Bill Text: NY S05660 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Enacts the New York State Child Protection Act of 2018; relates to the statute of limitation for sex offenses committed against a child, the timeliness for commencing certain civil actions related to sex offenses, the reporting of child abuse, fees collected and providing for the reimbursement of not-for-profit corporations for the fees collected for criminal history searches by the office of court administration.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 11-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-02-15 - PRINT NUMBER 5660A [S05660 Detail]
Download: New_York-2017-S05660-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5660--A 2017-2018 Regular Sessions IN SENATE April 24, 2017 ___________ Introduced by Sens. LANZA, GRIFFO, HELMING, ORTT, RANZENHOFER, RITCHIE, ROBACH -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes -- recommitted to the Committee on Codes in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to the statute of limitations for sex offenses committed against a child; to amend the civil practice law and rules, the general municipal law, the court of claims act and the education law, in relation to the timeliness for commencing certain civil actions related to sex offenses; to amend the social services law, in relation to the reporting of child abuse; to amend the business corporation law, the not-for-profit corporation law, the religious corporations law and the cooperative corporations law, in relation to child protection and criminal history searches; and to amend part J of chapter 62 of the laws of 2003 amending the county law and other laws relating to fees collected, in relation to providing for the reimbursement of not-for-profit corporations for fees collected for criminal history searches by the office of court administration The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "New York 2 State Child Protection Act of 2018". 3 § 2. Paragraph (f) of subdivision 3 of section 30.10 of the criminal 4 procedure law, as separately amended by chapters 3 and 320 of the laws 5 of 2006, is amended to read as follows: 6 (f) [For purposes of a] A prosecution involving a sexual offense as 7 defined in article one hundred thirty of the penal law, other than a 8 sexual offense delineated in paragraph (a) of subdivision two of this 9 section, committed against a child less than eighteen years of age, EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD10468-02-8S. 5660--A 2 1 incest in the first, second or third degree as defined in sections 2 255.27, 255.26 and 255.25 of the penal law committed against a child 3 less than eighteen years of age, or use of a child in a sexual perform- 4 ance as defined in section 263.05 of the penal law, [the period of limi-5tation shall not begin to run until the child has reached the age of6eighteen or the offense is reported to a law enforcement agency or7statewide central register of child abuse and maltreatment, whichever8occurs earlier] may be commenced at any time. 9 § 3. The opening paragraph of section 208 of the civil practice law 10 and rules is designated subdivision (a) and a new subdivision (b) is 11 added to read as follows: 12 (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (a) of this section, 13 with respect to all civil claims or causes of action brought by any 14 person for physical, psychological or other injury or condition suffered 15 as a result of conduct of a defendant which would constitute a sexual 16 offense as defined in article one hundred thirty of the penal law 17 committed against a child less than eighteen years of age, incest as 18 defined in section 255.25, 255.26 or 255.27 of the penal law committed 19 against a child less than eighteen years of age, or the use of a child 20 in a sexual performance as defined in section 263.05 of the penal law, 21 or a predecessor statute that prohibited such conduct at the time of the 22 act, which conduct was committed against a child less than eighteen 23 years of age, the time within which the action must be commenced shall 24 be extended to five years after the person reaches the age of twenty- 25 three years. 26 § 4. Subdivision 8 of section 50-e of the general municipal law, as 27 amended by chapter 24 of the laws of 1988, is amended to read as 28 follows: 29 8. Inapplicability of section. (a) This section shall not apply to 30 claims arising under the provisions of the workers' compensation law, 31 the volunteer firefighters' benefit law, or the volunteer ambulance 32 workers' benefit law or to claims against public corporations by their 33 own infant wards. 34 (b) This section shall not apply to any claim made for physical, 35 psychological, or other injury or condition suffered as a result of 36 conduct of a defendant which would constitute a sexual offense as 37 defined in article one hundred thirty of the penal law committed against 38 a child less than eighteen years of age, incest as defined in section 39 255.25, 255.26 or 255.27 of the penal law committed against a child less 40 than eighteen years of age, or the use of a child in a sexual perform- 41 ance as defined in section 263.05 of the penal law committed against a 42 child less than eighteen years of age. 43 § 5. Section 50-i of the general municipal law is amended by adding a 44 new subdivision 5 to read as follows: 45 5. