Provides for the impoundment by law enforcement and forfeiture of any machinery, motor vehicles, aircraft and/or equipment used to illegally harvest timber after having previously been convicted of such offense.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1235
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 8, 2015
___________
Introduced by M. of A. GUNTHER, LIFTON, COOK, CROUCH -- Multi-Sponsored
by -- M. of A. BARCLAY, CAMARA, DUPREY, GIGLIO, HAWLEY, MAGEE,
RIVERA, STEC -- read once and referred to the Committee on Environ-
mental Conservation
AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to the
impoundment of machinery, motor vehicles, aircraft and equipment used
in the illegal taking of trees and timber
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The environmental conservation law is amended by adding a
2 new section 71-0717 to read as follows:
3 § 71-0717. Impoundment and forfeiture of machinery, motor vehicles,
4 aircraft and equipment used in the illegal taking of trees
5 or timber.
6 1. In the event, a person is convicted of a second separate act of
7 unlawfully harvesting trees or timber, any machinery, motor vehicle,
8 aircraft and/or equipment used by such person during the commission of
9 such second unlawful act may be impounded by a peace officer or police
10 officer and forfeited as provided in this section. Upon impoundment,
11 the police officer or peace officer may issue an appearance ticket to
12 the violator or violators and shall provide that the return date shall
13 be within twenty-four hours of the time of issuance.
14 2. Thereafter the police officer or peace officer shall file an accu-
15 satory instrument in the local criminal court, as provided for in arti-
16 cle one hundred fifty of the criminal procedure law, stating that the
17 owners or operators of such equipment had used or were in the process of
18 using such equipment while unlawfully harvesting trees or timber, after
19 having previously been convicted of such offense.
20 3. At the time and place designated in the appearance ticket the court
21 shall determine if the person charged with unlawfully harvesting trees
22 or timber after having previously been convicted of such offense and if
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02003-01-5
A. 1235 2
1 there is sufficient information before the court to justify the contin-
2 ued impoundment of such machinery, motor vehicles, aircraft and/or
3 equipment pending the disposition of the violation of law set forth in
4 the accusatory instrument. In the event the court determines that the
5 interests of justice require the release of such impounded machinery,
6 motor vehicles, aircraft and/or equipment the court may provide that
7 security, in an amount determined by the court, shall be provided by the
8 violator in lieu of such impoundment.
9 4. Upon a finding that there is a reasonable basis for continuing the
10 action against the violator, the court shall set a time and place within
11 fourteen days after the hearing on the accusatory instrument at which
12 the violation of law set forth in the accusatory instrument shall be
13 tried.
14 5. The impounded equipment shall be released to the violator upon the
15 payment of any fine imposed, as well as payment of the reasonable and
16 necessary impoundment costs incurred by the impounding authority.
17 6. Should six months expire and the violator has failed to pay the
18 fine, the impounding authority shall have the right to sell the impound-
19 ed equipment at a public sale on at least thirty days public notice. The
20 proceeds of such sale shall be used first to pay the cost incurred for
21 impounding the equipment and then to pay any fine imposed by the court.
22 Any balance shall be paid to the rightful owner of the impounded equip-
23 ment.
24 7. The provisions of this section shall not limit or impair the
25 authority of a police officer or peace officer to arrest a person
26 committing a crime.
27 § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed-
28 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.
