NY State Senate Bill 2021-S924

Senate Bill S924

Signed By Governor

2021-2022 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 Via A3331 - Signed by Governor

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
Dec 09, 2021	approval memo.58 signed chap.658
Nov 29, 2021	delivered to governor
Jun 09, 2021	returned to assembly passed senate 3rd reading cal.1619 substituted for s924
Jun 09, 2021	substituted by a3331
Jun 08, 2021	ordered to third reading cal.1619 committee discharged and committed to rules
Feb 23, 2021	committee discharged and committed to social services
Jan 06, 2021	referred to children and families

Votes

- Jun 9, 2021 - Floor Vote
  A3331
  
  63
  
  Aye
  
  0
  
  Nay
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  0
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Floor Vote: Jun 9, 2021
      
      aye (63)
      
      Addabbo Jr.
      
      Akshar
      
      Bailey
      
      Benjamin
      
      Biaggi
      
      Borrello
      
      Boyle
      
      Breslin
      
      Brisport
      
      Brooks
      
      Brouk
      
      Comrie
      
      Cooney
      
      Felder
      
      Gallivan
      
      Gaughran
      
      Gianaris
      
      Gounardes
      
      Griffo
      
      Harckham
      
      Helming
      
      Hinchey
      
      Hoylman-Sigal
      
      Jackson
      
      Jordan
      
      Kaminsky
      
      Kaplan
      
      Kavanagh
      
      Kennedy
      
      Krueger
      
      Lanza
      
      Liu
      
      Mannion
      
      Martucci
      
      Mattera
      
      May
      
      Mayer
      
      Myrie
      
      O'Mara
      
      Oberacker
      
      Ortt
      
      Palumbo
      
      Parker
      
      Persaud
      
      Ramos
      
      Rath III
      
      Reichlin-Melnick
      
      Ritchie
      
      Rivera
      
      Ryan
      
      Salazar
      
      Sanders Jr.
      
      Savino
      
      Sepúlveda
      
      Serino
      
      Serrano
      
      Skoufis
      
      Stavisky
      
      Stec
      
      Stewart-Cousins
      
      Tedisco
      
      Thomas
      
      Weik
  Jun 8, 2021 - Rules Committee Vote
  S924
  
  21
  
  Aye
  
  0
  
  Nay
  
  0
  
  Aye with Reservations
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  0
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Rules Committee Vote: Jun 8, 2021
      
      aye (21)
      
      Addabbo Jr.
      
      Bailey
      
      Benjamin
      
      Biaggi
      
      Boyle
      
      Breslin
      
      Comrie
      
      Gallivan
      
      Gianaris
      
      Griffo
      
      Kennedy
      
      Krueger
      
      Lanza
      
      Liu
      
      Mayer
      
      O'Mara
      
      Ortt
      
      Parker
      
      Ritchie
      
      Savino
      
      Stewart-Cousins

2021-S924 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A3331
Law Section:: Social Services Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §483-cc, Soc Serv L
Versions Introduced in 2019-2020 Legislative Session:: S8042, A7967

2021-S924 (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.

2021-S924 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S924

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.

2021-S924 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    924
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 6, 2021
                                ___________
 
 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
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD01628-01-1

 S. 924                              2
 
 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
 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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