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, this section 46 shall not apply to any claim made against a city, county, town, village, 47 fire district or school district for physical, psychological, or other 48 injury or condition suffered as a result of conduct of a defendant which 49 would constitute a sexual offense as defined in article one hundred 50 thirty of the penal law committed against a child less than eighteen 51 years of age, incest as defined in section 255.25, 255.26 or 255.27 of 52 the penal law committed against a child less than eighteen years of age, 53 or the use of a child in a sexual performance as defined in section 54 263.05 of the penal law committed against a child less than eighteen 55 years of age.S. 5660--A 3 1 § 6. Section 10 of the court of claims act is amended by adding a new 2 subdivision 10 to read as follows: 3 10. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, this section 4 shall not apply to any claim to recover damages for physical, psycholog- 5 ical, or other injury or condition suffered as a result of conduct of a 6 defendant which would constitute a sexual offense as defined in article 7 one hundred thirty of the penal law committed against a child less than 8 eighteen years of age, incest as defined in section 255.25, 255.26 or 9 255.27 of the penal law committed against a child less than eighteen 10 years of age, or the use of a child in a sexual performance as defined 11 in section 263.05 of the penal law committed against a child less than 12 eighteen years of age. 13 § 7. Subdivision 2 of section 3813 of the education law, as amended by 14 chapter 346 of the laws of 1978, is amended to read as follows: 15 2. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary hereinbefore contained in 16 this section, no action or special proceeding founded upon tort shall be 17 prosecuted or maintained against any of the parties named in this 18 section or against any teacher or member of the supervisory or adminis- 19 trative staff or employee where the alleged tort was committed by such 20 teacher or member or employee acting in the discharge of his duties 21 within the scope of his employment and/or under the direction of the 22 board of education, trustee or trustees, or governing body of the school 23 unless a notice of claim shall have been made and served in compliance 24 with section fifty-e of the general municipal law. Every such action 25 shall be commenced pursuant to the provisions of section fifty-i of the 26 general municipal law, provided, however, that this section shall not 27 apply to any claim to recover damages for physical, psychological, or 28 other injury or condition suffered as a result of conduct of a defendant 29 which would constitute a sexual offense as defined in article one 30 hundred thirty of the penal law committed against a child less than 31 eighteen years of age, incest as defined in section 255.25, 255.26 or 32 255.27 of the penal law committed against a child less than eighteen 33 years of age, or the use of a child in a sexual performance as defined 34 in section 263.05 of the penal law committed against a child less than 35 eighteen years of age. 36 § 8. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 413 of the social 37 services law, as amended by section 2 of part Q of chapter 56 of the 38 laws of 2017, is amended to read as follows: 39 (a) The following persons and officials are required to report or 40 cause a report to be made in accordance with this title when they have 41 reasonable cause to suspect that a child coming before them in their 42 professional or official capacity is an abused or maltreated child, or 43 when they have reasonable cause to suspect that a child is an abused or 44 maltreated child where the parent, guardian, custodian or other person 45 legally responsible for such child comes before them in their profes- 46 sional or official capacity and states from personal knowledge facts, 47 conditions or circumstances which, if correct, would render the child an 48 abused or maltreated child: any physician; registered physician assist- 49 ant; surgeon; medical examiner; coroner; dentist; dental hygienist; 50 osteopath; optometrist; chiropractor; podiatrist; resident; intern; 51 psychologist; registered nurse; social worker; emergency medical techni- 52 cian; licensed creative arts therapist; licensed marriage and family 53 therapist; licensed mental health counselor; licensed psychoanalyst; 54 licensed behavior analyst; certified behavior analyst assistant; hospi- 55 tal personnel engaged in the admission, examination, care or treatment 56 of persons; member of the clergy; a Christian Science practitioner;S. 5660--A 4 1 school official, which includes but is not limited to school teacher, 2 school guidance counselor, school psychologist, school social worker, 3 school nurse, school administrator or other school personnel required to 4 hold a teaching or administrative license or certificate; full or part- 5 time compensated school employee required to hold a temporary coaching 6 license or professional coaching certificate; social services worker; 7 employee of a publicly-funded emergency shelter for families with chil- 8 dren; director of a children's overnight camp, summer day camp or trav- 9 eling summer day camp, as such camps are defined in section thirteen 10 hundred ninety-two of the public health law; day care center worker; 11 school-age child care worker; provider of family or group family day 12 care; employee or volunteer in a residential care facility for children 13 that is licensed, certified or operated by the office of children and 14 family services; or any other child care or foster care worker; mental 15 health professional; substance abuse counselor; alcoholism counselor; 16 all persons credentialed by the office of alcoholism and substance abuse 17 services; peace officer; police officer; district attorney or assistant 18 district attorney; investigator employed in the office of a district 19 attorney; or other law enforcement official. 