N.Y. Penal Law § 490.05: Definitions

§ 490.05 Definitions.

As used in this article, the following terms shall mean and include:

1. "Act of terrorism":

(a) for purposes of this article means an act or acts constituting a

specified offense as defined in subdivision three of this section for

which a person may be convicted in the criminal courts of this state

pursuant to article twenty of the criminal procedure law, or an act or

acts constituting an offense in any other jurisdiction within or outside

the territorial boundaries of the United States which contains all of

the essential elements of a specified offense, that is intended to:

(i) intimidate or coerce a civilian population;

(ii) influence the policy of a unit of government by intimidation or

coercion; or

(iii) affect the conduct of a unit of government by murder,

assassination or kidnapping; or

(b) for purposes of subparagraph (xiii) of paragraph (a) of

subdivision one of section 125.27 of this chapter means activities that

involve a violent act or acts dangerous to human life that are in

violation of the criminal laws of this state and are intended to:

(i) intimidate or coerce a civilian population;

(ii) influence the policy of a unit of government by intimidation or

coercion; or

(iii) affect the conduct of a unit of government by murder,

assassination or kidnapping.

2. "Material support or resources" means currency or other financial

securities, financial services, lodging, training, safehouses, false

documentation or identification, communications equipment, facilities,

weapons, lethal substances, explosives, personnel, transportation, and

other physical assets, except medicine or religious materials.

3. (a) "Specified offense" for purposes of this article means a class

A felony offense other than an offense as defined in article two hundred

twenty, a violent felony offense as defined in section 70.02,

manslaughter in the second degree as defined in section 125.15, criminal

tampering in the first degree as defined in section 145.20, identity

theft in the second degree as defined in section 190.79, identity theft

in the first degree as defined in section 190.80, unlawful possession of

personal identification information in the second degree as defined in

section 190.82, unlawful possession of personal identification

information in the first degree as defined in section 190.83, money

laundering in support of terrorism in the fourth degree as defined in

section 470.21, money laundering in support of terrorism in the third

degree as defined in section 470.22, money laundering in support of

terrorism in the second degree as defined in section 470.23, money

laundering in support of terrorism in the first degree as defined in

section 470.24 of this chapter, and includes an attempt or conspiracy to

commit any such offense.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) of this

subdivision, a specified offense shall not mean an offense defined in

sections 490.37, 490.40, 490.45, 490.47, 490.50, and 490.55 of this

article, nor shall a specified offense mean an attempt to commit any

such offense.

4. "Renders criminal assistance" for purposes of sections 490.30 and

490.35 of this article shall have the same meaning as in section 205.50

of this chapter.

5. "Biological agent" means any micro-organism, virus, infectious

substance, or biological product that may be engineered as a result of

biotechnology, or any naturally occurring or bioengineered component of

any such micro-organism, virus, infectious substance, or biological

product, capable of causing:

(a) death, disease, or other biological malfunction in a human, an

animal, a plant, or another living organism;

(b) deterioration of food, water, equipment, supplies, or material of

any kind; or

(c) deleterious alteration of the environment.

6. "Toxin" means the toxic material of plants, animals,

micro-organisms, viruses, fungi, or infectious substances, or a

recombinant molecule, whatever its origin or method of production,

including:

(a) any poisonous substance or biological product that may be

engineered as a result of biotechnology produced by a living organism;

or

(b) any poisonous isomer or biological product, homolog, or derivative

of such a substance.

7. "Delivery system" means:

(a) any apparatus, equipment, device, or means of delivery

specifically designed to deliver or disseminate a biological agent,

toxin, or vector; or

(b) any vector.

8. "Vector" means a living organism, or molecule, including a

recombinant molecule, or biological product that may be engineered as a

result of biotechnology, capable of carrying a biological agent or toxin

to a host.

9. "Biological weapon" means any biological agent, toxin, vector, or

delivery system or combination thereof.

10. "Chemical weapon" means the following, together or separately:

(a) a toxic chemical or its precursors;

(b) a munition or device specifically designed to cause death or other

harm through the toxic properties of a toxic chemical or its precursors,

which would be released as a result of the employment of such munition

or device;

(c) any equipment specifically designed for use directly in connection

with the employment of munitions or devices; or

(d) any device that is designed to release radiation or radioactivity

at a level dangerous to human life.

11. "Precursor" means any chemical reactant that takes part at any

stage in the production by whatever method of a toxic chemical,

including any key component of a binary or multicomponent chemical

system, and includes precursors which have been identified for

application of verification measures under article VI of the convention

in schedules contained in the annex on chemicals of the chemical weapons

convention.

12. "Key component of a binary or multicomponent chemical system"

means the precursor which plays the most important role in determining

the toxic properties of the final product and reacts rapidly with other

chemicals in the binary or multicomponent system.

13. "Toxic chemical" means any chemical which through its chemical

action on life processes can cause death, serious physical injury or

permanent harm to humans or animals, including all such chemicals,

regardless of their origin or of their method of production, and

regardless of whether they are produced in facilities, in munitions or

elsewhere, and includes toxic chemicals which have been identified by

the commissioner of health and included on the list of toxic chemicals

pursuant to subdivision twenty of section two hundred six of the public

health law.

14. The terms "biological agent", "toxin", and "toxic chemical" do not

include any biological agent, toxin or toxic chemical that is in its

naturally occurring environment, if the biological agent, toxin or toxic

chemical has not been cultivated, collected, or otherwise extracted from

its natural source.

15. "Select chemical agent" shall mean a chemical weapon which has

been identified in regulations promulgated pursuant to subdivision

twenty of section two hundred six of the public health law.

16. "Select biological agent" shall mean a biological weapon which has

been identified in regulations promulgated pursuant to subdivision

twenty-one of section two hundred six of the public health law.

17. "Chemical weapons convention" and "convention" mean the convention

on the prohibition of the development, production, stockpiling and use

of chemical weapons and on their destruction, opened for signature on

January thirteenth, nineteen hundred ninety-three.