Bill Text: NY A04973 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Requires the office of victim services to provide notification of potential eligibility for crime victims' awards; directs the state police and the municipal police training council to develop procedures for notifying next of kin of available programs and services upon in-person death notifications.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to ways and means [A04973 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A04973-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         4973--A

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 27, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  ANDERSON,  SOLAGES,  MEEKS  -- read once and
          referred to the Committee  on  Governmental  Operations  --  committee
          discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
          to said committee

        AN  ACT  to amend the executive law, in relation to requiring the office
          of victim services to provide notification  of  potential  eligibility
          for  awards  following  the death of a victim of a crime who died as a
          direct result of such crime

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

     1    Section  1.  Section 625-b of the executive law is amended by adding a
     2  new subdivision 4 to read as follows:
     3    4. In addition, the commissioner of the division of  criminal  justice
     4  services,  in cooperation with the office, shall develop and implement a
     5  standardized procedure to be used by police officers, county   sheriffs'
     6  departments  and state police officers whereby family members and depen-
     7  dents who may be eligible to receive awards under this article are noti-
     8  fied about the existence of such awards and the existence of  any  other
     9  relevant services or programs.
    10    §  2.  Paragraph  (a) of subdivision 7 of section 840 of the executive
    11  law, as added by chapter 531 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read  as
    12  follows:
    13    (a)  Develop,  maintain  and  disseminate,  in  collaboration with the
    14  office of victim services, a model law  enforcement  death  notification
    15  policy  setting  forth  recommended  policies  and  procedures regarding
    16  in-person death notifications to a deceased individual's  next  of  kin.
    17  Such  policies  and  procedures  shall make provisions for education and
    18  training of current and new police officers in  the  planning,  prepara-
    19  tion,  and  delivery of in-person death notifications, including but not
    20  limited to, policies and procedures for:

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD08697-02-3
        A. 4973--A                          2

     1    (i) the identification of the deceased individual, the  collection  of
     2  accurate  information  regarding  the deceased individual, and the iden-
     3  tification of the deceased individual's next of kin; and
     4    (ii)  the  actual  delivery  of  in-person  death notifications to the
     5  deceased's next of kin within twenty-four hours following the  identifi-
     6  cation  of  such individual; provided, however, such policies and proce-
     7  dures shall provide that, in the event that an in-person death notifica-
     8  tion cannot be provided to the deceased individual's next of kin  within
     9  such timeframe, the failure or delay of such notification shall be docu-
    10  mented  and such notification shall instead be made as soon as practica-
    11  ble[.]; and
    12    (iii) providing information to the deceased individual's next  of  kin
    13  regarding  the  existence  of programs and support services available to
    14  them.
    15    § 3. Subdivision 1 of section 214-h of the executive law, as added  by
    16  chapter 531 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows:
    17    1.  Develop,  maintain  and  disseminate a model law enforcement death
    18  notification policy setting forth recommended  policies  and  procedures
    19  regarding  in-person death notifications to a deceased individual's next
    20  of kin. Such policies and procedures shall make provisions for education
    21  and training of current and new police officers in the planning,  prepa-
    22  ration, and delivery of in-person death notifications, including but not
    23  limited to, policies and procedures for:
    24    (a)  the  identification of the deceased individual, the collection of
    25  accurate information regarding the deceased individual,  and  the  iden-
    26  tification of the deceased individual's next of kin; [and]
    27    (b)  the  actual  delivery  of  in-person  death  notifications to the
    28  deceased individual's next of kin within twenty-four hours following the
    29  identification of such individual; provided, however, such policies  and
    30  procedures  shall  provide  that,  in  the event that an in-person death
    31  notification cannot be provided to the deceased individual's next of kin
    32  within such timeframe, the failure or delay of such  notification  shall
    33  be  documented  and  such  notification shall instead be made as soon as
    34  practicable[.]; and
    35    (c) providing information to the deceased  individual's  next  of  kin
    36  regarding  the  existence  of programs and support services available to
    37  them.
    38    § 4. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day  after  it  shall
    39  have become a law.