NY State Senate Bill 2019-S8042

Senate Bill S8042

2019-2020 Legislative Session

Requires law enforcement and district attorneys offices to advise human trafficking victims of the availability of social and legal services

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Children And Families 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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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Mar 12, 2020	referred to children and families

2019-S8042 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A7967
Current Committee:: Senate Children And Families
Law Section:: Social Services Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §483-cc, Soc Serv L
Versions Introduced in 2021-2022 Legislative Session:: S924, A3331

2019-S8042 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires law enforcement agencies and district attorney's offices to advise human trafficking victims of the availability of social and legal services; unless law enforcement agencies and district attorney's offices are notified by the victim that they do not want such services, such law enforcement agency shall contact the appropriate provider and request that a representative be provided.

2019-S8042 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S8042

SPONSOR: RAMOS
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the social services law, in relation to advising human
trafficking victims of the availability of social and legal services

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

The purpose of the bill is to help ensure that human trafficking survi-
vors receive prompt access to social and legal services.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 provides that, upon encountering a person who reasonably
appears to be or self-identifies as a victim of human trafficking, law
enforcement personnel shall advise the victim of the availability of
assistance from providers of social and legal services for human traf-
ficking victims. Unless the victim declines this assistance, the appro-
priate provider will be contacted.

Section 2 of the bill is the effective date.

 
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION:

The amended bill adds language to promote effective communication with
victims of human trafficking who are not proficient in English and
requires social services districts to maintain and update a list of
established providers of social and legal services to human trafficking
victims to be shared with law enforcement agencies and district attor-
ney's offices.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The bill provides that upon an encounter with a person who appears to
be, or identifies himself or herself as, a human trafficking victim,
police officers and district attorneys must provide the individual with
information about available social and legal services. Further, unless
the victim asks that they not do so, these officials will contact a
service provider, who may then be present with the individual. This
procedure is similar to the current requirement that a rape crisis coun-
selor be notified and made available to assist victims of sex offenses.

See Public Health Law section 2805-i (3); Executive Law section 642
(2-a).

Human trafficking continues to be a major problem in New York and
nationally. While NYS has enacted a number of important measures to
assist human trafficking survivors, this bill takes that one step
further to ensure that survivors will be able to promptly access needed
social and legal services.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

Minimal, if any

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2019-S8042 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8042
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              March 12, 2020
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  RAMOS  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Children and Families
 
 AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to  advising  human
   trafficking victims of the availability of social and legal services
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section 1. Section 483-cc of the social services  law  is  amended  by
 adding a new subdivision (c) to read as follows:
   (C) PROMPTLY UPON AN ENCOUNTER WITH A PERSON WHO REASONABLY APPEARS TO
 A  LAW  ENFORCEMENT  AGENCY  OR DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE TO BE A HUMAN
 TRAFFICKING VICTIM, OR A PERSON WHO IDENTIFIES HIMSELF OR HERSELF  AS  A
 HUMAN TRAFFICKING VICTIM, SUCH LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY OR DISTRICT ATTOR-
 NEY'S  OFFICE  SHALL  ADVISE  SUCH  PERSON  OF  THE  AVAILABILITY OF THE
 SERVICES OF SPECIFIC, ESTABLISHED PROVIDERS OF SOCIAL AND LEGAL SERVICES
 TO HUMAN TRAFFICKING VICTIMS.  EACH LOCAL DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL  SERVICES
 SHALL  MAINTAIN  AND  SHALL  UPDATE,  AT  LEAST ONCE ANNUALLY, A LIST OF
 ESTABLISHED PROVIDERS OF SOCIAL AND LEGAL SERVICES TO HUMAN  TRAFFICKING
 VICTIMS WITHIN THE SOCIAL SERVICES DISTRICT, WHICH SHALL BE PROVIDED, AT
 LEAST ONCE ANNUALLY, TO LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES AND DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S
 OFFICES  WITHIN  THE DISTRICT.  IN ORDER TO COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY WITH
 SUCH PERSON, THE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY OR  DISTRICT  ATTORNEY'S  OFFICE
 MAY  PROVIDE  SUCH  INDIVIDUAL WITH A BROCHURE OR OTHER WRITTEN MATERIAL
 TRANSLATED INTO THE SIX MOST  COMMON  NON-ENGLISH  LANGUAGES  SPOKEN  BY
 INDIVIDUALS  WITH  LIMITED  ENGLISH  PROFICIENCY  IN THE STATE OR IN THE
 APPLICABLE COUNTY, CITY, OR TOWN; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, WHERE  SUCH  PERSON
 IS  NOT  PROFICIENT IN ONE OF SUCH LANGUAGES, THE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY
 OR DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE SHALL MAKE REASONABLE EFFORTS TO  COMMUNI-
 CATE  EFFECTIVELY  WITH SUCH PERSON, USING AN INTERPRETER OR INTERPRETA-
 TION SERVICES, WHERE PRACTICABLE.  UNLESS, AFTER RECEIVING SUCH  ADVICE,
 THE  APPARENT VICTIM EXPRESSES THAT HE OR SHE DOES NOT WISH THE PRESENCE
 OF A REPRESENTATIVE OF SUCH AN ESTABLISHED PROVIDER OF SOCIAL  OR  LEGAL
 SERVICES, THE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY OR DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE SHALL
 CONTACT  THE  APPROPRIATE  PROVIDER AND REQUEST THAT A REPRESENTATIVE BE
 PROVIDED. IF THE APPARENT VICTIM DOES NOT WISH THE PRESENCE  OF  SUCH  A
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD11936-07-0

 S. 8042                             2
 
 REPRESENTATIVE,  THAT  EXPRESSION  BY THE APPARENT VICTIM SHALL BE DOCU-
 MENTED BY THE AGENCY OR OFFICE OFFICIAL IN  WRITING  OR  OTHER  RECORDED
 FORM.  NOTHING  IN THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL AFFECT ANY OBLIGATION SUCH LAW
 ENFORCEMENT AGENCY OR DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE MAY HAVE TO PROVIDE ANY
 INFORMATION OR ASSISTANCE TO SUCH PERSON.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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