S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
7992
I N S E N A T E
March 16, 2018
___________
Introduced by Sen. GALLIVAN -- (at request of the Office of Victim
Services) -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be
committed to the Committee on Crime Victims, Crime and Correction
AN ACT to amend the executive law and the surrogate's court procedure
act, in relation to burial expenses
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 630 of the executive law, as
amended by section 21 of part A1 of chapter 56 of the laws of 2010, is
amended to read as follows:
2. Notwithstanding the provisions of [section six hundred twenty-seven
of this article, local crime victim service programs shall be authorized
to provide emergency awards to crime victims for essential personal
property, medical treatment, shelter costs, security services, coun-
seling and transportation the total amount of such emergency awards not
to exceed five hundred dollars. These programs shall be reimbursed by
the office, pursuant to the provisions of this article, if it is subse-
quently determined that the victim is an eligible claimant. Local crime
victim service programs shall be authorized to establish special
accounts for this purpose. The office shall initiate a program to assist
local crime victim service programs in establishing special accounts to
provide emergency awards, within amounts designated for that purpose.]
SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS SECTION, IF THE CRIME UPON WHICH THE CLAIM IS
BASED RESULTED IN THE DEATH OF THE VICTIM, AND IT APPEARS TO THE OFFICE
THAT SUCH CLAIM IS ONE WITH RESPECT TO WHICH AN AWARD PROBABLY WILL BE
MADE, AND UNDUE HARDSHIP WILL RESULT TO THE CLAIMANT IF IMMEDIATE
PAYMENT IS NOT MADE, THE OFFICE MAY MAKE ONE OR MORE EMERGENCY AWARDS TO
THE CLAIMANT FOR REASONABLE BURIAL EXPENSES PENDING A FINAL DECISION OF
THE OFFICE OR PAYMENT OF AN AWARD IN THE CASE; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT
THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF AN EMERGENCY AWARD OR AWARDS FOR REASONABLE BURIAL
EXPENSES SHALL NOT EXCEED THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS. THE AMOUNT OF SUCH
EMERGENCY AWARD OR AWARDS SHALL BE DEDUCTED FROM ANY FINAL AWARD MADE TO
THE CLAIMANT, AND THE EXCESS OF THE AMOUNT OF ANY SUCH AWARD OR AWARDS
OVER THE AMOUNT OF THE FINAL AWARD, OF THE FULL AMOUNT OF AN EMERGENCY
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14379-02-8
S. 7992 2
AWARD OR AWARDS IF NO FINAL AWARD IS MADE, SHALL BE REPAID BY THE CLAIM-
ANT TO THE OFFICE.
§ 2. Subdivision 2 of section 631 of the executive law, as amended by
section 3 of part H of chapter 55 of the laws of 2017, is amended to
read as follows:
2. Any award made pursuant to this article shall be in an amount not
exceeding out-of-pocket expenses, including indebtedness reasonably
incurred for medical or other services necessary as a result of the
injury upon which the claim is based; loss of earnings or support
resulting from such injury not to exceed thirty thousand dollars; loss
of savings not to exceed thirty thousand dollars; burial expenses not
exceeding six thousand dollars of a victim who died ON OR AFTER NOVEMBER
FIRST, NINETEEN NINETY-SIX as a direct result of a crime; the costs of
crime scene cleanup and securing of a crime scene not exceeding twenty-
five hundred dollars; reasonable relocation expenses not exceeding twen-
ty-five hundred dollars; and the unreimbursed cost of repair or replace-
ment of articles of essential personal property lost, damaged or
destroyed as a direct result of the crime. An award for loss of earnings
shall include earnings lost by a parent or guardian as a result of the
hospitalization of a child victim under age eighteen for injuries
sustained as a direct result of a crime. In addition to the medical or
other services necessary as a result of the injury upon which the claim
is based, an award may be made for rehabilitative occupational training
for the purpose of job retraining or similar employment-oriented rehabi-
litative services based upon the claimant's medical and employment
history. For the purpose of this subdivision, rehabilitative occupa-
tional training shall include but not be limited to educational training
and expenses. An award for rehabilitative occupational training may be
made to a victim, or to a family member of a victim where necessary as a
direct result of a crime.
§ 3. Subdivision 5 of section 631 of the executive law is amended by
adding a new paragraph (g) to read as follows:
(G) NOTWITHSTANDING THE PROVISIONS OF PARAGRAPH (A) OF THIS SUBDIVI-
SION, IF THE CRIME UPON WHICH THE CLAIM IS BASED RESULTED IN THE DEATH
OF THE VICTIM, THE OFFICE SHALL DETERMINE WHETHER, BECAUSE OF HIS OR HER
CONDUCT, THE VICTIM OF SUCH CRIME CONTRIBUTED TO THE INFLICTION OF HIS
OR HER INJURY, AND THE OFFICE MAY REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF THE AWARD BY NO
MORE THAN FIFTY PERCENT, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SUCH DETERMINATION.
§ 4. Section 634 of the executive law is amended by adding a new
subdivision 2-a to read as follows:
2-A. TO THE EXTENT THE OFFICE HAS MADE AN AWARD PURSUANT TO THIS ARTI-
CLE FOR BURIAL EXPENSES, SUCH AMOUNT SHALL BE CONSIDERED AMONG REASON-
ABLE FUNERAL EXPENSES OF THE DECEDENT PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION ONE OF
SECTION EIGHTEEN HUNDRED ELEVEN OF THE SURROGATE'S COURT PROCEDURE ACT,
TO BE RECOVERED BY THE OFFICE, PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT IF A BENEFICIARY
OF THE VICTIM'S ESTATE IS ALSO A PERSON ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE AN AWARD
PURSUANT TO SECTION SIX HUNDRED TWENTY-FOUR OF THIS ARTICLE, THE OFFICE
SHALL RECOVER SUCH AMOUNTS PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION TWO OF THIS SECTION
TO THE EXTENT AN AWARD HAS BEEN MADE TO SUCH PERSON, PRIOR TO PURSUING
RECOVERY FROM THE VICTIM'S ESTATE. ANY RECOVERY FROM A VICTIM'S ESTATE
UNDER THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL REDUCE THE STATE'S LIEN UNDER THIS SECTION
TO THE EXTENT OF THE RECOVERY BY THE OFFICE.
§ 5. Subdivision 22 of section 103 of the surrogate's court procedure
act, as amended by chapter 503 of the laws of 1980, is amended to read
as follows:
S. 7992 3
22. Funeral expense. Includes reasonable expense of a funeral, suit-
able church or other services as an integral part thereof, expense of
interment or other disposition of the body, a burial lot and suitable
monumental work thereon and a reasonable expenditure for perpetual care
of a burial lot of the decedent. FOR THE PURPOSE OF SUBDIVISION ONE OF
SECTION EIGHTEEN HUNDRED ELEVEN OF THIS ACT, FUNERAL EXPENSE SHALL ALSO
INCLUDE BURIAL EXPENSES AWARDED PURSUANT TO ARTICLE TWENTY-TWO OF THE
EXECUTIVE LAW.
§ 6. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
it shall have become a law and shall apply to all claims filed on or
after such effective date.