What's happening
This bill amends the penal law to prohibit criminal prosecution for misapplication of property under certain rental-purchase agreements.
Why it matters
Excludes rental-purchase agreements from criminal prosecution. The bill specifically removes property subject to rental-purchase agreements (like rent-to-own contracts for furniture or electronics) from the crime of "misapplication of property," meaning failure to return such property cannot be prosecuted criminally under this section.
Shifts disputes to civil court. By barring criminal charges for non-return under rental-purchase agreements, the bill forces owners and companies to pursue civil remedies (like lawsuits or repossession), rather than involving the criminal justice system.
Protects consumers from criminal penalties. Individuals who fail to return or complete payments on rental-purchase items (often lower-income consumers) would no longer face the risk of arrest, fines, or jail time—reducing the criminalization of consumer debt.
Clarifies legal definitions and limits. The bill tightens the definition of what counts as "personal property" and "rental agreement" for criminal charges, and clearly distinguishes rental-purchase agreements from other types of rental contracts, which could reduce confusion in enforcement and prosecution.
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
Rent-to-own consumers
The bill would exempt property covered by qualifying rental-purchase agreements from the misapplication-of-property statute.
Rental-purchase businesses
The bill would remove misapplication-of-property prosecution as an option for recovering merchandise covered by those agreements.
District attorneys and criminal defense lawyers
The bill would exclude agreements for personal, family or household merchandise with an initial term of four months or less, renewable with each subsequent payment and allowing the consumer to become the owner.
Headline styles
Raise Property Value Threshold
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Enacting clause stricken
- Referred to codes
- Referred to codes
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
2254
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 22, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. GANTT -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to prohibiting criminal prosecution under certain rental-purchase agreements
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 165.00 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 372 of the laws of 1995, is amended to read as follows: § 165.00 Misapplication of property.
1. A person is guilty of misapplication of property when, knowingly possessing personal property of another pursuant to an agreement that the same will be returned to the owner at a future time,
(a) he or she loans, leases, pledges, pawns or otherwise encumbers such property without the consent of the owner thereof in such manner as to create a risk that the owner will not be able to recover it or will suffer pecuniary loss; or
(b) he or she intentionally refuses to return personal property valued in excess of one hundred dollars to the owner pursuant to the terms of the rental agreement provided that the owner shall have made a written demand for the return of such personal property in person or by certified mail at an address indicated in the rental agreement and he or she intentionally refuses to return such personal property for a period of thirty days after such demand has been received or should reasonably have been received by him or her. Such written demand shall state: (i) the date and time at which the personal property was to have been returned under the rental agreement; (ii) that the owner does not consent to the continued withholding or retaining of such personal property and demands its return; and (iii) that the continued withholding or retaining of the property may constitute a class A misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to one thousand dollars or by a sentence to a term
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00449-01-9
A. 2254 2
of imprisonment for a period of up to one year or by both such fine and imprisonment.
(c) as used in paragraph (b) of this subdivision and in subdivision three of this section, the terms owner, personal property, and rental agreement shall be defined as [in subdivision one of section three hundred ninety-nine-w of the general business law.] follows:
(i) "owner" shall include any person, partnership, firm, association, or corporation engaged in the business of renting personal property for profit;
(ii) "personal property" shall include but not be limited to tangible chattels used for personal, household, or business purposes but shall not include motor vehicles; and
(iii) "rental agreement" shall mean the total legal obligation that results from a written rental contract between a person and the owner for the rental of personal property.
2. In any prosecution under paragraph (a) of subdivision one of this section, it is a defense that, at the time the prosecution was commenced, (a) the defendant had recovered possession of the property, unencumbered as a result of the unlawful disposition, and (b) the owner had suffered no material economic loss as a result of the unlawful disposition.
3. In any prosecution under paragraph (b) of subdivision one of this section, it is a defense that at the time the prosecution was commenced, (a) the owner had recovered possession of the personal property and suffered no material economic loss as a result of the unlawful retention; or (b) the defendant is unable to return such personal property because it has been accidentally destroyed or stolen; or (c) the owner failed to comply with the provisions of section three hundred ninety-nine-w of the general business law as added by chapter three hundred seventy-two of the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-five.
4. This section shall not apply to property subject to a rental-purchase agreement. A "rental-purchase agreement" means an agreement for the use of merchandise by a consumer for personal, family, or household purposes, for an initial period of four months or less, that is renewable with each payment after the initial period and that permits the lessee to become the owner of the property.
Misapplication of property is a class A misdemeanor.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
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.