Senate BillIntroduced
S 5897: Creates the crime of falsely accusing someone of a crime.
What S 5897 does, verified January 8, 2026
The bill aims to prevent false accusations of crimes by making it a crime to knowingly submit a false accusatory instrument to law enforcement. A person found guilty of this offense will be charged with a class E felony. The law will take effect on November 1, following the date of its passage.
Bill journey
1IntroducedCurrent
2In CommitteePending
3First Chamber FloorPending
4Second ChamberPending
5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: REFERRED TO CODES (2026-01-07)Alert me
Quick answers about S 5897
- What is the current status of S 5897?
- As of January 8, 2026, S 5897 is recorded as "Introduced": it has been introduced and is waiting for its first committee hearing or floor vote. The last recorded action, on January 7, 2026, was "REFERRED TO CODES".
- Did S 5897 pass?
- Not yet. S 5897 has been introduced and has not passed either house.
- Who wrote S 5897, and where is it now?
- S 5897 was authored by Sen. Andrew Lanza. Its committee of record is Senate Codes.
Author and sponsors
Full contact details, staff, and committees with Connect, $16/moUnlockRecent actions2 total · showing 2
| Jan. 07, 2026 | REFERRED TO CODES |
| Mar. 03, 2025 | REFERRED TO CODES |
Latest bill textIntroduced version, March 3, 2025 · 207 words
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5897 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE March 3, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. LANZA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to the crime of falsely accusing someone of a crime The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 240.49 to 2 read as follows: 3 § 240.49 Falsely accusing someone of a crime. 4 A person is guilty of falsely accusing someone of a crime when such 5 person signs and submits an accusatory instrument with a member of law 6 enforcement and does so knowing the content of the accusatory instrument 7 is false. 8 Falsely accusing someone of a crime is a class E felony. 9 § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed- 10 ing the date on which it shall have become a law. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD10343-01-5
Text of S 5897 as introduced, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions