BILL NUMBER: S1573

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 persons in
need of 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 enabl-
ing more nonprofit organizations to establish bail funds in the state to
provide assistance to individuals in need.  Charitable bail organiza-
tions 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.  Due to changes in the bail
laws, charitable bail organizations are now limited in which offenses
qualify for bail. Many of those eligible offenses are now removed from
bail and the,maximum amount of bail needs to be increased. That is why
this bill expands their reach to all offenses as defined in penal law
10.00 and increases the amount of bail they are allowed to deposit.

Under the Criminal Procedure Law, a bail amount is set by the court,
when authorized, in each individual case. Bail posted during the penden-
cy of the case is returned to the surety when the case reaches a conclu-
sion, but bail may be forfeited if the person fails to appear in court
when required. Thus, a charitable bail organization has an incentive to
monitor 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 / A4880A Blake

2019: S494 / A6980 Blake - Vetoed Memo 205

2020: S7143A / A9610A Blake

2021-2022: S3059 / No Same As

 
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.