Bill Text: NY S03079 | 2011-2012 | General Assembly | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Establishes the temporary state commission on intimate partner violence, within the office for the prevention of domestic violence, to study, report on and make recommendations on the prevalence, causes, effects, risks and costs of such violence.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-06-15 - PRINT NUMBER 3079D [S03079 Detail]

Download: New_York-2011-S03079-Amended.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                        3079--B
                              2011-2012 Regular Sessions
                                   I N  S E N A T E
                                   February 8, 2011
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by  Sen. HUNTLEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
         printed to be committed to  the  Committee  on  Finance  --  committee
         discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
         to  said  committee  --  recommitted  to  the  Committee on Finance in
         accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 --  committee  discharged,  bill
         amended,  ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
         tee
       AN ACT to establish a temporary state commission, within the  office  of
         mental  health,  to study intimate partner violence; and providing for
         the repeal of such provisions upon expiration thereof
         THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section  1.  Legislative  findings  and intent. The legislature hereby
    2  finds that intimate partner violence against women  is  a  major  public
    3  health  concern  that needs to be addressed with all practical and prag-
    4  matic tools at its disposal and that those tools should  be  effectively
    5  and responsibly utilized by communities all across the state.
    6    According  to  the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA),
    7  1.5 million women are physically and/or sexually abused by  an  intimate
    8  partner  each year, and 25% will experience intimate partner violence at
    9  some time during their lifetimes.  Moreover,  25%  of  adolescents  have
   10  experienced  physical  or sexual dating violence. In another report, the
   11  U.S. Department of Justice found out that females are approximately  ten
   12  times more likely to be killed by an intimate partner than are males.
   13    Similarly,  injuries  that result from such violence are significantly
   14  more common among females for both adolescents  and  adult  populations,
   15  and  approximately  10%  of intentional injuries to adolescent girls are
   16  reported to be the result of violent male dating. External factors  such
   17  as  race,  age,  illiteracy  and  ethnicity are closely related with the
   18  climbing rates of intimate partner violence. Furthermore,  health  risks
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD00951-04-1
       S. 3079--B                          2
    1  and  demographics  have  been  found  to  be associated with both dating
    2  violence variables and health risk outcomes.
    3    Research  suggests  that the incidence of physical dating violence was
    4  associated with substance use (heavy smoking,  binge  drinking,  driving
    5  after  drinking, cocaine use), unhealthy weight control (diet pills use,
    6  laxative use), risky sexual behavior (first intercourse before  the  age
    7  of fifteen years, not using a condom at last intercourse, at least three
    8  sex  partners  in  the  last  three  months), pregnancy, and suicidality
    9  (considered, attempted suicide).
   10    A study found that many secondary effects are  commonly  related  with
   11  the  prevalence  of intimate partner violence. For example, both adoles-
   12  cent girls and adult women who experienced forcible sex are more  likely
   13  to  exhibit  eating disorders; also, violent childhood experiences cata-
   14  lyze the vulnerability to become victims of intimate  partner  violence.
   15  Likewise,  the  humiliation  of  those  who experienced intimate partner
   16  violence may play a major role in predisposing teens to  suicidal  idea-
   17  tion  and  behavior.  Moreover, based on recent data from abused adults,
   18  adolescents who experience dating  violence  may  be  less  likely  than
   19  others to receive treatment for mental health concerns.
   20    Adolescents experiencing dating violence are at significantly elevated
   21  risks  for  having  greater  numbers  of  sex partners, making them more
   22  vulnerable to contracting HIV and other  sexually  transmitted  diseases
   23  than  adolescent girls who are not abused by dating partners. Similarly,
   24  abused high school girls are found to be more likely than  their  non-a-
   25  bused  peers to have ever been pregnant. In contrast, younger girls were
   26  found to be at lower risk for experiences of  dating  violence,  due  to
   27  reduced opportunity for such experiences.
   28    Evidently,  the legislature needs to address this issue thoroughly due
   29  to the disturbing statistics that show an increasing rate of  adolescent
   30  dating violence. Bearing in mind that the state's population is composed
   31  mainly  of  minority  groups,  and  that for example, according to JAMA,
   32  black female students appear to be more  likely  than  individuals  from
   33  other  groups  to  report  sexual  violence in the absence   of physical
   34  violence from dating partners, it is imperative to formulate legislation
   35  that would study this issue properly and then make necessary recommenda-
   36  tions that would lead to minimizing this problem.
