NY State Senate Bill 2011-S3141

Senate Bill S3141

2011-2012 Legislative Session

Requires police officers to notify family members in person of a relative's death in certain circumstances

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Rules Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Mar 19, 2012	committee discharged and committed to rules notice of committee consideration - requested
Jan 04, 2012	referred to transportation
Feb 09, 2011	referred to transportation

2011-S3141 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Rules
Law Section:: Vehicle and Traffic Law
Laws Affected:: Add §603-c, V & T L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2013-2014: S914
2015-2016: S2750
2017-2018: S1018
2019-2020: S2792
2021-2022: S3150

2011-S3141 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Enacts "Valeria's law"; requires police officers to notify family members in person of a relative's death in certain circumstances.

2011-S3141 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                BILL NUMBER:S3141

TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to requiring police
officers to notify family members in person of a relative's death in
certain circumstances

PURPOSE:
Require police officers to notify a family member in person, when a
relative has died.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1. Act shall be known as Valeria's Law.
Section 2. In each
motor vehicle accident or any other event or incident in which any
person is killed who was not in violation of the law.
Police officer, or agency, or individual who in the regular course of
duty investigates such event shall use reasonable efforts to identify
and notify in person a member of the person's family or household.

EXISTING LAW:
None exists.

JUSTIFICATION:
Receiving the news that a loved one or a family member has died is a

very emotion filled occurrence. The family members may be on an
emotional roller coaster at that time and its important to be there in
person to provide them with outlets, or resources they can go to or
use to help them cope with their loss.

In one such notification a police officer taped a yellow sticky note
to the family's front door telling them to call the morgue because
their daughter had been killed. Also cited were families who
frequently received death notifications over the telephone. In one
such telephone delivery, a father suffered a heart attack and
subsequently died following the notification from a Medical
examiner's employee seeking dental records for his son who had died
in a vehicle fire. An Omaha, Nebraska Police officer was fired after
leaving a death notification on a family's answering machine.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
None.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the Ninetieth day after it shall have
become a law.

2011-S3141 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  3141

                       2011-2012 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            February 9, 2011
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen. HUNTLEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation

AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in  relation  to  requiring
  police  officers  to  notify  family members in person of a relative's
  death in certain circumstances

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1.  This  act  shall  be known and may be cited as "Valeria's
law".
  S 2. The vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding  a  new  section
603-c to read as follows:
  S 603-C. ACCIDENTS; POLICE TO NOTIFY IN PERSON. 1. IN EACH MOTOR VEHI-
CLE  ACCIDENT  OR  ANY  OTHER  EVENT  OR INCIDENT IN WHICH ANY PERSON IS
KILLED, WHO WAS NOT IN VIOLATION OF ANY LAW, RULES, REGULATIONS,  PROCE-
DURES  OR  SUMMONS, THE POLICE OFFICER, AGENCY OR INDIVIDUAL WHO, IN THE
REGULAR COURSE OF DUTY, INVESTIGATES SUCH ACCIDENT,  EVENT  OR  INCIDENT
SHALL  USE REASONABLE EFFORTS TO IDENTIFY AND NOTIFY IN PERSON, A MEMBER
OF THE PERSON'S FAMILY OR HOUSEHOLD OF THE FATALITY AS SOON AS PRACTICA-
BLE AFTER SUCH ACCIDENT, EVENT OR INCIDENT.
  2. SUCH NOTIFICATION SHALL INDICATE THAT THE PERSON  WAS  KILLED,  THE
LOCATION  OF  THE  ACCIDENT,  EVENT  OR INCIDENT AND THE LOCATION OF THE
PERSON'S BODY OR REMAINS.
  S 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
have become a law.



 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD07065-01-1

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