TRIAD Of Rockland County
Reducing Crimes Against Seniors
To contact us: Email us at
info@rocklandcountytriad.org or call us at (845)
638-5582
You Need To Know
PASSED & PENDING NY STATE CRIME LEGISLATION
Below are New York State passed and pending legislation impacting
crimes against the elderly.
We suggest you periodically check this section of our TRIAD
website for any updated information.
PASSED LEGISLATION
The Hate Crimes Act of 2000
was signed into law by then Governor Pataki in the year 2000 and is
now incorporated into the New York State Penal Law as Section
485.05. This act increases penalties for crimes based on targeting
factors such as race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation
and age. The crime victim's
age, as defined in the statute, is
60
and over. When a person is convicted of a hate
crime pursuant to this section of law, and the specified initial
offense is a misdemeanor or a class C, D or E felony, the hate crime
shall be deemed to be one category higher than the specified initial
offense the defendant committed, or one category higher than the
offense level applicable to the defendant’s conviction for an
attempt or conspiracy to commit a specified offense, whichever is
applicable.
“Granny’s Law”.
On March 18, 2008 The
New York State Senate passed a bill to protect the elderly.
It will impose stiffer penalties for physical assaults on the
elderly. Known as "Granny's
Law", it was first introduced as a bill after the brutal
attack on a 101-year-old Queens County, NY woman in 2007. The
original bill was co-sponsored by N.Y. State Senators Martin Golden
and Serphin Maltese. It raises a Class –A- Misdemeanor assault
to a Class –D- Felony (Assault – 2nd Degree) when the
victim is 65 or older, regardless
of whether the defendant knows that. The attacker must be at least
10 years younger. The penalty is up to 7 years in prison.
Governor Paterson signed this bill into law on 05/02/08.
Fraudulent Accosting
(section 165.30 NYS Penal Law).
Under this existing law, a person is guilty of fraudulent accosting
when he/she accosts a person in a public place with intent to
defraud him/her of money or other property by means of a trick,
swindle or confidence game. This crime is defined as a Class A
Misdemeanor.
Three bills have been introduced, that if passed, would modify the
existing Fraudulent Accosting statute, elevating it to a felony
under certain circumstances:
-
On January 3, 2007, NY State Assemblyman Seminerio introduced
Assembly Bill # A00505.
This bill, if passed, would create a new additional section of
Fraudulent Accosting (to be named as Penal Law Section 165.32).
Under this bill, a person would be guilty of a felony if the
intended victim was
age 65 or older. The bill was referred to the
Codes Committee on 1/9/08.
-
On January 16, 2007, NY State Senator Kruger introduced
Senate Bill # S00977.
This bill, if passed, would elevate the existing Fraudulent
Accosting statute to a felony, regardless of the victim’s
age. The bill was referred to the Codes Committee on 1/9/08.
-
On April 19, 2007, NY State Senator Morahan introduced
Senate Bill # S04584.
This bill, if passed, would create a new additional section of
Fraudulent Accosting (to be named as Penal Law Section 165.31).
Under this bill, a person would be guilty of a felony if the
intended victim was
age 75 or older.
The bill was referred to the Codes Committee on 1/9/08.
On January 3, 2007, NY State Assemblyman Bing introduced
Assembly
Bill #A302.
This bill concerns the financial exploitation of the elderly (defined
as age 60 or older) or a disabled person. If passed, it
would amend the existing New York State Penal Larceny statutes PL
155.00; PL 155.05; PL 155.15 and expand the existing laws by adding
the following two new subdivisions (10 & 11):
10.
"ELDERLY" means any person who is 60
years of age or older and is suffering from a disease or
infirmity associated with advanced age and who suffers from a mental
disease, defect or condition which renders him or her incapable of
approving whether to give or withhold consent to taking, obtaining
or withholding of his or her property.
11.
“Person
in a position of trust”
means a person who:
·
is the parent, spouse, adult child or other relative by blood or
affinity of an elderly person, or
·
is a joint tenant or tenant in common with the elderly person, or,
·
has a fiduciary obligation to an elderly person, or
·
receives monetary or other valuable consideration for providing care
for the elderly person, or
·
lives with or provides some component of home care services on a
continuing basis to the elderly person, including, but not limited
to a neighbor or friend who does not provide such services but has
access to the elderly person based on such relationship.
The bill was referred to the Codes Committee on 1/9/08.
On January 3, 2007, similar legislation had been proposed, also
regarding
the financial exploitation of the elderly,
introduced by Assemblyman Clark, under
Assembly Bill # A305.
This bill was referred to the Codes Committee on 1/9/08.
On January 3, 2007, Assemblymen Clark and Ramos have introduced
Assembly Bill # A330.
If passed, establishes the crime of criminal neglect of a
vulnerable elderly person or a person with a disability as a class A
misdemeanor; consists of a caregiver who knowingly acts in a manner
likely to cause the person’s life to be endangered, health to be
injured, or pre-existing physical or mental condition to
deteriorate; or fails to perform acts which he or she knows or
reasonably should know are necessary to maintain or preserve the
life or health of the person and such failure causes said person’s
life to be endangered, health to be injured or condition to
deteriorate; or knowingly abandons said person; provides for a
defense and for preservation of other remedies.
This bill was referred to the Codes Committee on 1/9/08.
On February 12, 2007, Assemblyman Raia introduced
Assembly Bill # A5027.
