Add Art 465 §§465.00 - 465.30, Pen L; amd §1349, CPLR; add §700.75, amd §§700.05 & 60.22, CP L; add §99-ss,
St Fin L
Enacts the criminal street gang abatement act which provides enhanced penalties for persons involved with criminal street gangs; establishes the crime of gang solicitation of minors on school grounds; allows for roving interceptions by police after adequate cause is shown; establishes the witness protection fund.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5228
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 12, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. NOVAKHOV, BROOK-KRASNY, CHANG, NORBER -- read
once and referred to the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the penal law, the civil practice law and rules, the
criminal procedure law and the state finance law, in relation to
enacting the criminal street gang abatement act of 2025; and making an
appropriation therefor
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2 the "criminal street gang abatement act of 2025".
3 § 2. The penal law is amended by adding a new article 465 to read as
4 follows:
5 ARTICLE 465
6 CRIMINAL STREET GANG ABATEMENT
7 Section 465.00 Legislative findings and intent.
8 465.05 Definitions.
9 465.10 Criminal street gang activity; enhanced penalties.
10 465.15 Gang solicitation, recruitment or retention.
11 465.20 Gang solicitation, recruitment or retention of minors.
12 465.25 Gang solicitation, recruitment or retention of minors on
13 school grounds.
14 465.30 Statewide gang database.
15 § 465.00 Legislative findings and intent.
16 The legislature finds and determines as follows:
17 1. It is the right of every person, regardless of race, color, creed,
18 religion, national origin, sex, age, sexual orientation, or handicap, to
19 be secure and protected from fear, intimidation, and physical harm
20 caused by the activities of violent groups and individuals.
21 2. The state of New York has seen an increase in violent street gangs
22 whose members threaten, terrorize, and commit a multitude of crimes
23 against the peaceful citizens of their neighborhoods. These activities,
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08976-01-5
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1 both individually and collectively, present a clear and present danger
2 to public order and safety.
3 3. Gangs have expanded their criminal predations across every region
4 in the state of New York. Furthermore, all of the nationally known gangs
5 now exist throughout New York, and there has been a recent influx of
6 hereto unknown criminal gangs as well. While gang membership in the past
7 remained concentrated primarily in low-income communities, gangs have
8 increasingly surfaced everywhere throughout the state, impacting the
9 safety, prosperity, and quality of life for all New Yorkers.
10 4. The enactment of this article seeks to eradicate criminal activity
11 by street gangs by focusing upon patterns of criminal gang activity, the
12 chief source of violence created by street gangs.
13 5. Further, that an effective means of punishing and deterring the
14 criminal activities of street gangs is through forfeiture of the
15 profits, proceeds, and instrumentalities acquired, accumulated, or used
16 by street gangs. These proceeds in turn, will provide a funding stream
17 to implement proactive measures such as after-school programs to prevent
18 youths from becoming gang members.
19 § 465.05 Definitions.
20 The following definitions are applicable to this article.
21 1. "Criminal street gang" means any ongoing organization, association,
22 or group of three or more persons, whether formal or informal, having as
23 one of its primary activities the commission of one or more criminal
24 acts, having a common name or common identifying sign or symbol, and
25 whose members individually or collectively engage in or have engaged in
26 a pattern of criminal gang activity.
27 In order to secure a conviction, or a delinquent act, it is not neces-
28 sary for the prosecution to prove that the person devotes all or a
29 substantial part of such person's time or efforts to the criminal street
30 gang, nor is it necessary to prove that the person is a member of the
31 criminal street gang. Active participation in the criminal street gang
32 is all that is required.
33 2. "Pattern of criminal street gang activity" means the commission of,
34 attempted commission of, conspiracy to commit, or solicitation of, a
35 delinquent act, or conviction of two or more enumerated criminal acts,
36 provided at least one of these criminal acts occurred after the effec-
37 tive date of this article and the last of those criminal acts occurred
38 within three years after a prior offense, and the criminal acts were
39 committed on separate occasions, or by two or more persons.