   37    As noted, it  is  relevant  to  make  a  relationship  between  dating
   38  violence and health risks among, but not limited to, adolescent girls in
   39  the state of New York. Health experts agree that perhaps the most press-
   40  ing  need for research involves the development of this violent behavior
   41  among perpetrators of abuse against dating partners. Prevention  efforts
   42  in  this  area  should  be  expanded  and support should be provided for
   43  development and  implementation  of  prevention  programs  and  services
   44  specific  to  teen dating violence. Equally important, is the finding of
   45  this legislature that medical and  mental  health  professionals  should
   46  routinely  screen adolescents for dating violence and be aware of appro-
   47  priate referrals.
   48    It is the finding of this legislature that a body of experts  in  this
   49  area  be  convened to report and recommend solutions to intimate partner
   50  violence that can be quickly implemented throughout the state.
   51    S 2. A temporary state commission  on  intimate  partner  violence  is
   52  hereby  established,  within  the  office  of mental health, to examine,
   53  evaluate and make recommendations  concerning  the  prevalence,  causes,
   54  effects,  risks  and  costs  to  the state of intimate partner violence,
   55  including dating violence toward  young  women.  Such  commission  shall
   56  review,  with  particular care, the impact of the existing conditions on
       S. 3079--B                          3
    1  intimate partner violence, and how to reduce such violence and  increase
    2  the reporting of such violence.
    3    S 3. The temporary state commission on intimate partner violence shall
    4  consist  of  15 members to be appointed as follows: 7 shall be appointed
    5  by the governor; 3 shall be appointed by the temporary president of  the
    6  senate;  3 shall be appointed by the speaker of the assembly; 1 shall be
    7  appointed by the minority leader of the senate; and 1 shall be appointed
    8  by the minority leader of the assembly. Of the members appointed by  the
    9  governor:  1  member  shall  be a representative of the office of mental
   10  health, 1 member shall be a representative of the education  department,
   11  1  member shall be a representative of the office of children and family
   12  services and 1 member shall be a representative  of  the  crime  victims
   13  board.  The  appointed members of the commission shall be broadly repre-
   14  sentative of the geographic areas of the state.  The members shall  each
   15  have  expertise  in the prevalence, causes, effects or risks of intimate
   16  partner violence, or the solutions for  such  violence.    The  governor
   17  shall  designate the chair and vice chair from among his or her appoint-
   18  ees.  Vacancies in the membership of the commission shall be  filled  in
   19  the manner provided for original appointments.
   20    S  4.  The temporary state commission on intimate partner violence may
   21  meet within and without the state, shall hold public hearings, and shall
   22  have all the powers of a legislative committee pursuant to the  legisla-
   23  tive law.
   24    S 5. The members of the temporary state commission on intimate partner
   25  violence  shall receive no compensation for their services, but shall be
   26  allowed their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the  performance
   27  of their duties pursuant to this act.
   28    S 6. To the maximum extent feasible, the temporary state commission on
   29  intimate  partner violence shall be entitled to request and receive, and
   30  shall utilize and be provided with such facilities, resources  and  data
   31  of  any court, department, division, board, bureau, commission or agency
   32  of the state or any political subdivision thereof as it  may  reasonably
   33  request  to  carry  out  properly its powers and duties pursuant to this
   34  act.
   35    S 7. The temporary state commission on intimate partner violence shall
   36  make a preliminary report to the governor and  the  legislature  of  its
   37  findings,  conclusions  and  recommendations within twelve months of the
   38  effective date of this act; a second report of its findings, conclusions
   39  and recommendations, and shall include an outcome analysis of the imple-
   40  mentation of its recommendations  from  the  preliminary  report  within
   41  twenty-four months of the effective date of this act; and a final report
   42  of  its  final findings, conclusions and recommendations, and an outcome
   43  analysis of the implementation of its recommendations from its  previous
   44  two  reports within thirty-six months of the effective date of this act;
   45  and shall submit with its reports such legislative proposals as it deems
   46  necessary to implement its recommendations.
   47    S 8. This act shall take effect immediately and shall  expire  and  be
   48  deemed  repealed  three  years  and  one  day after such effective date;
   49  provided, however, that if upon such effective date, an appropriation to
   50  the office of mental health shall not have been made  for  reimbursement
   51  services for the purpose of implementing the provisions of sections two,
   52  three,  four,  five, six and seven of this act, then this act shall take
   53  effect on the forty-fifth day after such an appropriation is  made,  and
   54  provided,  further,  that  the  division  of the budget shall notify the
   55  legislative bill drafting commission on September 1, 2012  whether  such
   56  an appropriation has been made, and if such appropriation shall not have
       S. 3079--B                          4
    1  been made on or before such date, the division of the budget shall noti-
    2  fy the legislative bill drafting commission upon the date such an appro-
    3  priation shall have been made, in order that the commission may maintain
    4  an  accurate  and timely effective data base of the official text of the
    5  laws of the state  of  New  York  in  furtherance  of  effectuating  the
    6  provisions  of section 44 of the legislative law and section 70-b of the
    7  public officers law.