20 § 9. Subdivision 1 of section 413 of the social services law is 21 amended by adding five new paragraphs (e), (f), (g), (h) and (i) to read 22 as follows: 23 (e) Unless the person confessing or confiding waives the privilege, a 24 member of the clergy, or other minister of any religion or duly accred- 25 ited Christian Science practitioner, shall not be required to make a 26 report as required by paragraph (a) of this subdivision if the 27 confession or confidence was made to him or her in his or her profes- 28 sional character as spiritual advisor. 29 (f) When a member of the clergy has reasonable cause to suspect that a 30 child is an abused or maltreated child based upon any information 31 received other than through a confession or confidence made pursuant to 32 paragraph (e) of this subdivision, then such member of the clergy shall 33 promptly make a report as required by paragraph (a) of this subdivision 34 notwithstanding the fact that he or she may have also received a report 35 of abuse or maltreatment through a confession or confidence made pursu- 36 ant to paragraph (e) of this subdivision. 37 (g) The provisions of paragraph (e) of this subdivision shall not be 38 deemed to exempt a member of the clergy from any other requirements of 39 law to prevent the perpetrator from committing additional acts of abuse. 40 (h) For the purposes of this subdivision the term "member of the cler- 41 gy" shall have the same definition as the term "clergyman" as set forth 42 in section two of the religious corporations law and shall also include 43 any person responsible for supervising a member of the clergy of a reli- 44 gious institution or responsible for the administration of a religious 45 institution. 46 (i) For the purposes of this subdivision the term "religious institu- 47 tion" shall mean a religious corporation created to enable its members 48 to meet for divine worship or other religious observances or a congre- 49 gation, society, or other assemblage of persons who are accustomed to 50 statedly meet for divine worship or other religious observances, without 51 having been incorporated for that purpose, as provided in section two of 52 the religious corporations law. 53 § 10. Article 6 of the social services law is amended by adding a new 54 title 6-B to read as follows: 55 TITLE 6-B 56 REPORTS OF CHILD ABUSE TO LAW ENFORCEMENTS. 5660--A 5 1 Section 429-a. Persons and officials required to report cases of 2 suspected child abuse to appropriate law enforcement 3 agency. 4 429-b. Penalties for failure to report. 5 429-c. Immunity from liability. 6 429-d. Review of existing records for allegations that a child 7 is an abused child; district attorney; penalty. 8 § 429-a. Persons and officials required to report cases of suspected 9 child abuse to appropriate law enforcement agency. 1. (a) The following 10 persons and officials are required to report or cause a report to be 11 made to an appropriate law enforcement agency when they have reasonable 12 cause to suspect in their professional or official capacity that a child 13 is an abused child: any physician; registered physician assistant; 14 surgeon; medical examiner; coroner; dentist; dental hygienist; osteo- 15 path; optometrist; chiropractor; podiatrist; resident; intern; psychol- 16 ogist; registered nurse; emergency medical technician; hospital person- 17 nel engaged in the admission, examination, care or treatment of persons; 18 member of the clergy; a Christian Science practitioner; school official; 19 social services worker; day care center worker; provider of family or 20 group family day care; employee or volunteer in a residential care 21 facility or any other child care or foster care worker; mental health 22 professional; substance abuse counselor; alcoholism counselor; peace 23 officer; police officer; district attorney or assistant district attor- 24 ney; investigator employed in the office of a district attorney; or 25 other law enforcement official. 