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

                                    6

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                             January 9, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sens. YOUNG, SAVINO, LITTLE, RITCHIE, MARCHIONE, ROBACH,
  HANNON -- read twice and ordered  printed,  and  when  printed  to  be
  committed to the Committee on Rules

AN  ACT to amend the family court act and the judiciary law, in relation
  to establishing a pilot program for the filing of petitions for tempo-
  rary orders of protection by electronic means and for issuance of such
  orders ex parte by audio-visual means and to amend the executive  law,
  in  relation  to  review and reports by the chief administrator of the
  courts

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

  Section  1. Section 153-c of the family court act, as added by chapter
416 of the laws of 1981, is amended to read as follows:
  S 153-c. Temporary order of protection. (A) Any  person  appearing  at
family  court  when  the  court  is open requesting a temporary order of
protection under any article of this act shall be  entitled  to  file  a
petition  without delay on the same day such person first appears at the
family court, and a hearing on that request shall be held  on  the  same
day  or  the next day that the family court is open following the filing
of such petition.
  (B) AS PROVIDED IN  THIS  SECTION,  THE  CHIEF  ADMINISTRATOR  OF  THE
COURTS, WITH THE APPROVAL OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE BOARD OF THE COURTS, MAY
PROMULGATE  RULES  TO  ESTABLISH  AND  IMPLEMENT A PILOT PROGRAM FOR THE
FILING OF PETITIONS FOR TEMPORARY ORDERS  OF  PROTECTION  BY  ELECTRONIC
MEANS AND FOR THE ISSUANCE OF SUCH ORDERS EX PARTE BY AUDIO-VISUAL MEANS
IN  ORDER  TO ACCOMMODATE LITIGANTS FOR WHOM ATTENDANCE AT COURT TO FILE
FOR, AND OBTAIN, EMERGENCY RELIEF WOULD CONSTITUTE AN UNDUE HARDSHIP  OR
TO  ACCOMMODATE  LITIGANTS,  FOR  WHOM TRAVELING TO AND APPEARING IN THE
COURTHOUSE TO OBTAIN EMERGENCY RELIEF, CREATES A RISK OF  HARM  TO  SUCH
LITIGANT.
  (1) DEFINITIONS. AS USED IN THIS SECTION:

