S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
2521
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
I N S E N A T E
January 23, 2023
___________
Introduced by Sen. OBERACKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law, the family court act, the
general municipal law, the insurance law, the judiciary law and the
administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to eliminat-
ing cash bail; to repeal Part JJJ of chapter 59 of the laws of 2019
amending the criminal procedure law relating to the issuance of secur-
ing orders; to repeal Part UU of chapter 56 of the laws of 2020 amend-
ing the criminal procedure law, the judiciary law and the executive
law relating to securing orders and pretrial proceedings; and to
repeal certain provisions of the criminal procedure law relating to
cash bail
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Part JJJ of chapter 59 of the laws of 2019 amending the
criminal procedure law relating to the issuance of securing orders
relating to making conforming changes is REPEALED.
§ 2. Part UU of chapter 56 of the laws of 2020 amending the criminal
procedure law, the judiciary law and the executive law relating to
securing orders and pretrial proceedings relations thereto is REPEALED.
§ 3. Subdivision 2 of section 210.10 of the criminal procedure law, as
amended by chapter 681 of the laws of 1990, is amended to read as
follows:
2. If a felony complaint against the defendant was pending in a local
criminal court or if the defendant was previously held by a local crimi-
nal court for the action of the grand jury, and if the defendant is at
liberty on his or her own recognizance or on bail pursuant to a previous
court order issued in the same criminal action, the superior court must,
upon at least two days notice to the defendant and his or her surety, to
any person other than the defendant who posted [cash] bail and to any
attorney who would be entitled to notice under circumstances prescribed
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07162-01-3
S. 2521 2
in subdivision one, direct the defendant to appear before the superior
court for arraignment on a specified date. If the defendant fails to
appear on such date, the court may issue a bench warrant and, in addi-
tion, may forfeit the bail, if any. Upon taking the defendant into
custody pursuant to such bench warrant, the executing police officer
must without unnecessary delay bring the defendant before such superior
court for arraignment. If such superior court is not available, the
executing police officer may bring the defendant to the local correc-
tional facility of the county in which such superior court sits, to be
detained there until not later than the commencement of the next session
of such court occurring on the next business day.
§ 4. Paragraph (e) of subdivision 1 of section 420.10 of the criminal
procedure law, as amended by chapter 618 of the laws of 1992, is amended
to read as follows:
(e) Where [cash] bail has been posted by the defendant as the princi-
pal and is not forfeited or assigned, the court at its discretion may
order that bail be applied toward payment of any order of restitution or
reparation or fine. If the court so orders, the bail proceeds shall be
applied to payment first of the restitution or reparation and then of
the fine.
§ 5. Subdivision 9 of section 500.10 of the criminal procedure law, as
amended by section 1-e of part JJJ of chapter 59 of the laws of 2019, is
amended to read as follows:
9. "Bail" means [cash bail,] a bail bond or money paid with a credit
card.
§ 6. Subdivision 10 of section 500.10 of the criminal procedure law is
REPEALED.
§ 7. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 520.10 of the criminal
procedure law is REPEALED.
§ 8. Section 520.15 of the criminal procedure law is REPEALED.
§ 9. The opening paragraph of subdivision 1 of section 520.30 of the
criminal procedure law, as amended by chapter 384 of the laws of 1984,
is amended to read as follows:
Following the posting of a bail bond and the justifying affidavit or
affidavits [or the posting of cash bail], the court may conduct an
inquiry for the purpose of determining the reliability of the obligors
or person posting [cash] bail, the value and sufficiency of any security
offered, and whether any feature of the undertaking contravenes public
policy; provided that before undertaking an inquiry, of a person posting
[cash] bail the court, after application of the district attorney, must
have had reasonable cause to believe that the person posting [cash] bail
is not in rightful possession of money posted as [cash] bail or that
such money constitutes the fruits of criminal or unlawful conduct. The
court may inquire into any matter stated or required to be stated in the
justifying affidavits, and may also inquire into other matters appropri-
ate to the determination, which include but are not limited to the
following:
§ 10. Paragraphs (e) and (f) of subdivision 1 of section 520.30 of the
criminal procedure law are REPEALED.
§ 11. Section 520.40 of the criminal procedure law is REPEALED.