40 3. "Criminal act" means conduct constituting any of the following
41 crimes, or conspiracy or attempt to commit any of the following felo-
42 nies:
43 Any of the felonies set forth in this chapter: sections 120.05, 120.10
44 and 120.11 relating to assault; sections 125.10 to 125.27 relating to
45 homicide; sections 130.25, 130.30 and 130.35 relating to rape; sections
46 135.20 and 135.25 relating to kidnapping; section 135.65 relating to
47 coercion; sections 140.20, 140.25 and 140.30 relating to burglary;
48 sections 145.05, 145.10 and 145.12 relating to criminal mischief; arti-
49 cle one hundred fifty relating to arson; sections 155.30, 155.35, 155.40
50 and 155.42 relating to grand larceny; article one hundred sixty relating
51 to robbery; sections 165.45, 165.50, 165.52 and 165.54 relating to crim-
52 inal possession of stolen property; sections 170.10, 170.15, 170.25,
53 170.30, 170.40, 170.65 and 170.70 relating to forgery; sections 175.10,
54 175.25, 175.35, 175.40 and 210.40 relating to false statements; sections
55 176.15, 176.20, 176.25 and 176.30 relating to insurance fraud; sections
56 178.20 and 178.25 relating to criminal diversion of prescription medica-
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1 tions and prescriptions; sections 180.03, 180.08, 180.15, 180.25,
2 180.40, 180.45, 200.00, 200.03, 200.04, 200.10, 200.11, 200.12, 200.20,
3 200.22, 200.25, 200.27, 215.00, 215.05 and 215.19 relating to bribery;
4 sections 190.40 and 190.42 relating to criminal usury; section 190.65
5 relating to schemes to defraud; sections 205.60 and 205.65 relating to
6 hindering prosecution; sections 210.10, 210.15 and 215.51 relating to
7 perjury and contempt; section 215.40 relating to tampering with physical
8 evidence; sections 220.06, 220.09, 220.16, 220.18, 220.21, 220.31,
9 220.34, 220.39, 220.41, 220.43, 220.46, 220.55 and 220.60 relating to
10 controlled substances; sections 225.10 and 225.20 relating to gambling;
11 sections 230.25, 230.30 and 230.32 relating to promoting prostitution;
12 sections 235.06, 235.07 and 235.21 relating to obscenity; section 263.10
13 relating to promoting an obscene sexual performance by a child; sections
14 265.02, 265.03, 265.04, 265.11, 265.12, 265.13 and the provisions of
15 section 265.10 which constitute a felony relating to firearms and other
16 dangerous weapons; and sections 265.14 and 265.16 relating to criminal
17 sale of a firearm; and section 275.10, 275.20, 275.30, or 275.40 relat-
18 ing to unauthorized recordings; and sections 470.05, 470.10, 470.15 and
19 470.20 relating to money laundering.
20 § 465.10 Criminal street gang activity; enhanced penalties.
21 1. Upon a finding by the trier of fact that a defendant is a member of
22 a criminal street gang, or that a defendant, in the course of the
23 commission of the underlying offense, actively participated in a crimi-
24 nal street gang, the penalty for any felony or misdemeanor, or any
25 delinquent act or violation of law which would be a felony or misdemea-
26 nor if committed by an adult, shall be enhanced if the defendant was a
27 member of a criminal street gang at the time of the commission of such
28 offense and the court determines that the offense was committed with the
29 intent to further such criminal street gang. Such finding shall be based
30 upon proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
31 2. Such enhancement shall be as follows:
32 (a) A class A misdemeanor shall be deemed to be and be punished as if
33 it were a class E felony;
34 (b) A class E felony shall be deemed to be and be punished as if it
35 were a class D felony;
36 (c) A class D felony shall be deemed to be and be punished as if it
37 were a class C felony;
38 (d) A class C felony shall be deemed to be and be punished as if it
39 were a class B felony; and
40 (e) A class B felony shall be deemed to be and be punished as if it
41 were a class A-II felony.
42 § 465.15 Gang solicitation, recruitment or retention.
