Skip to content
S3882Senate2017-2018 SessionSame asA10564

Punish Fake Utility Workers

Official title

“Relates to the criminal impersonation of an employee of a public utility company or corporation”

Sponsor Diane J. SavinoSD-23+3 co-sponsorsAffects Legal
Status
In Assembly Committee
Codes
Impact
4/10
Low
Passage
0%

Bill progress

Step 5 of 7

In Assembly · Codes

What's happening

This bill makes it a crime to impersonate a public utility employee to unlawfully enter or remain on someone's property.

Why it matters

  1. Enhances public safety by targeting a common tactic used in burglaries and scams. impersonating utility workers is a frequent method criminals use to gain access to homes, so this law specifically criminalizes that behavior.

  2. Provides clear legal grounds for prosecution. by directly including utility employee impersonation in the criminal impersonation statute, law enforcement and prosecutors have an explicit tool to charge offenders, potentially leading to more effective deterrence and convictions.

  3. Protects vulnerable populations. elderly and other at-risk individuals are often targeted by imposters claiming to be from utility companies; this law aims to reduce these incidents by raising the legal consequences for offenders.

  4. Clarifies and updates the law to address modern scams. as criminals adapt their methods, this amendment ensures that the law keeps pace with new forms of deception related to utility services, helping to close loopholes in legal protections.

The daily · weekday mornings

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

Punish Fake Utility Workers

Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.

Sponsors

Primary sponsor
Diane J. Savino

Senator · Senate District 23

History

  1. Referred to codes
  2. Delivered to assembly
  3. Passed senateVote 61–0
  4. Advanced to third reading
  5. 2nd report cal.
  6. 1st report cal.827
  7. Referred to codes
  8. Returned to senate
  9. Died in assembly
  10. Referred to codes
  11. Delivered to assembly
  12. Passed senateVote 59–0
Show 4 earlier actions
  1. Advanced to third reading
  2. 2nd report cal.
  3. 1st report cal.169
  4. Referred to codes

Companion bill

The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.

A10564Assembly

Ban Utility Worker Impersonation

In Assembly Committee · Codes · Sponsor Ron Kim

Impact 4 · Low0% to pass

Full text

1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗

STATE OF NEW YORK

3882

2017-2018 Regular Sessions

IN SENATE

January 27, 2017

Introduced by Sen. SAVINO -- 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 criminal impersonation of an employee of a public utility company or corporation

The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:

Section 1. Subdivision 3 of section 190.26 of the penal law, as added by chapter 2 of the laws of 1998, is amended and a new subdivision 4 is added to read as follows:

3. Pretending to be a duly licensed physician or other person authorized to issue a prescription for any drug or any instrument or device used in the taking or administering of drugs for which a prescription is required by law, communicates to a pharmacist an oral prescription which is required to be reduced to writing pursuant to section thirty-three hundred thirty-two of the public health law[.]; or

4. Pretends to be an employee of a public utility company or a public utility corporation as defined in section two of the public service law for the purpose of knowingly entering or remaining unlawfully in or upon a premises.

§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

[ ] is old law to be omitted.

LBD01640-01-7

Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.

Sponsor's memo

Title of bill

An act to amend the penal law, in relation to criminal impersonation of an employee of a public utility company or corporation

Purpose or general idea of bill

The purpose of this bill is to make impersonation of a public utility employee for the purpose of gaining access to a residence a class E felony.

Summary of specific provisions

Section 1 would make it a class E felony to pretend to be an employee of a public utility company or a public utility corporation for the purpose of knowingly entering or remaining unlawfully in or upon premises.

Justification

There have been an increasing number of cases of individuals pretending to be public utility workers in order to gain access to homes and commit crimes. This would make such impersonation a class E felony punishable by up to four years in prison with a minimum of one year.

Prior legislative history

2016 - passed Senate (59-1); died in Assembly Codes.

Fiscal implications for state and local governments

None.

Effective date

Immediately.

Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.