Removes the $250 economic harm requirement from the felony commercial bribery statutes; expands the crime of larceny to include theft of personal identifying information, computer data, computer programs, and services, to adapt to modern technological realities; provides state jurisdiction and county venue over cases involving larceny of personal identifying information, computer data, and computer programs, where the victim is located in the state or the county.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1275
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 9, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Codes
AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to the crimes of commercial
bribery and larceny; and to amend the criminal procedure law, in
relation to jurisdiction for personal identifying information theft
crimes
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 180.03 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 577
2 of the laws of 1983, is amended to read as follows:
3 § 180.03 Commercial bribing in the first degree.
4 A person is guilty of commercial bribing in the first degree when [he]
5 such person confers, or offers or agrees to confer, any benefit upon any
6 employee, agent or fiduciary without the consent of the latter's employ-
7 er or principal, with intent to influence [his] conduct in relation to
8 [his] the employer's or principal's affairs, and when the value of the
9 benefit conferred or offered or agreed to be conferred exceeds one thou-
10 sand dollars [and causes economic harm to the employer or principal in
11 an amount exceeding two hundred fifty dollars].
12 Commercial bribing in the first degree is a class E felony.
13 § 2. Section 180.08 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 577 of the
14 laws of 1983, is amended to read as follows:
15 § 180.08 Commercial bribe receiving in the first degree.
16 An employee, agent or fiduciary is guilty of commercial bribe receiv-
17 ing in the first degree when, without the consent of [his] employer or
18 principal, [he] such person solicits, accepts or agrees to accept any
19 benefit from another person upon an agreement or understanding that such
20 benefit will influence [his] conduct in relation to [his] their employ-
21 er's or principal's affairs, and when the value of the benefit solicit-
22 ed, accepted or agreed to be accepted exceeds one thousand dollars [and
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03904-01-5
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1 causes economic harm to the employer or principal in an amount exceeding
2 two hundred fifty dollars].
3 Commercial bribe receiving in the first degree is a class E felony.
4 § 3. Subdivisions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 7-c, 8 and 9 of section 155.00
5 of the penal law, subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 353 of the laws of
6 2023, subdivision 6 as added by chapter 791 of the laws of 1967, subdi-
7 vision 7 as added by chapter 115 of the laws of 1969, subdivision 7-c as
8 amended by chapter 171 of the laws of 1993, subdivision 8 as amended by
9 chapter 514 of the laws of 1986 and subdivision 9 as added by chapter
10 530 of the laws of 1975, are amended and a new subdivision 17 is added
11 to read as follows:
12 1. "Property" means any money, compensation for labor or services,
13 personal property, real property, computer data, computer program,
14 personal identifying information, thing in action, evidence of debt or
15 contract, or any article, substance or thing of value, including any
16 gas, steam, water or electricity, which is provided for a charge or
17 compensation.
18 2. "Obtain" includes, but is not limited to, the bringing about of a
19 transfer or purported transfer of property or of a legal interest there-
20 in, whether to the obtainer or another. With regard to personal identi-
21 fying information, computer data or a computer program, obtain includes
22 duplicating, recording, copying, downloading, uploading or printing out
23 the information, data, or program, or obtaining a physical object
24 containing such information. With regard to service, obtain includes,
25 but is not limited to, using or accessing a service.
26 3. "Deprive." To "deprive" another of property means (a) to withhold
27 it or cause it to be withheld from [him] such person permanently or for
28 so extended a period or under such circumstances that the major portion
29 of its economic value or benefit is lost [to him], or (b) to dispose of
30 the property in such manner or under such circumstances as to render it
31 unlikely that an owner will recover such property. When the property is
32 personal identifying information, computer data or a computer program,
33 to deprive another of it means to obtain it or cause a third person to
34 obtain it under such circumstances that a substantial portion of the
35 economic benefit or value of having control over it or authority over
36 its use is lost to an owner. To deprive another of service is to use or
37 access a service or cause a third person to use or access a service
38 under such circumstances that some of the economic benefit or value of
39 having control or authority over providing the service is lost to an
40 owner.
41 4. "Appropriate." To "appropriate" property of another to oneself or a
42 third person means (a) to exercise control over it, or to aid a third
43 person to exercise control over it, permanently or for so extended a
44 period or under such circumstances as to acquire the major portion of
45 its economic value or benefit, or (b) to dispose of the property for the
46 benefit of oneself or a third person. When the property is personal
47 identifying information, computer data or a computer program of another,
48 to appropriate it to oneself or a third person means to obtain it under
49 such circumstances as to acquire the ability to use it or dispose of it
50 to the economic benefit of oneself or a third person or to the economic
51 detriment or damage of an owner. To appropriate a service provided by
52 another to oneself or a third person means to use or access the service
53 under such circumstances as to acquire the ability to use it to the
54 economic benefit of oneself or a third person or to the economic detri-
55 ment or damage of an owner.
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1 5. "Owner." When property or service is taken, obtained or withheld by
2 one person from another person, an "owner" thereof means any person who
3 has a right to possession [thereof] of the property or a right to
4 provide the service superior to that of the taker, obtainer or withhold-
5 er.
6 A person who has obtained possession of property or service by theft
7 or other illegal means shall be deemed to have a right of possession of
8 the property or a right to provide the service superior to that of a
9 person who takes, obtains or withholds it from [him] such person by
10 larcenous means.