§ 12. Subdivisions 2 and 3 of section 530.80 of the criminal procedure
law, as amended by chapter 384 of the laws of 1984, are amended to read
as follows:
2. For the purpose of surrendering the defendant, an obligor or the
person who posted [cash] bail for the defendant may take him into custo-
dy at any place within the state, or he may, by a written authority
S. 2521 3
indorsed on a certified copy of the bail bond, empower any person over
twenty years of age to do so.
3. At any time before the forfeiture of [cash] bail, the defendant
may surrender himself or the person who posted bail for the defendant
may surrender the defendant in the manner prescribed in subdivision one
OF THIS SECTION. In such case, the court must order a return of the
money to the person who posted it, upon producing the certificate of the
sheriff showing the surrender, and upon a notice of five days to the
district attorney.
§ 13. Section 540.10 of the criminal procedure law, subdivision 2 as
amended by chapter 427 of the laws of 1998 and subdivision 3 as amended
by chapter 384 of the laws of 1984, is amended to read as follows:
§ 540.10 Forfeiture of bail; generally.
1. If, without sufficient excuse, a principal does not appear when
required or does not render himself amenable to the orders and processes
of the criminal court wherein bail has been posted, the court must enter
such facts upon its minutes and the bail bond or the [cash] bail, as the
case may be, is thereupon forfeited.
2. If the principal appears at any time before the final adjournment
of the court, and satisfactorily excuses his neglect, the court may
direct the forfeiture to be discharged upon such terms as are just. If
the forfeiture is not so discharged and the forfeited bail consisted of
a bail bond, the district attorney, within one hundred twenty days after
the adjournment of the court at which such bond was directed to be
forfeited, must proceed against the obligor or obligors who executed
such bond, in the manner prescribed in subdivision three. [If the
forfeited bail consisted of cash bail, the county treasurer with whom it
is deposited shall give written notice of the forfeiture to the person
who posted cash bail for the defendant may at any time after the final
adjournment of the court or forty-five days after notice of forfeiture
required herein has been given, whichever comes later, apply the money
deposited to the use of the county.]
3. A bail bond [or cash bail], upon being forfeited, together with a
certified copy of the order of the court forfeiting the same, must be
filed by the district attorney in the office of the clerk of the county
wherein such order was issued. Such clerk must docket the same in the
book kept by him for docketing of judgments and enter therein a judgment
against the obligor or obligors who executed such bail bond for the
amount of the penalty of said bond or against the person who posted the
[cash] bail for the amount of the [cash] bail, and the bond and the
certified copy of the order of the court forfeiting the bond or the
[cash] bail constitutes the judgment roll. Such judgment constitutes a
lien on the real estate of the obligor or obligors who executed such
bail bond from the time of the entry of the judgment. An execution may
be issued to collect the amount of said bail bond in the same form and
with the same effect as upon a judgment recovered in an action in said
county upon a debt in favor of the people of the state of New York
against such obligor or obligors.
§ 14. Subdivision 2 of section 540.20 of the criminal procedure law is
REPEALED.
§ 15. The opening paragraph of subdivision 1 of section 540.30 of the
criminal procedure law is amended to read as follows:
After the forfeiture of a bail bond or [cash] bail, as provided in
section 540.10, an application for remission of such forfeiture may be
made to a court as follows:
S. 2521 4
§ 16. Section 155-a of the family court act, as amended by chapter 186
of the laws of 1997, is amended to read as follows:
§ 155-a. Admission to bail. A desk officer in charge at a police
station, county jail or police headquarters, or any of his or her supe-
rior officers, may, in such place, take [cash] bail for his or her
appearance before the appropriate court the next morning from any person
arrested pursuant to a warrant issued by the family court; provided that
such arrest occurs between eleven o'clock in the morning and eight
o'clock the next morning, except that in the city of New York bail shall
be taken between two o'clock in the afternoon and eight o'clock the next
morning. The amount of such [cash] bail shall be the amount fixed in the
warrant of arrest.
