Eliminates from the class A misdemeanor of theft of services, the avoidance of payment for railroad, subway, bus or other public transportation services; allows for community service in lieu of a civil penalty for certain offenders of theft of transit services.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A1929
SPONSOR: Zinerman TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the penal law and the public authorities law, in
relation to theft of certain transit services
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this legislation is decriminalizing the offense of fare-
evasion for a person who fails to pay the fare for using a bus, subway
or train. Instead, persons who fail to pay the fare would be subject to
existing civil adjudication proceedings resulting in a fine being
assessed.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill removes subway, railroad and bus from the theft of
services statute under section 165.15 of the penal law. A person who
intentionally uses the subway, railroad or bus without payment would no
longer be subject to a class A misdemeanor.
Section 2 of the bill states that the Act shall take effect immediately.
JUSTIFICATION:
This bill will decriminalize transit theft involving the use of rail-
road, subway or bus without payment. Fare-evasion or transit theft is
the second most common charge that leads to incarceration. The result-
ing criminal record has collateral consequences that affect a person's
ability to obtain employment and education.
Fare evasion arrests disproportionately affect people of color with 92%
of farebeating arrests being people of color. In 2015, 29,198 arrests
were made in the City of New York related to theft of services. Time are
resources by law enforcement can be better spent on more serious crimes
instead of arrests and prosecution for fare evasion. Fare evasion should
be handled as a civil summons by the MTA's Transit Adjudication Bureau
or by the adjudication bureau of the municipality where the theft of
services occurred.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2021-2022: A6119 (Zinerman) Died in Committee
2019-2020:
2018: A.9715A (Wright) Held in Committee S.4841C (Hamilton) 2017: NEW -
referred to Codes
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1929
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 23, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ZINERMAN, BURDICK, FORREST, EPSTEIN -- read once
and referred to the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the penal law and the public authorities law, in
relation to theft of certain transit services
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 3 of section 165.15 of the penal law is amended
2 to read as follows:
3 3. With intent to obtain [railroad, subway, bus,] air[,] or taxi [or
4 any other public transportation] service without payment of the lawful
5 charge therefor, or to avoid payment of the lawful charge for such
6 transportation service which has been rendered to him, he obtains or
7 attempts to obtain such service or avoids or attempts to avoid payment
8 therefor by force, intimidation, stealth, deception or mechanical
9 tampering, or by unjustifiable failure or refusal to pay; or
10 § 2. Paragraph b of subdivision 4 of section 1209-a of the public
11 authorities law, as amended by chapter 460 of the laws of 2015, is
12 amended to read as follows:
13 b. To impose civil penalties not to exceed a total of one hundred
14 fifty dollars for any transit infraction within its jurisdiction, in
15 accordance with a penalty schedule established by the authority or the
16 metropolitan transportation authority or a subsidiary thereof, as appli-
17 cable, except that for penalties for theft of services, the defendant
18 may elect to perform community service in accordance with a schedule
19 established by the authority as an alternative to payment of the civil
20 penalty if such defendant is a minor or has a household income at or
21 below two hundred fifty percent of the federal poverty line, and penal-
22 ties for violations of the health code of the city of New York shall be
23 in accordance with the penalties established for such violations by the
24 board of health of the city of New York, and penalties for violations of
25 the noise code of the city of New York shall be in accordance with the
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01149-01-3
A. 1929 2
1 penalties established for such violations by law, and civil penalties
2 for violations of the rules and regulations of the triborough bridge and
3 tunnel authority shall be in accordance with the penalties established
4 for such violations by section twenty-nine hundred eighty-five of this
5 chapter;
6 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
