Bill Text: NY A08059 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to eligibility requirements for victims of sex offenses to receive awards from the office of victim services; removes time limitations on when reports of a sex offense must be made; removes requirement that a victim of a sex offense participate in the criminal justice system; establishes that a written or verbal statement made to certain persons shall be deemed to be a report to a criminal justice agency.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - referred to governmental operations [A08059 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-A08059-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          8059

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                      June 11, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M. of A. GONZALEZ-ROJAS -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Governmental Operations

        AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to  eligibility  require-
          ments for victims of sex offenses to receive awards from the office of
          victim services

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

     1    Section 1.  Subdivision 1 of section 631  of  the  executive  law,  as
     2  separately  amended  by  chapters  189  and  295 of the laws of 2018, is
     3  amended to read as follows:
     4    1. No award shall be made unless the office finds that (a) a crime was
     5  committed, (b) such crime directly resulted in personal physical  injury
     6  to  or  the  exacerbation  of a preexisting disability, or condition, or
     7  death of, the victim, and (c) criminal justice agency records show  that
     8  such  crime  was  promptly reported to the proper authorities; and in no
     9  case may an award be made where the criminal justice agency records show
    10  that such report was made more than one week  after  the  occurrence  of
    11  such  crime  unless the office, for good cause shown, finds the delay to
    12  have been justified. Notwithstanding the foregoing  provisions  of  this
    13  subdivision,  in cases involving [an alleged sex offense as contained in
    14  article one hundred thirty of the penal law or]  incest  as  defined  in
    15  section  255.25,  255.26 or 255.27 of the penal law or labor trafficking
    16  as defined in section 135.35 of the penal  law  or  sex  trafficking  as
    17  defined  in  sections 230.34 and 230.34-a of the penal law or an offense
    18  chargeable as a family offense as described  in  section  eight  hundred
    19  twelve  of the family court act or section 530.11 of the criminal proce-
    20  dure law, the criminal justice agency report need only be made within  a
    21  reasonable   time  considering  all  the  circumstances,  including  the
    22  victim's physical, emotional and mental condition and family  situation.
    23  For  the  purposes  of this subdivision, "criminal justice agency" shall
    24  include, but not be limited to, a police department, a  district  attor-

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD11543-01-1
        A. 8059                             2

     1  ney's  office,  and  any other governmental agency having responsibility
     2  for the enforcement of the criminal laws of the state provided, however,
     3  that in cases involving such sex offense or family  offense  a  criminal
     4  justice  agency  shall  also  mean a family court, a governmental agency
     5  responsible for child and/or adult protective services pursuant to title
     6  six of article six of the social services law and/or title one of  arti-
     7  cle  nine-B  of the social services law, and any medical facility estab-
     8  lished under the laws of the state that  provides  a  forensic  physical
     9  examination for victims of rape and sexual assault.
    10    §  2.    Section  631  of the executive law is amended by adding a new
    11  subdivision 1-b to read as follows:
    12    1-b.   Notwithstanding the  provisions  of  subdivision  one  of  this
    13  section, in cases involving an alleged sex offense as contained in arti-
    14  cle  one hundred thirty of the penal law, there shall be no time limita-
    15  tion for when a report shall be filed in order to be eligible to receive
    16  an award pursuant to this section.  No victim of an alleged sex  offense
    17  shall  be required to participate in the criminal justice system, either
    18  prior to the examination or at any other time.    A  written  or  verbal
    19  statement  made  by  a  victim  to  a law enforcement officer, emergency
    20  department, sexual assault nurse examiner, or victim's  advocate  of  an
    21  alleged  sexual  offense  shall  be  deemed to be a report to a criminal
    22  justice agency and such statement shall be deemed to be reported to  the
    23  proper  authorities for the purposes of paragraph (c) of subdivision one
    24  of this section.
    25    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.