26 (b) For the purposes of this section the term "abused child" shall 27 mean a child under the age of eighteen years upon whom a person eighteen 28 years of age or more who is defined in paragraph (a) of this subdivision 29 and who is not the parent or other person legally responsible for such 30 child's care: 31 (i) intentionally or recklessly inflicts physical injury, serious 32 physical injury or death, or 33 (ii) intentionally or recklessly engages in conduct which creates a 34 substantial risk of such physical injury, serious physical injury or 35 death, or 36 (iii) commits or attempts to commit against a child the crime of 37 disseminating indecent materials to minors pursuant to article two 38 hundred thirty-five of the penal law, or 39 (iv) engages in any conduct prohibited by article one hundred thirty 40 or two hundred sixty-three of the penal law. 41 (c) For the purposes of this section the term "law enforcement author- 42 ities" shall mean a municipal police department, sheriff's department, 43 the division of state police or any officer thereof or a district attor- 44 ney or assistant district attorney. Notwithstanding any other provision 45 of law, law enforcement authorities shall not include any child protec- 46 tive service or any society for the prevention of cruelty to children as 47 such terms are defined in section four hundred twenty-three of this 48 article. 49 (d) For the purposes of this section the term "member of the clergy" 50 shall have the same definition as the term "clergyman" as set forth in 51 section two of the religious corporations law and shall also include any 52 person responsible for supervising a member of the clergy of a religious 53 institution or responsible for the administration of a religious insti- 54 tution. 55 (e) For the purposes of this section the term "religious institution" 56 shall mean a religious corporation created to enable its members to meetS. 5660--A 6 1 for divine worship or other religious observances or a congregation, 2 society, or other assemblage of persons who are accustomed to statedly 3 meet for divine worship or other religious observances, without having 4 been incorporated for that purpose, as provided in section two of the 5 religious corporations law. 6 2. (a) Unless the person confessing or confiding waives the privilege, 7 a member of the clergy, or other minister of any religion or duly 8 accredited Christian Science practitioner, shall not be required to make 9 a report as required by paragraph (a) of subdivision one of this section 10 if the confession or confidence was made to him or her in his or her 11 professional character as spiritual advisor. 12 (b) When a member of the clergy has reasonable cause to suspect that a 13 child is an abused child based upon any information received other than 14 through a confession or confidence made pursuant to paragraph (a) of 15 this subdivision, then such member of the clergy shall promptly make a 16 report as required by paragraph (a) of subdivision one of this section 17 notwithstanding the fact that he or she may have also received a report 18 of abuse through a confession or confidence made pursuant to paragraph 19 (a) of this subdivision. 20 (c) The provisions of paragraph (a) of this subdivision shall not be 21 deemed to exempt a member of the clergy from any other requirements of 22 law to prevent the perpetrator from committing additional acts of abuse. 23 3. Nothing in this title shall be construed to require the report of 24 information by a person required to report herein when such information 25 is otherwise privileged from disclosure by law. 26 § 429-b. Penalties for failure to report. 1. Any person required by 27 this title to report a case of suspected child abuse who willfully fails 28 to do so shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor. 29 2. Any person required by this title to report a case of suspected 30 child abuse who knowingly and willfully fails to do so shall be civilly 31 liable for the damages proximately caused by such failure. 32 § 429-c. Immunity from liability. 1. Any person who in good faith 33 makes a report of allegations of child abuse as required by this title, 34 including those who in good faith make a report to the wrong recipient, 35 shall have immunity from criminal liability which might otherwise result 36 by reason of such actions. 37 2. Any person who reasonably and in good faith makes a report of alle- 38 gations of child abuse as required by this title, shall have immunity 39 from civil liability which might otherwise result by reason of such 40 actions. 41 § 429-d. Review of existing records for allegations that a child is an 42 abused child; district attorney; penalty. 1. Within three months of the 43 effective date of this section, all members of the clergy shall: (a) 44 review all institutional records within their control and any other 45 information they have obtained regarding allegations that a child is an 46 abused child by a member of the clergy within twenty years prior to the 47 effective date of this section; and (b) review whether they are aware of 48 any other allegations that a child is an abused child alleged to have 49 been abused by a member of the clergy who remains actively in the 50 service of a religious institution, regardless of the date on which such 51 allegation was made; and where such information or records raise reason- 52 able cause to suspect that a child is an abused child, report such alle- 53 gation to the district attorney. This section shall not apply to infor- 54 mation obtained through confidential communications with clergy and 55 privileged under law and no report need be made of allegations against a 56 deceased individual.S. 5660--A 7 1 2. The willful failure of an individual defined in paragraph (a) of 2 subdivision one of section four hundred twenty-nine-a of this title to 3 review existing records and information and report allegations contained 4 therein, as provided by this section, shall be a class A misdemeanor. 