What's happening
This bill prohibits the unauthorized sale of law enforcement badges and identification, imposing a civil penalty for violations.
Why it matters
Addresses public safety concerns. by making it harder for individuals to impersonate law enforcement officers, which has been linked to scams, unauthorized stops, and other crimes.
Closes a potential loophole. in current law by including not just actual badges and IDs, but also facsimiles (realistic replicas) of law enforcement identification, making it more difficult to obtain convincing fake credentials.
Establishes clear accountability. with a specified civil penalty ($250 per violation), giving law enforcement and the courts a tangible means to deter and address violations outside of criminal prosecution.
Allows for legitimate uses. by permitting authorized sales under rules or regulations set by law enforcement agencies, ensuring that legitimate collectors, suppliers, or retired officers can still obtain items with proper oversight.
Albany, before your first meeting.
Every bill that moved yesterday, summarized in a sentence and ranked by impact. The Albany Scorecard follows on Sundays.
Free. Unsubscribe in one click. Want alerts on specific bills? Create an account.
Who cares
Headline styles
Ban Fake Police IDs
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to economic development
- Referred to economic development
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
3592
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 27, 2017
Introduced by M. of A. PRETLOW -- read once and referred to the Committee on Economic Development
AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to the unlawful sale of law enforcement identification
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new section 139 to read as follows:
§ 139. Unlawful sale of law enforcement insignia. No person shall sell any badge, shield, identification card or other insignia of any police department or law enforcement agency of any county, city, town, village, commission or authority of this state, or a facsimile of any such badge, shield, identification card or insignia except as authorized by rule or regulation adopted by such police department or law enforcement agency. A violation of the provisions of this section shall be punishable by a civil penalty of not more than two hundred fifty dollars for each violation.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08691-01-7
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.