A05774 Summary:BILL NO A05774
SAME AS No same as
SPONSOR Tedisco
COSPNSR Townsend, Scozzafava, Oaks
MLTSPNSR Alfano, Bacalles, Barclay, Calhoun, Crouch, Errigo, Kolb, McDonald,
Miller, O`Mara, Raia, Thiele, Walker
Add SS180.60 & 190.30, CP L; add S240.75, Pen L
Enacts the "chronic criminal act"; establishes the crime of aggravated criminal
conduct.
A05774 Actions:BILL NO A05774
02/23/2007 referred to codes
A05774 Votes:
A05774 Memo:BILL NUMBER:A5774
TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the criminal procedure law and the penal
law, in relation to enacting the "chronic criminal act"
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: To strengthen the existing law by
creating the crime of aggravated criminal conduct, enabling courts to
impose felony sanctions on chronic misdemeanor offenders, thereby
enhancing public safety.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: Section 1 states the short title of the
bill.
Sections 2 amends section 180.60 of the Criminal Procedure Law to
include criminal history records among the types of records that are
admissible in hearings upon felony complaints.
Section 3 amends subdivision 190.32 (2-a) of the Criminal Procedure Law
to allow electronic transmissions of criminal history records in
evidence, in hearings upon felony complaints, and in grand jury
proceedings.
Section 4 amends subdivision 3-a of section 190.30 of the Criminal
Procedure Law to include criminal history records among the types of
records admissible in a grand jury proceeding.
Section 5 adds a new section 240.75 to the penal law, creating the new
crime of Aggravated Criminal Conduct, a Class E felony. A person would
commit the crime of Aggravated Criminal Conduct when he or she: (1)
commits an A misdemeanor defined in the Penal Law; and (2) has previous-
ly been convicted of three or more qualifying misdemeanor or felony
crimes in the preceding ten years.
For the purposes of this section, a qualifying misdemeanor or felony
conviction is one: (1)that is a conviction of a felony crime or a Class
A misdemeanor defined in the Penal Law, or of a crime in another juris-
diction for which a sentence of at least one year was authorized if
committed in New York State; (2)for which sentence has already been
imposed at the time of the commission of the present misdemeanor offense
( a suspended sentence, suspended execution of sentence, sentence of
probation, sentence of parole supervision, or a sentence of condition or
unconditional discharge is deemed to be a sentence); (3) where the
sentence was imposed not more than ten years before the commission of
the present offense, except that periods of confinement toll the ten
year limitation; (4) where the defendant has not been granted a pardon
on the ground of innocence; and that is not a felony or Class A misde-
meanor for which the defendant received a concurrent sentence for anoth-
er qualifying misdemeanor or felony.
JUSTIFICATION: Under current law, offenders who are convicted of second
or subsequent felony offenses receive enhanced penalties at sentencing;
offenders who are convicted of second, third or more misdemeanors, do
not. Despite the overall reduction in crime in New York State in recent
years, repeat misdemeanants continue to plague our streets and our
communities, often receiving little or no punishment for the offenses
they continue to commit. A significant majority of of those convicted of
misdemeanors each year has at least one prior conviction, and disturb-
ingly, a significant percentage has more than ten prior convictions.
Kareem Hayes admitted to stabbing and murdering Hillary Downey and her
one-year old son in her Schenectady, New York apartment in January 2006.
A habitual offender, Hayes had a lengthy record, including numerous
misdemeanor convictions, at the time of the murders, including a misde-
meanor conviction from January 2005. Had this bill been law in January
2005, Hayes could have been serving a prison sentence in January 2006
and this terrible crime could have been avoided.
This legislation creates the new Class E felony offense of Aggravated
Criminal Conduct and appropriately punishes those who repeatedly commit
misdemeanor offenses. Under this bill, an offender who commits his
fourth misdemeanor or felony offense, after having been previously
convicted of three or more misdemeanors or felonies within the previous
ten years, will be punished as a Class E felon and face up to four years
in state prison.
To ensure proper handling of these cases involving repeat misdemeanor
offenders, the bill provides that criminal history records, when certi-
fied by the Commissioner of the Division of Criminal Justice Services or
his designee, shall be admissible in felony hearings and grand jury
proceedings.
The current system has allowed persistent misdemeanor offenders to
continue to commit crimes with little reason to fear serious sentencing
consequences. Our citizens should not be subject to the many quality of
life crimes committed by these repeat offenders. Like repeat felons,
repeat misdemeanor offenders must face enhanced penalties if our efforts
to deter crime is to be successful.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2006: A.9876 Held for consideration in Codes
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: Undetermined.
EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect immediately.
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