43 A person is guilty of gang solicitation, recruitment or retention when
44 such person:
45 1. intentionally coerces, solicits, recruits, employs, causes, encour-
46 ages, or conspires to cause another person to be or remain as a member
47 of a criminal street gang that requires as a condition of membership or
48 continued membership the commission of or participation in gang crimes;
49 or
50 2. intentionally makes any communication, direct or indirect, consti-
51 tuting a threat to person or property or to any associate or relative of
52 the person being solicited, recruited or retained as a member of a crim-
53 inal street gang that requires as a condition of membership or continued
54 membership the commission of or participation in gang crimes.
55 Gang solicitation, recruitment or retention is a class E felony.
56 § 465.20 Gang solicitation, recruitment or retention of minors.
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1 A person is guilty of gang solicitation, recruitment or retention of
2 minors when such person:
3 1. intentionally coerces, solicits, recruits, employs, causes, encour-
4 ages, or conspires to cause another person under eighteen years of age
5 to be or remain as a member of a criminal street gang that requires as a
6 condition of membership or continued membership the commission of or
7 participation in gang crimes; or
8 2. intentionally makes any communication, direct or indirect, consti-
9 tuting a threat to a person under eighteen years of age, to property, or
10 to any associate or relative of a minor being solicited, recruited or
11 retained as a member of a criminal street gang that requires as a condi-
12 tion of membership or continued membership the commission of or partic-
13 ipation in gang crimes.
14 Gang solicitation, recruitment or retention of minors is a class D
15 felony.
16 § 465.25 Gang solicitation, recruitment or retention of minors on school
17 grounds.
18 A person is guilty of gang solicitation, recruitment or retention of
19 minors on school grounds when such person:
20 1. while on school grounds, intentionally coerces, solicits, recruits,
21 employs, causes, encourages, or conspires to cause another person under
22 eighteen years of age to be or remain as a member of a criminal street
23 gang that requires as a condition of membership or continued membership
24 the commission of or participation in gang crimes; or
25 2. while on school grounds, intentionally makes any communication,
26 direct or indirect, constituting a threat to a person under eighteen
27 years of age, to property, or to any associate or relative of the minor
28 being solicited, recruited or retained as a member of a criminal street
29 gang that requires as a condition of membership or continued membership
30 the commission of or participation in gang crimes. For the purposes of
31 this section, "school grounds" shall be defined as provided for in
32 subdivision fourteen of section 220.00 of this chapter.
33 Gang solicitation, recruitment or retention of minors on school
34 grounds is a class C felony.
35 § 465.30 Statewide gang database.
36 1. The superintendent of the division of state police is hereby
37 authorized to develop and maintain a statewide gang database consisting
38 of identification information pertaining to gang members. For the
39 purpose of this section, "gang member" or "criminal street gang member"
40 shall mean an individual who is a member of a formal or informal group,
41 club, organization, or association of three or more individuals who
42 participate, or agree to participate, in criminal activity.
43 2. In developing and maintaining the statewide gang database estab-
44 lished pursuant to subdivision one of this section, the superintendent
45 of the division of state police shall:
46 (a) create a uniform reporting format for the entry of pertinent
47 information regarding the report of an arrested criminal street gang
48 member or organized gang affiliates into the statewide gang database;
49 (b) notify all state and local law enforcement agencies that reports
50 or arrested criminal street gang members or organized gang affiliates
51 shall be entered into the statewide gang database as soon as the minimum
52 level of data, to be specified by such superintendent, is available to
53 the reporting agency;
54 (c) develop and implement a policy for notifying state and local law
55 enforcement agencies of the emergence of new organized criminal street
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1 gangs, or the change of a name or other identifying information, sign or
2 symbol of an existing organized criminal street gang;
3 (d) compile and retain information regarding organized criminal street
4 gangs and their members and affiliates, in a manner that allows the
5 information to be used by state and local law enforcement agencies, and
6 other state agencies, as deemed appropriate by the superintendent of the
7 division of state police, for investigative purposes;
8 (e) compile and maintain a history data repository relating to organ-
9 ized criminal street gangs and their members and affiliates in order to
10 develop and improve techniques utilized by law enforcement agencies and
11 prosecutors in the investigation, apprehension, and prosecution of
12 members and affiliates of organized gangs;
13 (f) create a quality control program regarding confirmation of organ-
14 ized criminal street gang membership and organized gang affiliation
15 data, timeliness and accuracy of information entered into the statewide
16 gang database and performance audits of all agencies entering informa-
17 tion;
18 (g) determine which law enforcement agencies may benefit from access
19 to the statewide gang database, and notify them of its existence; and
20 (h) cooperate with all law enforcement agencies wishing to gain access
21 to the statewide gang database, and facilitate their entry into and
22 continued access to the database system.