11 A joint or common owner of property shall not be deemed to have a
12 right of possession thereto superior to that of any other joint or
13 common owner thereof.
14 In the absence of a specific agreement to the contrary, a person in
15 lawful possession of property shall be deemed to have a right of
16 possession superior to that of a person having only a security interest
17 therein, even if legal title lies with the holder of the security inter-
18 est pursuant to a conditional sale contract or other security agreement.
19 6. "Secret scientific material" means a sample, culture, micro-organ-
20 ism, specimen, record, recording, document, drawing or any other arti-
21 cle, material, device or substance which constitutes, represents,
22 evidences, reflects, or records a scientific or technical process,
23 invention or formula or any part or phase thereof, and which is not, and
24 is not intended to be, available to anyone other than the person or
25 persons rightfully in possession thereof or selected persons having
26 access thereto with [his or] their consent, and when it accords or may
27 accord such rightful possessors an advantage over competitors or other
28 persons who do not have knowledge or the benefit thereof.
29 7. ["Credit card" means any instrument or article defined as a credit
30 card in section five hundred eleven of the general business law.
31 7-c. "Access device" means any telephone calling card number, credit
32 card number, account number, mobile identification number, electronic
33 serial number or personal identification number that can be used to
34 obtain telephone service.] "Personal identifying information" means a
35 person's date of birth, driver's license number, social security number,
36 personal identification number, financial services account number or
37 code, savings account number or code, checking account number or code,
38 brokerage account number or code, credit card account number or code,
39 debit card number or code, automated teller machine number or code,
40 taxpayer identification number, computer system password, signature or
41 copy of a signature, electronic signature, unique biometric data that is
42 a fingerprint, voice print, retinal image or iris image, telephone call-
43 ing card number, mobile identification number or code, electronic serial
44 number or personal identification number, or any other name, number,
45 code or information that may be used alone or in conjunction with other
46 such information to assume the identity of another person or access
47 financial resources or credit of another person, or any physical object
48 containing such information, such as a printout or other written materi-
49 al, driver's license or other identity card, credit card, debit card,
50 public benefit card, automated teller or other transactional card, or
51 computer, hard drive, or other data storage device. In this subdivision,
52 "person" has all the meanings set forth in subdivision seven of section
53 10.00 of this chapter; "electronic signature" has the meaning provided
54 in subdivision three of section three hundred two of the state technolo-
55 gy law; "credit card" and "debit card" have the meanings provided in
56 section five hundred eleven of the general business law; "public benefit
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1 card" means any medical assistance card, food stamp assistance card,
2 public assistance card, or any other identification, authorization card
3 or electronic access device issued by the state or a social services
4 district as defined in subdivision seven of section two of the social
5 services law which entitles a person to obtain public assistance bene-
6 fits under a local, state or federal program administered by the state,
7 its political subdivisions or social services districts.
8 8. "Service" includes, but is not limited to, [labor, professional
9 service,] a computer service, transportation service, telecommunications
10 service, cable or satellite television service, microwave transmission
11 service, the supplying of service pursuant to a public or governmental
12 benefit program, including housing and medical care, the supplying of
13 service pursuant to an insurance policy or program, the supplying of
14 hotel accommodations, restaurant services, entertainment, the supplying
15 of equipment for use, and the supplying of commodities of a public util-
16 ity nature such as gas, electricity, steam and water. A ticket or equiv-
17 alent instrument which evidences a right to receive a service is not in
18 itself service but constitutes property within the meaning of subdivi-
19 sion one of this section.
20 9. ["Cable television service" means any and all services provided by
21 or through the facilities of any cable television system or closed
22 circuit coaxial cable communications system, or any microwave or similar
23 transmission service used in connection with any cable television system
24 or other similar closed circuit coaxial cable communications system.]
25 "Computer program" means an ordered set of data representing coded
26 instructions or statements that, when executed by computer, cause the
27 computer to process data or direct the computer to perform one or more
28 computer operations or both and may be in any form, including magnetic
29 storage media, punched cards, or stored internally in the memory of the
30 computer.
31 17. "Computer data" means a representation of information, knowledge,
32 facts, concepts or instructions which are being processed, or have been
33 processed in a computer and may be in any form, including magnetic stor-
34 age media, punched cards, or stored internally in the memory of the
35 computer.
36 § 4. Paragraph (l) of subdivision 4 of section 20.40 of the criminal
37 procedure law, as amended by section 3 of subpart C of part C of chapter
38 97 of the laws of 2011, is amended to read as follows:
39 (l) An offense of identity theft or unlawful possession of personal
40 identifying information, and any other offense based on the allegations
41 underlying either of those offenses, and all criminal acts committed as
42 part of the same criminal transaction as defined in subdivision two of
43 section 40.10 of this chapter may be prosecuted (i) in any county in
44 which part of the offense took place regardless of whether the defendant
45 was actually present in such county, or (ii) in the county in which the
46 person who suffers financial loss resided at the time of the commission
47 of the offense, or (iii) in the county where the person whose personal
48 identifying information was used in the commission of the offense
49 resided at the time of the commission of the offense. The law enforce-
50 ment agency of any such county shall take a police report of the matter
51 and provide the complainant with a copy of such report at no charge.
52 § 5. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed-
53 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.
