NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A4121
SPONSOR: Dinowitz
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the penal law, in relation to grand larceny in the
fourth degree
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To deter an increasingly common crime and hold repeat offenders account-
able by increasing the penalty for stealing property when the individual
has been convicted of petit larceny within the last two years.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one of the bill would amend section 155.30 of the penal law to
add a new subdivision 12, which would make a person guilty of grand
larceny in the fourth degree, a class E felony, when he or she has been
convicted of petit larceny within the last two years.
Section two of the bill sets the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Retail stores are experiencing shoplifting and theft of goods at an
increasing rate. These frequent instances of property theft create a
number of adverse impacts on businesses, including increases to their
insurance rates, lost revenue as a result of consumers feeling unsafe to
shop which, by extension, causes a decrease in the State's sales tax
collection, and conditions in which retail workers must confront a
person seeking to steal. In instances where a person who looks to steal
is not confronted, an environment is created where the retail business
becomes a target for future robberies. This bill would ensure that those
who steal and are convicted of petit larceny in the last two years would
be charged with grand larceny for repeated and continued offenses.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
This is a new bill.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately after having become law.