STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6076
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
March 28, 2023
___________
Introduced by Sen. SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to prohibiting
the issuance of an appearance ticket upon arrest for any family
offense
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision 1 of section 150.20
2 of the criminal procedure law, paragraph (a) as amended and paragraph
3 (b) as added by section 1-a of part JJJ of chapter 59 of the laws of
4 2019, subparagraph (viii) of paragraph (b) as amended and subparagraphs
5 (ix), (x) and (xi) of paragraph (b) as added by section one of subpart B
6 of part UU of chapter 56 of the laws of 2022, are amended to read as
7 follows:
8 (a) Whenever a police officer is authorized pursuant to section 140.10
9 of this title to arrest a person without a warrant for an offense other
10 than a class A, B, C or D felony or a violation of section 130.25,
11 130.40, 205.10, 205.17, 205.19 or 215.56 of the penal law, or an arrest
12 made pursuant to subdivision four of section 140.10 of this title, he
13 shall, except as set out in paragraph (b) of this subdivision, subject
14 to the provisions of subdivisions three and four of section 150.40 of
15 this title, instead issue to and serve upon such person an appearance
16 ticket.
17 (b) An officer is not required to issue an appearance ticket if:
18 (i) the person has one or more outstanding local criminal court or
19 superior court warrants;
20 (ii) the person has failed to appear in court proceedings in the last
21 two years;
22 (iii) the person has been given a reasonable opportunity to make their
23 verifiable identity and a method of contact known, and has been unable
24 or unwilling to do so, so that a custodial arrest is necessary to
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02725-01-3
S. 6076 2
1 subject the individual to the jurisdiction of the court. For the
2 purposes of this section, an officer may rely on various factors to
3 determine a person's identity, including but not limited to personal
4 knowledge of such person, such person's self-identification, or photo-
5 graphic identification. There is no requirement that a person present
6 photographic identification in order to be issued an appearance ticket
7 in lieu of arrest where the person's identity is otherwise verifiable;
8 however, if offered by such person, an officer shall accept as evidence
9 of identity the following: a valid driver's license or non-driver iden-
10 tification card issued by the commissioner of motor vehicles, the feder-
11 al government, any United States territory, commonwealth or possession,
12 the District of Columbia, a state government or municipal government
13 within the United States or a provincial government of the dominion of
14 Canada; a valid passport issued by the United States government or any
15 other country; an identification card issued by the armed forces of the
16 United States; a public benefit card, as defined in paragraph (a) of
17 subdivision one of section 158.00 of the penal law;
18 (iv) [the person is charged with a crime between members of the same
19 family or household, as defined in subdivision one of section 530.11 of
20 this chapter;
21 (v)] the person is charged with a crime defined in article 130 of the
22 penal law;
23 [(vi)] (v) it reasonably appears the person should be brought before
24 the court for consideration of issuance of an order of protection,
25 pursuant to section 530.13 of this chapter, based on the facts of the
26 crime or offense that the officer has reasonable cause to believe
27 occurred;
28 [(vii)] (vi) the person is charged with a crime for which the court
29 may suspend or revoke his or her driver license;
30 [(viii)] (vii) it reasonably appears to the officer, based on the
31 observed behavior of the individual in the present contact with the
32 officer and facts regarding the person's condition that indicates a sign
33 of distress to such a degree that the person would face harm without
34 immediate medical or mental health care, that bringing the person before
35 the court would be in such person's interest in addressing that need;
36 provided, however, that before making the arrest, the officer shall make
37 all reasonable efforts to assist the person in securing appropriate
38 services;
39 [(ix)] (viii) the person is eighteen years of age or older and charged
40 with criminal possession of a weapon on school grounds as defined in
41 section 265.01-a of the penal law;
42 [(x)] (ix) the person is eighteen years of age or older and charged
43 with a hate crime as defined in section 485.05 of the penal law; or
44 [(xi)] (x) the offense is a qualifying offense pursuant to paragraph
45 (t) of subdivision four of section 510.10 of this chapter, or pursuant
46 to paragraph (t) of subdivision four of section 530.40 of this chapter.
47 § 2. Subdivisions 2 and 3 of section 150.20 of the criminal procedure
48 law, as amended by chapter 550 of the laws of 1987, are amended to read
49 as follows:
50 2. (a) Whenever a police officer has arrested a person without a
51 warrant for an offense other than a class A, B, C or D felony or a
52 violation of section 130.25, 130.40, 205.10, 205.17, 205.19 or 215.56 of
53 the penal law or an arrest made pursuant to subdivision four of section
54 140.10 of this title, or (b) whenever a peace officer, who is not
55 authorized by law to issue an appearance ticket, has arrested a person
56 for an offense other than a class A, B, C or D felony or a violation of
S. 6076 3
1 section 130.25, 130.40, 205.10, 205.17, 205.19 or 215.56 of the penal
2 law or an arrest made pursuant to subdivision four of section 140.10 of
3 this title pursuant to section 140.25 of this title, and has requested a
4 police officer to issue and serve upon such arrested person an appear-
5 ance ticket pursuant to subdivision four of section 140.27 of this
6 title, or (c) whenever a person has been arrested for an offense other
7 than a class A, B, C or D felony or a violation of section 130.25,
8 130.40, 205.10, 205.17, 205.19 or 215.56 of the penal law, or an arrest
9 made pursuant to subdivision four of section 140.10 of this title and
10 has been delivered to the custody of an appropriate police officer
11 pursuant to section 140.40 of this title, such police officer may,
12 instead of bringing such person before a local criminal court and
13 promptly filing or causing the arresting peace officer or arresting
14 person to file a local criminal court accusatory instrument therewith,
15 issue to and serve upon such person an appearance ticket. [The issuance
16 and service of an appearance ticket under such circumstances may be
17 conditioned upon a deposit of pre-arraignment bail, as provided in
18 section 150.30.]
19 3. A public servant other than a police officer, who is specially
20 authorized by state law or local law enacted pursuant to the provisions
21 of the municipal home rule law to issue and serve appearance tickets
22 with respect to designated offenses other than class A, B, C or D felo-
23 nies or violations of section 130.25, 130.40, 205.10, 205.17, 205.19 or
24 215.56 of the penal law, or an arrest made pursuant to subdivision four
25 of section 140.10 of this title, may in such cases issue and serve upon
26 a person an appearance ticket when he has reasonable cause to believe
27 that such person has committed a crime, or has committed a petty offense
28 in his presence.
29 § 3. Subdivision 2 of section 140.20 of the criminal procedure law, as
30 amended by chapter 550 of the laws of 1987, is amended to read as
31 follows:
32 2. If the arrest is for an offense other than a class A, B, C or D
33 felony or a violation of section 130.25, 130.40, 205.10, 205.17, 205.19
34 or 215.56 of the penal law, or an arrest made pursuant to subdivision
35 four of section 140.10 of this article, the arrested person need not be
36 brought before a local criminal court as provided in subdivision one,
37 and the procedure may instead be as follows:
38 (a) A police officer may issue and serve an appearance ticket upon the
39 arrested person and release him from custody, as prescribed in subdivi-
40 sion two of section 150.20 of this title; or
41 (b) The desk officer in charge at a police station, county jail or
42 police headquarters, or any of his superior officers, may, in such place
43 fix pre-arraignment bail and, upon deposit thereof, issue and serve an
44 appearance ticket upon the arrested person and release him from custo-
45 dy[, as prescribed in section 150.30].
46 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
