Bill Text: NY A04462 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Factors domestic violence convictions into family court decisions regarding visitation, custody and parental rights; provides that any parent undergoing mandatory, batterer specific rehabilitation measures shall only be granted supervised visitation.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-07-15 - enacting clause stricken [A04462 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A04462-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          4462

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 16, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  ZEBROWSKI  --  read once and referred to the
          Committee on Children and Families

        AN ACT to amend the family court act, in relation to factoring  domestic
          violence convictions into family court decisions regarding visitation,
          custody and parental rights

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Paragraphs (vii) and (viii) of subdivision (a)  of  section
     2  1046  of the family court act, paragraph (vii) as amended by chapter 432
     3  of the laws of 1993, paragraph (viii) as added by chapter  1015  of  the
     4  laws  of  1972, are amended and a new paragraph (ix) is added to read as
     5  follows:
     6    (vii) neither the privilege attaching to  confidential  communications
     7  between husband and wife, as set forth in section forty-five hundred two
     8  of  the  civil  practice  law  and  rules, nor the physician-patient and
     9  related privileges, as set forth in section forty-five hundred  four  of
    10  the civil practice law and rules, nor the psychologist-client privilege,
    11  as  set  forth in section forty-five hundred seven of the civil practice
    12  law and rules, nor the social worker-client privilege, as set  forth  in
    13  section  forty-five  hundred  eight of the civil practice law and rules,
    14  nor the rape crisis counselor or domestic violence advocate-client priv-
    15  ilege, as set forth in section forty-five hundred ten of the civil prac-
    16  tice law and rules, shall be  a  ground  for  excluding  evidence  which
    17  otherwise would be admissible[.]; and
    18    (viii) proof of the "impairment of emotional health" or "impairment of
    19  mental  or  emotional  condition"  as  a  result of the unwillingness or
    20  inability of the respondent to exercise a minimum degree of care  toward
    21  a  child  may  include  competent  opinion  or  expert testimony and may
    22  include proof that such impairment lessened during  a  period  when  the
    23  child  was  in  the  care,  custody or supervision of a person or agency
    24  other than the respondent[.]; and

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD07214-01-3
        A. 4462                             2

     1    (ix) previous convictions of disorderly  conduct,  harassment  in  the
     2  first  degree, harassment in the second degree, aggravated harassment in
     3  the second degree, sexual misconduct forcible touching, sexual abuse  in
     4  the  third  degree,  sexual  abuse  in the second degree as set forth in
     5  subdivision  one  of  section  130.60  of the penal law, stalking in the
     6  first degree, stalking in the  second  degree,  stalking  in  the  third
     7  degree,  stalking  in  the fourth degree, criminal mischief, menacing in
     8  the second degree, menacing in the third degree, reckless  endangerment,
     9  strangulation  in  the first degree, strangulation in the second degree,
    10  criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation, assault  in  the
    11  second  degree, assault in the third degree, an attempted assault, coer-
    12  cion in the third degree as set forth in subdivisions one, two and three
    13  of section 135.60 of the penal law between spouses or former spouses, or
    14  between parent and child or between members of the same family or house-
    15  hold except that if the respondent would not be  criminally  responsible
    16  by  reason  of  age pursuant to section 30.00 of the penal law, shall be
    17  taken into consideration for any hearing  deciding  on  the  visitation,
    18  custody, or rights of a parent with mandatory, batterer specific rehabi-
    19  litative  measures of no less than twelve months, successfully completed
    20  by the respondent prior to a final judgment; provided, however, that any
    21  parent undergoing mandatory batterer  specific  rehabilitation  measures
    22  shall only be granted supervised visitation.
    23    §  2.  This  act  shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
    24  have become a law.