S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8619
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             January 10, 2022
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by M. of A. MEEKS -- read once and referred to the Committee
   on Governmental Operations
 
 AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to  expanding  access  to
   victim compensation funds for victims and survivors of crime
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section 1.  Subdivision 3 of section 621  of  the  executive  law,  as
 amended  by  chapter  710  of  the  laws  of 1996, is amended to read as
 follows:
   3. "Crime" shall mean (a) an act committed in  New  York  state  which
 would,  if  committed  by  a  mentally  competent criminally responsible
 adult, who has no legal exemption or  defense,  constitute  a  crime  as
 defined  in and proscribed by law, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER ANY SUSPECT WAS
 ARRESTED, CHARGED, APPREHENDED OR PROSECUTED FOR THE COMMISSION OF  SUCH
 ACT OR WHETHER THE CLAIMANT HAS INTERACTED WITH A CRIMINAL JUSTICE AGEN-
 CY INVESTIGATING SUCH ACT; or
   (b)  an act committed outside the state of New York against a resident
 of the state of New York which would  be  compensable  had  it  occurred
 within  the  state  of New York and which occurred in a state which does
 not have an eligible crime victim compensation program as such  term  is
 defined in the federal victims of crime act of 1984; or
   (c)  an  act  of  terrorism,  as  defined in section 2331 of title 18,
 United States Code, committed outside of the  United  States  against  a
 resident of New York state.
   §  2. Subdivision 2 of section 625 of the executive law, as amended by
 section 10 of part A-1 of chapter 56 of the laws of 2010, is amended  to
 read as follows:
   2.  A  claim  must  be filed by the claimant not later than [one year]
 SEVEN YEARS after the occurrence or discovery of the  crime  upon  which
 such  claim  is  based,  [one  year]  SEVEN  YEARS after a court finds a
 lawsuit to be frivolous, or not later than [one year] SEVEN YEARS  after
 the  death of the victim, provided, however, that upon good cause shown,
 the office may extend the time for filing. The office shall  extend  the
 time  for  filing  where  the  claimant  received  no notice pursuant to
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD13970-01-1
 A. 8619                             2
 
 section six hundred twenty-five-a of this article and had  no  knowledge
 of eligibility pursuant to section six hundred twenty-four of this arti-
 cle.
   §  3.  Paragraph  (c) of subdivision 1 of section 627 of the executive
 law, as added by section 18 of part A-1 of chapter 56  of  the  laws  of
 2010, is amended to read as follows:
   (c) the investigation and determination of claims regardless of wheth-
 er  the  alleged  criminal  has  been ARRESTED, CHARGED, apprehended, or
 prosecuted for or convicted of any crime based upon the  same  incident,
 or  has  been  acquitted,  or  found not guilty of the crime in question
 owing to criminal irresponsibility or other legal exemption;
   § 4. Subdivision 1 of section 631 of the executive law, as  separately
 amended  by chapters 189 and 295 of the laws of 2018, is amended to read
 as follows:
   1. No award shall be made unless the office finds that:
   (a) a crime was committed[,];
   (b) such crime directly resulted in personal physical injury to or the
 exacerbation of a preexisting disability, or condition, or death of, the
 victim[,]; and
   (c) EITHER: (I) criminal justice agency records show that  such  crime
 was  [promptly]  reported to the proper authorities[; and in no case may
 an award be made where the criminal justice  agency  records  show  that
 such  report  was  made  more than one week after the occurrence of such
 crime unless the office, for good cause shown, finds the delay  to  have
 been  justified. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this subdi-
 vision, in cases involving an alleged sex offense as contained in  arti-
 cle  one hundred thirty of the penal law or incest as defined in section
 255.25, 255.26 or 255.27 of  the  penal  law  or  labor  trafficking  as
 defined in section 135.35 of the penal law or sex trafficking as defined
 in  sections 230.34 and 230.34-a of the penal law or an offense chargea-
 ble as a family offense as described in section eight hundred twelve  of
 the  family  court  act or section 530.11 of the criminal procedure law,
 the criminal justice agency report need only be made] within  a  reason-
 able  time  considering  all  the  circumstances, including the victim's
 physical, emotional and mental condition and family situation[.]; OR
   (II) EVIDENCE  IS  PROVIDED  TO  SHOW  THAT  A  QUALIFYING  CRIME  HAS
 OCCURRED.  SUCH EVIDENCE MAY INCLUDE, BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO, THE FOLLOW-
 ING:
   (A) A WRITTEN STATEMENT PROVIDED BY A VICTIM SERVICES PROVIDER WHO HAS
 PROVIDED  SERVICES  TO THE VICTIM OF THE CRIME, OR OTHER ELIGIBLE CLAIM-
 ANTS AS IDENTIFIED IN SECTION SIX HUNDRED TWENTY-FOUR OF  THIS  ARTICLE,
 IN RESPONSE TO THE IMPACT OF THE QUALIFYING CRIME;
   (B) A STATEMENT PROVIDED BY A WITNESS TO THE QUALIFYING CRIME;
   (C)  A  STATEMENT  FROM  THE VICTIM ATTESTING TO THE VICTIM'S PERSONAL
 PHYSICAL INJURY OR THE  EXACERBATION  OF  A  PREEXISTING  DISABILITY  OR
 CONDITION,  PROVIDED THAT THE OFFICE SHALL NOT REQUIRE THE DISCLOSURE OF
 CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION RELATING TO SUCH PHYSICAL INJURY;
   (D) A TEMPORARY OR PERMANENT RESTRAINING  ORDER  OR  PROTECTIVE  ORDER
 ISSUED  BY  A COURT TO PROTECT OR SEPARATE THE VICTIM, OR OTHER ELIGIBLE
 CLAIMANTS AS IDENTIFIED IN SECTION SIX HUNDRED TWENTY-FOUR OF THIS ARTI-
 CLE, FROM THE PERSON WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE QUALIFYING CRIME;
   (E) A STATEMENT FROM A LICENSED MEDICAL PROVIDER, PHYSICIAN'S  ASSIST-
 ANT,  NURSE  PRACTITIONER OR OTHER PERSON LICENSED TO PROVIDE MEDICAL OR
 MENTAL HEALTH CARE DOCUMENTING  THAT  THE  VICTIM  EXPERIENCED  PHYSICAL
 INJURY  OR THE EXACERBATION OF A PREEXISTING DISABILITY OR CONDITION, AS
 A RESULT OF THE QUALIFYING CRIME; OR
 A. 8619                             3
 
