as defined in the volunteer ambulance work-
    54  ers' benefit law in response to such false report; or
    55    5. [Knowing] knowing the information reported, conveyed or  circulated
    56  to  be  false  or baseless and under circumstances in which it is likely

        S. 7338                             3
 
     1  public alarm or inconvenience will result,  [he  or  she]  initiates  or
     2  circulates  a report or warning of an alleged occurrence or an impending
     3  occurrence of a fire, an  explosion,  or  the  release  of  a  hazardous
     4  substance  upon school grounds and it is likely that persons are present
     5  on said grounds[.]; or
     6    6. [Knowing] knowing the information reported, conveyed or  circulated
     7  to  be  false  or baseless and under circumstances in which it is likely
     8  public alarm or inconvenience will result,  [he  or  she]  initiates  or
     9  circulates  a  report  or  warning of an alleged occurrence or impending
    10  occurrence of a fire, explosion or the release of a hazardous  substance
    11  in  or  upon  a  sports  stadium or arena, mass transportation facility,
    12  enclosed shopping mall, any public building or any public place, and  it
    13  is  likely  that  persons are present. For purposes of this subdivision,
    14  the terms "sports stadium or  arena,  mass  transportation  facility  or
    15  enclosed  shopping  mall"  shall have their natural meaning and the term
    16  "public building" shall have the  meaning  set  forth  in  section  four
    17  hundred one of the executive law.
    18    Falsely reporting an incident in the first degree is a class D felony.
    19    § 3. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed-
    20  ing the date on which it shall have become a law.
Relates to falsely reporting an incident

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