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD07122-01-5
              

S. 6                                2

  (I) "ELECTRONIC MEANS" MEANS ANY METHOD OF TRANSMISSION OF INFORMATION
BETWEEN  COMPUTERS OR OTHER MACHINES DESIGNED FOR THE PURPOSE OF SENDING
AND RECEIVING SUCH TRANSMISSIONS, AND  WHICH  ALLOWS  THE  RECIPIENT  TO
REPRODUCE   THE   INFORMATION   TRANSMITTED  IN  A  TANGIBLE  MEDIUM  OF
EXPRESSION.
  (II)  "INDEPENDENT AUDIO-VISUAL SYSTEM" MEANS AN ELECTRONIC SYSTEM FOR
THE TRANSMISSION AND RECEIVING OF AUDIO AND VISUAL SIGNALS, ENCOMPASSING
ENCODED SIGNALS, FREQUENCY DOMAIN MULTIPLEXING OR OTHER  SUITABLE  MEANS
TO  PRECLUDE  THE  UNAUTHORIZED RECEPTION AND DECODING OF THE SIGNALS BY
COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE  TELEVISION  RECEIVERS,  CHANNEL  CONVERTERS,  OR
OTHER AVAILABLE RECEIVING DEVICES.
  (III) "ELECTRONIC APPEARANCE" MEANS AN APPEARANCE IN WHICH ONE OR MORE
OF  THE  PARTIES ARE NOT PRESENT IN THE COURT, BUT IN WHICH, BY MEANS OF
AN INDEPENDENT AUDIO-VISUAL SYSTEM, ALL OF THE PARTICIPANTS  ARE  SIMUL-
TANEOUSLY ABLE TO SEE AND HEAR REPRODUCTIONS OF THE VOICES AND IMAGES OF
THE JUDGE, COUNSEL, PARTIES, WITNESSES, IF ANY AND OTHER PARTICIPANTS.
  (2)  DEVELOPMENT OF A PILOT PROGRAM. A PLAN FOR A PILOT PROGRAM PURSU-
ANT TO THIS SECTION SHALL BE DEVELOPED BY THE CHIEF ADMINISTRATOR OF THE
COURTS OR HIS OR HER DELEGATE IN CONSULTATION WITH  ONE  OR  MORE  LOCAL
PROGRAMS  PROVIDING  ASSISTANCE  TO  VICTIMS  OF  DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, THE
OFFICE FOR THE PREVENTION OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, AND ATTORNEYS WHO REPRE-
SENT FAMILY OFFENSE PETITIONS.   THE PLAN  SHALL  INCLUDE,  BUT  IS  NOT
LIMITED TO:
  (I)  IDENTIFICATION OF ONE OR MORE FAMILY JUSTICE CENTERS OR ORGANIZA-
TIONS OR AGENCIES OR OTHER SITES OUTSIDE OF THE LOCAL FAMILY COURT  THAT
ARE EQUIPPED WITH, OR HAVE ACCESS TO, AN INDEPENDENT AUDIO-VISUAL SYSTEM
AND  ELECTRONIC  MEANS FOR FILING DOCUMENTS THAT ARE COMPATIBLE WITH THE
EQUIPMENT IN THE LOCAL FAMILY COURT, WITH  CONSIDERATION  GIVEN  TO  THE
LOCATION OF SUCH SITE OR SITES AND AVAILABLE RESOURCES; AND
  (II)  IDENTIFICATION  OF  ONE OR MORE LICENSED AND CERTIFIED ORGANIZA-
TIONS, AGENCIES OR ENTITIES  WITH  ADVOCATES  FOR  VICTIMS  OF  DOMESTIC
VIOLENCE WHO ARE TRAINED, AND AVAILABLE TO ASSIST PETITIONERS IN PREPAR-
ING AND FILING PETITIONS FOR TEMPORARY ORDERS OF PROTECTION AND IN THEIR
ELECTRONIC  APPEARANCES  BEFORE  THE FAMILY COURT TO OBTAIN SUCH ORDERS;
AND
  (III) IDENTIFICATION OF THE  EXISTING  RESOURCES  AVAILABLE  IN  LOCAL
FAMILY COURTS FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION AND OVERSIGHT OF THE PILOT PROGRAM;
AND
  (IV)  DELINEATION  OF PROCEDURES FOR FILING OF THE PETITIONS AND DOCU-
MENTS, IF ANY, BY ELECTRONIC MEANS, SWEARING IN THE PETITIONERS AND  ANY
WITNESSES,   PREPARATION   OF  A  VERBATIM  TRANSCRIPTION  OF  TESTIMONY
PRESENTED AND A RECORD OF EVIDENCE ADDUCED AND  PROMPT  TRANSMISSION  OF
ANY ORDERS ISSUED TO THE PETITIONERS; AND
  (V)  A  TIMETABLE FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PILOT PROGRAM AND PLAN FOR
INFORMING THE PUBLIC OF ITS AVAILABILITY; AND
  (VI) A DESCRIPTION OF DATA TO BE COLLECTED IN ORDER TO  EVALUATE  AND,
IF  NECESSARY,  MAKE  RECOMMENDATIONS  FOR  IMPROVEMENTS  TO  THE  PILOT
PROGRAM.
  (3) FILING BY ELECTRONIC MEANS.  IN  CONJUNCTION  WITH  AN  ELECTRONIC
APPEARANCE UNDER THIS SECTION, PETITIONERS FOR EX PARTE TEMPORARY ORDERS
OF  PROTECTION  MAY,  WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF TRAINED ADVOCATES, COMMENCE
THE PROCEEDINGS BY FILING PETITIONS BY ELECTRONIC MEANS.
  (I) A PETITIONER WHO SEEKS A TEMPORARY ORDER OF PROTECTION EX PARTE BY
USE OF AN ELECTRONIC APPEARANCE MUST FILE A PETITION IN ADVANCE OF  SUCH
APPEARANCE  AND MAY DO SO BY ELECTRONIC MEANS.  THE PETITIONER SHALL SET
FORTH THE CIRCUMSTANCES IN WHICH TRAVELING TO OR APPEARING IN THE COURT-

