BILL NUMBER: S3059

SPONSOR: RIVERA
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the insurance law, in relation to charitable bail organ-
izations

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

This bill would amend the Insurance Law to enable charitable bail organ-
izations to provide more effective assistance to indigent individuals
who need such services.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of this bill would amend section 6805 of the Insurance Law to
raise the monetary amount that such organizations may provide in bail
assistance, to clarify when such organizations may contribute to bail,
and to remove the geographical restriction that an organization may only
offer bail in one county.
              

Section 2 is the effective date.

 
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION (IF APPLICABLE):

The amended version does not make changes to the licensing fee structure
for such organizations.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Every year millions of Americans are incarcerated while awaiting trial,
sometimes for very lengthy periods, simply because they can't afford to
post bail, including 45,000 people in New York City alone.  By assisting
with cash bail for New Yorkers who cannot afford it, charitable bail
organizations can help keep people out of jail, protect the presumption
of innocence, and help keep families intact.  A period of incarceration
can have a devastating effect on a person's life. As a result of
pretrial incarceration, families may be torn apart and individuals may
lose their employment, housing and dignity.  This bill seeks to mitigate
these possible collateral consequences by enabling more nonprofit organ-
izations to establish bail funds in the state to provide assistance to
individuals in need.

Charitable bail organizations have been formally recognized in New York
since 2012; these nonprofit organizations are regulated by the New York
State Department of Financial Services. See L. 2012, c. 181.  Under the
Criminal Procedure Law, a bail amount is set by the court, when author-
ized, in each individual case. Bail posted during the pendency of the
case is returned to the surety when the case reaches a conclusion, but
bail may be forfeited if the person fails to appear in court when
required. Thus, a charitable bail organization has an incentive to moni-
tor the individual during the proceedings and help assure his or her
presence for every court appearance. Moreover, the presiding judge, in
any case, may conduct an inquiry for the purpose of determining the
reliability of the obligors posting cash bail. See Criminal Procedure
Law § 520.30.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2017-2018: S4776A/A4480A Blake 2019: S494/A6980 Blake Vetoed

2019-2020: S7143A/A9610A Blake

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

None.

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