   (F) A VIDEO, AUDIO, OR PHOTOGRAPHIC RECORDING OF THE COMMISSION OF THE
 QUALIFYING CRIME.
   For  the purposes of this subdivision, "criminal justice agency" shall
 include, but not be limited to, a police department, a  district  attor-
 ney's  office,  and  any other governmental agency having responsibility
 for the enforcement of the criminal laws of the state provided, however,
 that in cases involving such sex offense or family  offense  a  criminal
 justice  agency  shall  also  mean a family court, a governmental agency
 responsible for child and/or adult protective services pursuant to title
 six of article six of the social services law and/or title one of  arti-
 cle  nine-B  of the social services law, and any medical facility estab-
 lished under the laws of the state that  provides  a  forensic  physical
 examination for victims of rape and sexual assault.
   § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  8619--B
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             January 10, 2022
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  MEEKS, KELLES, CRUZ, TAYLOR, GONZALEZ-ROJAS,
   CLARK, SIMON, GOTTFRIED, JACKSON, JEAN-PIERRE, QUART, GALLAGHER, HEVE-
   SI, ZINERMAN, DARLING, GIBBS, PAULIN, FALL, FERNANDEZ,  DE LOS SANTOS,
   GALEF,   BURGOS,   FORREST,  L. ROSENTHAL,  ABINANTI,  NIOU,  McMAHON,
   CUNNINGHAM,  WALKER,  STIRPE,  ANDERSON,  DICKENS,  CARROLL,   WEPRIN,
   BICHOTTE HERMELYN, AUBRY -- read once and referred to the Committee on
   Governmental  Operations  --  recommitted  to the Committee on Govern-
   mental Operations in accordance  with  Assembly  Rule  3,  sec.  2  --
   committee  discharged,  bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
   recommitted to said committee -- again reported  from  said  committee
   with  amendments, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said
   committee
 
 AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to expanding  eligibility
   for victims and survivors of crime to access victim compensation funds
   by  removing  the  mandatory law enforcement reporting requirement and
   providing alternative forms of evidence that would show that a  quali-
   fying crime was committed
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 3 of section 621 of the execu-
 tive law, as amended by chapter 710 of the laws of 1996, is  amended  to
 read as follows:
   (a)  an act committed in New York state which would, if committed by a
 mentally competent  criminally  responsible  adult,  who  has  no  legal
 exemption or defense, constitute a crime as defined in and proscribed by
 law,  REGARDLESS  OF  WHETHER  ANY SUSPECT WAS ARRESTED, CHARGED, APPRE-
 HENDED OR PROSECUTED FOR THE COMMISSION OF THE ACT OR WHETHER THE CLAIM-
 ANT HAS INTERACTED WITH A CRIMINAL  JUSTICE  AGENCY  INVESTIGATING  SUCH
 ACT; or
   §  2. Subdivision 2 of section 625 of the executive law, as amended by
 section 10 of part A-1 of chapter 56 of the laws of 2010, is amended  to
 read as follows:
   2.  A  claim  must  be filed by the claimant not later than [one year]
 THREE YEARS after the occurrence or discovery of the  crime  upon  which
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD13970-03-2
 A. 8619--B                          2
 