23 § 3. Paragraph (h) of subdivision 2 of section 1349 of the civil prac-
24 tice law and rules, as added by chapter 655 of the laws of 1990, and
25 subparagraph (i) as amended by chapter 206 of the laws of 2018, is
26 amended to read as follows:
27 (h) [All] Except with respect to a circumstance to which paragraph (i)
28 of this subdivision applies, all moneys remaining after distributions
29 pursuant to paragraphs (a) through (g) of this subdivision shall be
30 distributed as follows:
31 (i) seventy-five percent of such moneys shall be deposited to a law
32 enforcement purposes subaccount of the general fund of the state where
33 the claiming agent is an agency of the state or the political subdivi-
34 sion or public authority of which the claiming agent is a part, to be
35 used for law enforcement use in the investigation of penal law offenses
36 or law enforcement assisted diversion;
37 (ii) the remaining twenty-five percent of such moneys shall be depos-
38 ited to a prosecution services subaccount of the general fund of the
39 state where the claiming authority is the attorney general or the poli-
40 tical subdivision of which the claiming authority is a part, to be used
41 for the prosecution of penal law offenses.
42 Where multiple claiming agents participated in the forfeiture action,
43 funds available pursuant to subparagraph (i) of this paragraph shall be
44 disbursed to the appropriate law enforcement purposes subaccounts in
45 accordance with the terms of a written agreement reflecting the partic-
46 ipation of each claiming agent entered into by the participating claim-
47 ing agents.
48 § 4. Subdivision 2 of section 1349 of the civil practice law and rules
49 is amended by adding a new paragraph (i) to read as follows:
50 (i) If the defendant against whom a forfeiture action is commenced is
51 identified as, or is declared or adjudged by the court to be a member of
52 a "criminal street gang", as defined in section 465.05 of the penal law,
53 all moneys remaining after distributions pursuant to paragraphs (a)
54 through (g) of this subdivision shall be distributed as follows:
55 (i) seventy-five percent of such moneys shall be deposited to a sepa-
56 rate account of the local school district wherein such defendant
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1 resides, which the superintendent of such district shall establish for
2 the receipt of all such moneys, and said moneys shall be utilized by the
3 superintendent exclusively to develop, implement and/or maintain
4 instructional programs designed to deter or prevent youths from associ-
5 ating with, or becoming members of, criminal street gangs, including but
6 not limited to, (A) after-school sports or recreational programs, and/or
7 (B) after-school scholastic or academic programs;
8 (ii) fifteen percent of such moneys shall be deposited to a law
9 enforcement purposes subaccount of the general fund of the state where
10 the claiming agent is an agency of the state or the political subdivi-
11 sion or public authority of which the claiming agent is a part, to be
12 used for law enforcement use in the investigation of penal law offenses;
13 and
14 (iii) the remaining ten percent of such moneys shall be deposited to a
15 prosecution services subaccount of the general fund of the state where
16 the claiming authority is the attorney general or the political subdivi-
17 sion of which the claiming authority is a part, to be used for the pros-
18 ecution of penal law offenses.
19 Where multiple claiming agents participated in the forfeiture action,
20 funds available pursuant to subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph shall be
21 disbursed to the appropriate law enforcement purposes subaccounts in
22 accordance with the terms of a written agreement reflecting the partic-
23 ipation of each claiming agent entered into by the participating claim-
24 ing agents.
25 § 5. The sum of one million dollars ($1,000,000), or so much thereof
26 as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated to the division of criminal
27 justice services out of any moneys in the state treasury in the general
28 fund to the credit of the local assistance account, not otherwise appro-
29 priated, and made immediately available, for the purpose of developing a
30 grant program in consultation with the department of education and the
31 state police for schools to receive gang prevention programs. Such
32 moneys shall be payable on the audit and warrant of the comptroller on
33 vouchers certified or approved by the commissioner of the division of
34 criminal justice services in the manner prescribed by law.