If passed,
defines the felonies of victimizing the elderly or physically
disabled in the 3rd degree, 2nd degree and 1st degree and provides
that a sentence of imprisonment must be imposed upon conviction of
certain offenses against the elderly or physically disabled;
provides that a juvenile offender shall include a person 14 or 15
years old who is criminally responsible for victimizing the elderly
or physically disabled; includes within the category, "eligible
youth" or youthful offender treatment, one who has been convicted of
victimizing the elderly or the physically disabled in the 1st
degree; restrictive placement may be ordered for victimizing the
elderly or the physically disabled in the 1st or 2nd degree;
provides certain plea restrictions and sentencing structure for
persons convicted of such crimes.
This bill was referred to the Codes Committee on 1/9/08.
On April 28, 2008, State Senator Flanagan introduced
Senate Bill # S07942.
If passed, establishes criminal penalties for defrauding a
vulnerable elderly person as defined in subdivision three of section
260.30 of the penal law.
This proposed legislation would amend the existing Penal Law Section
190.65, making it a Class E felony, to wit:
A person is guilty of a scheme to defraud in the first degree
when he or she:
(a) engages in a scheme constituting a systematic ongoing course of
conduct with intent to defraud ten or more persons or to obtain
property from ten or more persons by false or fraudulent pretenses,
representations or promises, and so obtains property from one or
more of such persons; or
(b) engages in a scheme constituting a systematic ongoing
course of conduct with intent to
defraud more
than one person
or to obtain property from more than one person by false or
fraudulent pretenses, representations or promises, and so obtains
property with
a value
in excess of one thousand dollars from one or more such
persons. This bill was
referred to the Codes Committee on 4/28/08.
On April 8, 2008,
State Senator Tom Morahan introduced Senate Bill # S8031. This bill
is aimed at curbing identity theft and if passed, will amend the
General Business Law in relation to limiting
the permissible uses of social security identification numbers.
It will be known as the "Social Security Number Confidentiality
Act". Passage of this bill would prohibit a business from
requiring a consumer’s Social Security number as a condition for a
consumer to lease or purchase products, goods or services from the
business.
On April 19, 2007, State Senator Tom Morahan introduced
Senate Bill
# S4592. This bill is also aimed at curbing identity theft. If
passed, it will amend the General Business Law, prohibiting the
public posting or public display of a person’s Social Security
number.
On January 3, 2007, State Senator Tom Morahan sponsored
Senate Bill
# S248. Passage would amend the New York Penal Law and make it
a crime to unlawfully possess an identity-scanning device.
This bill has been passed by the Senate and has been delivered to
the Assembly.
Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility,
and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009
On May 22, 2009,
President Obama brought sweeping changes to credit card industry
business practices by signing the federal
Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and
Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009. The Consumer Protection Board
(CPB) is now inviting consumers to report whether credit card
companies have started to change terms, raise fees, assess
higher interest rates or have taken other preemptive actions
prior to the effective dates of the Act’s provisions.
The Act will Act will:
ü
Prevent unannounced interest rate hikes;
ü
Limit arbitrary fees and charges;
ü
Require consumer opt-in to be assessed over-the-limit fees;
ü
Eliminate inappropriate double-cycle billing;
ü
Increase protections for minors (under 21) from aggressive
marketing tactics; and,
ü
Require greater disclosure to be provided to consumers.
“These changes in the law will help protect consumers who are
struggling with the fallout from the national economic downturn
and abusive practices by the credit card industry,” said
Governor Paterson. “The Consumer Protection Board continues to
advocate on behalf of New Yorkers who are dealing with unfair
credit card charges and trying to restore their credit ratings
due to unscrupulous practices. Their invaluable work is helping
consumers throughout the Empire State.”
“Consumers have recently reported that despite good credit and
payment histories, their credit card companies are arbitrarily
increasing interest rates, hiking fees and lowering credit lines
without adequate notice,” said Chairperson Bockstein. “The Act
is intended to prevent abuses in the future, but in the interim,
we’re concerned that consumers might bear the brunt of industry
reaction. There are federal provisions for tracking the reform
once it takes effect, but as the consumer watchdog in New York,
we are asking for feedback to assist us in monitoring what
happens between now and then. We are counting on the credit card
industry to do the right thing, but just in case they don’t, we
want and need to know about it.”
Therefore, as part of its Campaign for Change, the CPB is
tracking credit card companies’ reactions communicated to us by
consumers. The CPB’s new Credit Card Reform Survey can be
accessed on the Agency website at:
http://www.nysconsumer.gov/pdf/credit_card_survey_2009.pdf.
The survey asks consumers to inform the CPB if their bank or
issuer has changed the terms of their agreements, added any new
fees, increased fees or interest rates, reduced the time
available to pay bills, charged interest
from the time of purchase when that was not formerly their
procedure, charged interest for previously paid balances, reduced
credit limits for no apparent reason, changed the terms of a card’s
rewards program or eliminated their card’s rewards program
altogether. Consumers wishing to provide more detailed information
are encouraged to e-mail their stories to creditcardstory@consumer.state.ny.us.
The CPB respects and advocates for strong and reasonable information
privacy policies. Therefore, answers to the survey are completely
anonymous. However, the CPB may publish survey results and portions
of stories it receives to help illustrate the impact of credit card
reform. In the interest of personal privacy, however, the CPB will
never use the name of a consumer without expressed written
permission.
The CPB, established in 1970 by the New York State Legislature, is
the State’s top consumer watchdog and think tank. The CPB’s core
mission is to protect New Yorkers by publicizing unscrupulous and
questionable business practices and product recalls; conducting
investigations and hearings; enforcing the “Do Not Call” law;
researching issues; developing legislation; creating consumer
education programs and materials; responding to individual
marketplace complaints by securing voluntary agreements; and,
representing the interests of consumers before the Public Service
Commission and other State and federal agencies.
About The Law
Fraudulent Accosting (section 165.30 NYS Penal Law)
Rockland County Silver Alert System - Local Law 5
Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009
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