 such  claim  is  based,  [one  year]  THREE  YEARS after a court finds a
 lawsuit to be frivolous, or not later than [one year] THREE YEARS  after
 the  death of the victim, provided, however, that upon good cause shown,
 the  office  may extend the time for filing. The office shall extend the
 time for filing where  the  claimant  received  no  notice  pursuant  to
 section  six  hundred twenty-five-a of this article and had no knowledge
 of eligibility pursuant to section six hundred twenty-four of this arti-
 cle.
   § 3. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 1 of section 627  of  the  executive
 law,  as  added  by  section 18 of part A-1 of chapter 56 of the laws of
 2010, is amended to read as follows:
   (c) the investigation and determination of claims regardless of wheth-
 er the alleged criminal has been ARRESTED, CHARGED, apprehended or pros-
 ecuted for or convicted of any crime based upon the  same  incident,  or
 has  been  acquitted, or found not guilty of the crime in question owing
 to criminal irresponsibility or other legal exemption;
   § 4. Subdivision 1 of section 631 of the executive law, as  separately
 amended  by chapters 189 and 295 of the laws of 2018, is amended to read
 as follows:
   1. No award shall be made unless the office finds that:  (a)  a  crime
 was  committed[,]; (b) such crime directly resulted in personal physical
 injury to or the exacerbation of a preexisting disability, or condition,
 or death of, the victim[,]; and (c) EITHER: (I) criminal justice  agency
 records  show  that  such  crime  was  [promptly] reported to the proper
 authorities[; and in no case may an award be  made  where  the  criminal
 justice agency records show that such report was made more than one week
 after  the  occurrence  of  such crime unless the office, for good cause
 shown, finds the delay to have been justified. Notwithstanding the fore-
 going provisions of this subdivision, in cases involving an alleged  sex
 offense  as  contained in article one hundred thirty of the penal law or
 incest as defined in section 255.25, 255.26 or 255.27 of the  penal  law
 or  labor  trafficking  as defined in section 135.35 of the penal law or
 sex trafficking as defined in sections 230.34 and 230.34-a of the  penal
 law or an offense chargeable as a family offense as described in section
 eight  hundred  twelve  of the family court act or section 530.11 of the
 criminal procedure law, the criminal justice agency report need only  be
 made]  within  a  reasonable  time  considering  all  the circumstances,
 including the victim's physical,  emotional  and  mental  condition  and
 family  situation[.];  OR (II) SATISFACTORY EVIDENCE IS PROVIDED TO SHOW
 THAT SUCH CRIME OCCURRED. SUCH EVIDENCE MAY INCLUDE, BUT IS NOT  LIMITED
 TO, ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING:
   (A) A WRITTEN STATEMENT PROVIDED BY A VICTIM SERVICES PROVIDER WHO HAS
 PROVIDED  SERVICES  TO THE VICTIM OF THE CRIME, OR OTHER ELIGIBLE CLAIM-
 ANTS AS IDENTIFIED IN SECTION SIX HUNDRED TWENTY-FOUR OF  THIS  ARTICLE,
 IN RESPONSE TO THE IMPACT OF THE QUALIFYING CRIME;
   (B) A STATEMENT PROVIDED BY A WITNESS TO THE QUALIFYING CRIME;
   (C)  A  STATEMENT  FROM  THE VICTIM ATTESTING TO THE VICTIM'S PERSONAL
 PHYSICAL INJURY OR THE EXACERBATION  OF  A  PREEXISTING  DISABILITY,  OR
 CONDITION  PROVIDED  THAT THE OFFICE SHALL NOT REQUIRE THE DISCLOSURE OF
 CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION RELATING TO SUCH PHYSICAL INJURY;
   (D) A TEMPORARY OR PERMANENT RESTRAINING  ORDER  OR  PROTECTIVE  ORDER
 ISSUED  BY  A COURT TO PROTECT OR SEPARATE THE VICTIM, OR OTHER ELIGIBLE
 CLAIMANTS AS IDENTIFIED IN SECTION SIX HUNDRED TWENTY-FOUR OF THIS ARTI-
 CLE, FROM THE PERSON WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE QUALIFYING CRIME;
   (E) A STATEMENT FROM A LICENSED MEDICAL PROVIDER, PHYSICIAN'S  ASSIST-
 ANT,  NURSE  PRACTITIONER OR OTHER PERSON LICENSED TO PROVIDE MEDICAL OR
 A. 8619--B                          3
 
 MENTAL HEALTH CARE DOCUMENTING  THAT  THE  VICTIM  EXPERIENCED  PHYSICAL
 INJURY  OR THE EXACERBATION OF A PREEXISTING DISABILITY, OR CONDITION AS
 A RESULT OF THE QUALIFYING CRIME; OR
   (F) A VIDEO, AUDIO, OR PHOTOGRAPHIC RECORDING OF THE COMMISSION OF THE
 QUALIFYING CRIME.
   For  the purposes of this subdivision, "criminal justice agency" shall
 include, but not be limited to, a police department, a  district  attor-
 ney's  office,  and  any other governmental agency having responsibility
 for the enforcement of the criminal laws of the state provided, however,
 that in cases involving such sex offense or family  offense  a  criminal
 justice  agency  shall  also  mean a family court, a governmental agency
 responsible for child and/or adult protective services pursuant to title
 six of article six of the social services law and/or title one of  arti-
 cle  nine-B  of the social services law, and any medical facility estab-
 lished under the laws of the state that  provides  a  forensic  physical
 examination for victims of rape and sexual assault.
   § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.