S. 6                                3

HOUSE WOULD CONSTITUTE AN UNDUE HARDSHIP, OR CREATE A RISK  OF  HARM  TO
THE  PETITIONER.  IN  GRANTING OR DENYING THE RELIEF SOUGHT BY THE PETI-
TIONER, THE COURT SHALL STATE THE NAMES OF ALL PARTICIPANTS, AND WHETHER
IT  IS  GRANTING  OR  DENYING  AN APPEARANCE BY ELECTRONIC MEANS AND THE
BASIS FOR SUCH DETERMINATION; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT  NOTHING  IN  THIS
SECTION SHALL BE CONSTRUED TO COMPEL A PARTY TO FILE A PETITION OR OTHER
DOCUMENT  BY  ELECTRONIC  MEANS  OR TO TESTIFY BY MEANS OF AN ELECTRONIC
APPEARANCE.
  (II) NOTHING IN THIS SECTION SHALL AFFECT OR CHANGE ANY EXISTING  LAWS
GOVERNING  THE  SERVICE  OF PROCESS, INCLUDING REQUIREMENTS FOR PERSONAL
SERVICE, OR THE SEALING AND CONFIDENTIALITY OF COURT RECORDS  IN  FAMILY
COURT  PROCEEDINGS,  OR  ACCESS  TO COURT RECORDS BY THE PARTIES TO SUCH
PROCEEDINGS.
  (4) (I) ALL ELECTRONIC APPEARANCES BY  PETITIONERS  SEEKING  TEMPORARY
ORDERS  OF  PROTECTION  EX  PARTE  UNDER  THIS SECTION SHALL BE STRICTLY
VOLUNTARY AND THE CONSENT OF SUCH PETITIONERS  SHALL  BE  GIVEN  ON  THE
RECORD AT THE COMMENCEMENT OF EACH APPEARANCE.
  (II)  APPEARANCES  TAKEN  THROUGH  THE USE OF AN ELECTRONIC APPEARANCE
UNDER THIS SECTION SHALL BE RECORDED AND  PRESERVED  FOR  TRANSCRIPTION.
DOCUMENTARY  EVIDENCE,  IF ANY, REFERRED TO BY A PARTY OR WITNESS OR THE
COURT MAY BE TRANSMITTED AND  SUBMITTED  AND  INTRODUCED  BY  ELECTRONIC
MEANS.
  S  2.  Subdivision 2 of section 212 of the judiciary law is amended by
adding a new paragraph (t) to read as follows:
  (T) HAVE THE POWER TO ESTABLISH  PILOT  PROGRAMS  FOR  THE  FILING  OF
PETITIONS FOR TEMPORARY ORDERS OF PROTECTION BY ELECTRONIC MEANS AND FOR
THE  ISSUANCE  OF SUCH ORDERS BY AUDIO-VISUAL MEANS PURSUANT TO SUBDIVI-
SION (B) OF SECTION ONE HUNDRED FIFTY-THREE-C OF THE FAMILY  COURT  ACT.
THE CHIEF ADMINISTRATOR SHALL MAINTAIN AN UP-TO-DATE AND PUBLICLY-AVAIL-
ABLE  LISTING  OF  THE  SITES, IF ANY, AT WHICH SUCH APPLICATIONS FOR EX
PARTE TEMPORARY ORDERS OF PROTECTION MAY BE FILED, AND  AT  WHICH  ELEC-
TRONIC  APPEARANCES  IN  SUPPORT  OF SUCH APPLICATIONS MAY BE SOUGHT, IN
ACCORDANCE WITH SUCH SECTION ONE HUNDRED  FIFTY-THREE-C  OF  THE  FAMILY
COURT  ACT.    IN DEVELOPING SUCH PILOT PROGRAM, THE CHIEF ADMINISTRATOR
SHALL STRIVE FOR A PROGRAM THAT IS REGIONALLY DIVERSE,  AND  TAKES  INTO
CONSIDERATION,  AMONG OTHER THINGS, THE AVAILABILITY OF PUBLIC TRANSPOR-
TATION, POPULATION  DENSITY  AND  THE  AVAILABILITY  OF  FACILITIES  FOR
CONDUCTING SUCH PROGRAM.
  S  3. Section 648 of the executive law, as added by chapter 893 of the
laws of 1986, is amended to read as follows:
  S 648. Review; report and implementation. 1. The  chief  administrator
of  the  unified  court system shall review court practices, procedures,
services, regulations and laws to determine the adequacy  and  appropri-
ateness of its services with respect to crime victims, including victims
with  special  needs,  particularly  the elderly, disabled or victims of
child abuse, domestic violence, SEX TRAFFICKING or sex-related offenses.
Such review shall include reasonable opportunity for public comment  and
consultation  with  crime  victims  or  their  representatives,  and may
include public hearings.
  2. After the review, and not later than two hundred seventy days after
the effective date of this section, AND NO LATER THAN TWO HUNDRED SEVEN-
TY DAYS AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE CHAPTER OF THE LAWS OF TWO THOU-
SAND FIFTEEN WHICH AMENDED THIS SECTION, AND EVERY FIVE YEARS  THEREAFT-
ER,  the  chief administrator of the unified court system shall submit a
report to the governor and the legislature, setting forth  the  findings
of  the  review, including a description of the services provided by the

S. 6                                4

components of the unified court system and recommendations  for  changes
in  its  procedures,  services,  regulations  and  laws  to  improve its
services to crime victims and to establish and implement fair  treatment
standards for crime victims.
  3. Subject to the direction of the chief administrator, the components
of  the unified court system shall expeditiously implement the recommen-
dations of its report.
  S 4. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivi-
sion, section or part of this act shall be adjudged by a court of compe-
tent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect,  impair
or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its opera-
tion  to  the  clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section or part
thereof directly involved in the  controversy  in  which  such  judgment
shall  have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of the
legislature that this act would have been enacted even if  such  invalid
provisions had not been included herein.
  S 5. This act shall take effect April 1, 2016.