35 § 6. The criminal procedure law is amended by adding a new section
36 700.75 to read as follows:
37 § 700.75 Roving interceptions.
38 In any case in which the designated offense is defined in subdivision
39 eight of section 700.05 of this article, the requirements of this arti-
40 cle relating to the specification of the facilities from which, or the
41 place where, the communication is to be intercepted do not apply if:
42 1. In the case of an application for the interception of an oral
43 communication:
44 (a) the application contains a full and complete statement as to why
45 such specification is not practical and identifies the person committing
46 the offense whose communications are to be intercepted; and
47 (b) the court finds that such specification is not practical; or
48 2. In the case of an application with respect to interception of a
49 wire or electronic communication:
50 (a) the application identifies the person believed to be committing
51 the offense and whose communications are to be intercepted and the
52 applicant makes a showing of a purpose, on the part of that person, to
53 thwart interception by changing facilities; and
54 (b) the court finds that such purpose has been adequately shown.
55 3. Interception of communications under an order issued pursuant to
56 this section shall not begin until the facilities from which, or the
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1 place where, the communication is to be intercepted is ascertained by
2 the person implementing the interception order. A provider of wire or
3 electronic communications service that has received an order as provided
4 for in subdivision two of this section may move the court to modify or
5 quash the order on the grounds that its assistance with respect to the
6 interception cannot be performed in a timely or reasonable fashion. The
7 court, upon notice to the applicant, shall decide such motion expe-
8 ditiously.
9 § 7. Subdivision 8 of section 700.05 of the criminal procedure law is
10 amended by adding a new paragraph (w) to read as follows:
11 (w) Any felony under article four hundred sixty-five of the penal law.
12 § 8. Section 60.22 of the criminal procedure law is amended by adding
13 a new subdivision 4 to read as follows:
14 4. The limitations of this section do not apply to the prosecution of
15 an offense defined in article four hundred sixty-five of the penal law.
16 § 9. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 99-ss to
17 read as follows:
18 § 99-ss. Witness protection fund. 1. There is hereby established in
19 the joint custody of the state comptroller and the commissioner of the
20 department of taxation and finance a special revenue fund to be known as
21 the "witness protection fund".
22 2. The witness protection fund shall consist of: (a) five percent of
23 all the moneys received by the state pursuant to section 60.35 of the
24 penal law and five percent of all the moneys received by the state
25 pursuant to section eighteen hundred nine of the vehicle and traffic law
26 from any court of the unified court system other than town or village
27 courts;
28 (b) ten percent of all the moneys deposited to the credit of the state
29 police seized assets account in each calendar year; and
30 (c) all other fees, fines, grants, bequests or other monies credited,
31 appropriated or transferred thereto from any other fund or source pursu-
32 ant to law or any other moneys made available for the purposes of the
33 fund.
34 3. Moneys of the witness protection fund, following appropriation by
35 the legislature and allocation by the director of the budget, shall be
36 made available to the division of criminal justice services for local
37 assistance services and expenses of programs to provide witness
38 protection services to witnesses of crimes.
39 4. The moneys of the fund shall be paid out on the audit and warrant
40 of the state comptroller on vouchers certified or approved by the
41 commissioner of the division of criminal justice services. At the end of
42 each year, any moneys remaining in the fund shall be returned in the
43 fund and shall not revert to the general fund. The interest and income
44 earned on money in the fund, after deducting any applicable charges,
45 shall be credited to the fund.
46 § 10. The sum of five million dollars ($5,000,000), or so much thereof
47 as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated to the witness protection
48 fund, established pursuant to section 99-ss of the state finance law as
49 added by section nine of this act, out of any moneys in the state treas-
50 ury in the general fund to the credit of the local assistance account
51 not otherwise appropriated, for local assistance services and expenses
52 of programs to provide witness protection services to witnesses of
53 crimes.
54 § 11. This act shall take effect on the first of November next
55 succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.