5 § 11. The commissioner of the office of children and family services 6 shall review the reporting form used to report suspected child abuse 7 pursuant to section 429-a of the social services law, as added by 8 section ten of this act, and, if necessary, shall revise such form to 9 make it appropriate for reporting to law enforcement agencies. 10 § 12. The business corporation law is amended by adding a new section 11 113 to read as follows: 12 § 113. Child protection and criminal history searches. 13 Any corporation as defined by section one hundred two of this article 14 shall perform a criminal history search on all individuals that may work 15 or otherwise have reason in their duties to be engaged in unsupervised 16 activities with children under the age of eighteen; or individuals that 17 may participate in activities with children under the age of eighteen in 18 a setting without constant agency or parental oversight. 19 § 13. The not-for-profit corporation law is amended by adding a new 20 section 116 to read as follows: 21 § 116. Child protection and criminal history searches. 22 Any corporation as defined by section one hundred two of this article 23 shall perform a criminal history search on all individuals that may work 24 or otherwise have reason in their duties to be engaged in unsupervised 25 activities with children under the age of eighteen; or individuals that 26 may participate in activities with children under the age of eighteen in 27 a setting without constant agency or parental oversight. 28 § 14. The religious corporations law is amended by adding a new 29 section 28 to read as follows: 30 § 28. Child protection and criminal history searches. Any religious 31 corporation as defined by section two of this chapter shall perform a 32 criminal history search on all individuals that may work or otherwise 33 have reason in their duties to be engaged in unsupervised activities 34 with children under the age of eighteen; or individuals that may partic- 35 ipate in activities with children under the age of eighteen in a setting 36 without constant agency or parental oversight. 37 § 15. The cooperative corporations law is amended by adding a new 38 section 6 to read as follows: 39 § 6. Child protection and criminal history searches. Any cooperative 40 corporation as defined by section three of this article shall perform a 41 criminal history search on all individuals that may work or otherwise 42 have reason in their duties to be engaged in unsupervised activities 43 with children under the age of eighteen; or individuals that may partic- 44 ipate in activities with children under the age of eighteen in a setting 45 without constant agency or parental oversight. 46 § 16. Section 14 of part J of chapter 62 of the laws of 2003 amending 47 the county law and other laws relating to fees collected, as amended by 48 section 7 of part K of chapter 56 of the laws of 2010, is amended to 49 read as follows: 50 § 14. Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law: (a) the fee 51 collected by the office of court administration for the provision of 52 criminal history searches and other searches for data kept electron- 53 ically by the unified court system shall be sixty-five dollars; (b) 54 thirty-five dollars of each such fee collected shall be deposited in the 55 indigent legal services fund established by section 98-b of the state 56 finance law, as added by section twelve of this act, (c) nine dollars ofS. 5660--A 8 1 each such fee collected shall be deposited in the legal services assist- 2 ance fund established by section 98-c of the state finance law, as added 3 by section nineteen of this act, (d) sixteen dollars of each such fee 4 collected shall be deposited to the judiciary data processing offset 5 fund established by section 94-b of the state finance law, [and] (e) the 6 remainder shall be deposited in the general fund[.], and (f) provided, 7 however, if a criminal history search or other searches for data kept 8 electronically by the unified court system is being requested by or on 9 the behalf of a not-for-profit corporation, to perform a criminal histo- 10 ry search on an individual that would be working with children under the 11 age of eighteen, the office of court administration shall, subject to 12 the approval of the director of the budget, establish protocols to reim- 13 burse the not-for-profit corporation for searches conducted and such 14 reimbursement shall come from the general fund. The division of budget 15 shall also promulgate regulations to prevent not-for-profit corporations 16 from over utilizing this reimbursement mechanism and to assure that all 17 reimbursed search fees are used for criminal history searches of posi- 18 tions that would have direct interaction with children. 19 § 17. The provisions of this act shall be severable, and if any 20 clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision or part of this act shall be 21 adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such 22 judgment shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, 23 but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, para- 24 graph, subdivision or part thereof directly involved in the controversy 25 in which such judgment shall have been rendered. 26 § 18. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 27 have become a law.