§ 17. The section heading and subdivision 1 of section 99-m of the
general municipal law, as amended by chapter 166 of the laws of 1991,
are amended to read as follows:
[Cash bail] BAIL and partially secured bail bond; fee for deposit of
money. 1. When, pursuant to the provisions of title P of the criminal
procedure law or the provisions of the family court act, a sum of money
deposited in connection with [a cash] bail or a partially secured bail
bond is received by a court or other authorized public servant or agen-
cy, such money shall be deposited in the same manner as may be by law
provided for the deposit of money generally received by such court,
public servant or agency. Except as otherwise provided herein, the coun-
ty treasurer, or, in the city of New York, the commissioner of finance,
shall be entitled to a fee of two per centum of the amount of money so
deposited and an additional fee of one per centum as provided in subdi-
vision three of this section. Where the money received by a state-paid
court hereunder is not deposited with any other officer or agency but is
retained by the court, the clerk of such court shall be entitled to a
fee of two per centum of the amount of money so retained, and an addi-
tional fee of one per centum to be disbursed as provided in subdivision
three of this section. All fees collected hereunder by the clerk of a
state-paid court shall be paid to the state commissioner of taxation and
finance on a monthly basis not later than ten days after the last day of
each month. Except as otherwise provided by an order issued pursuant to
section 420.10 of the criminal procedure law, upon the exoneration or
remission of the bail, the money so deposited, less such fee, shall, by
order of the appropriate court, be refunded to the person who originally
deposited such money. Upon a termination of the criminal action or
proceeding in favor of the accused, as defined in subdivision two of
section 160.50 of the criminal procedure law, the two per centum fee so
retained shall, by order of the appropriate court, be refunded to the
person who originally deposited such money.
§ 18. Subsection (o) of section 6802 of the insurance law is amended
to read as follows:
(o) This section shall not apply to any insurer authorized in this
state to execute and issue policies of motor vehicle and aircraft insur-
ance as specified in paragraphs thirteen, fourteen and nineteen of
subsection (a) of section one thousand one hundred thirteen of this
chapter or to any agent of such insurer or to any broker who, as an
incident to the execution and issuance of any such policy or to the
solicitation, negotiation or procurement thereof undertakes to pay, in
addition to the applicable limits of liability, the cost of bail bonds
required of the insured because of accident or asserted traffic law
violations arising out of the use of a vehicle insured under the terms
of the policy, provided the cost of each such bail bond does not exceed
S. 2521 5
one hundred dollars, or who otherwise arranges for the execution of a
bail bond or deposit in lieu of [cash] bail on behalf of the insured in
the event of the insured's arrest or detention by reason of an asserted
violation of any law relating to the use of a motor vehicle.
§ 19. Section 798 of the judiciary law, as amended by chapter 708 of
the laws of 1986, is amended to read as follows:
§ 798. Remitting fines and penalties and discharging recognizances.
Upon the application of a person, who has been fined by a court, or of a
person whose recognizance has become forfeited, or of his surety or of a
person who has posted [cash bail, or] bail by credit card or similar
device which has been forfeited, the county court of the county in which
the term of the court was held, where the fine was imposed, or the
recognizance taken, may, except as otherwise prescribed in section seven
hundred and ninety-nine; upon good cause shown, and upon such terms as
it deems just, make an order, remitting the fine, wholly or partly, or
the forfeiture of the recognizance, or part of the penalty thereof; or
it may discharge the recognizance. If a fine so remitted has been paid,
the county treasurer, or other officer, in whose hands the money
remains, must pay the same, or the part remitted, according to the
order.
§ 20. Subdivisions a and c of section 9-148 of the administrative code
of the city of New York, as amended by chapter 322 of the laws of 2021,
are amended to read as follows:
a. The department shall accept [cash] bail payments immediately and
continuously after an incarcerated individual is admitted to the custody
of the department, except on such dates on which an incarcerated indi-
vidual appears in court other than an arraignment in criminal court.
c. The department shall accept or facilitate the acceptance of [cash]
bail payments for incarcerated individuals in the custody of the depart-
ment: (i) at any courthouse of the New York City Criminal Court, (ii)
at any location within one half mile of any such courthouse during all
operating hours of such courthouse and at least two hours subsequent to
such courthouse's closing, or (iii) online.
§ 21. Paragraph 9 of subdivision a of section 20-831 of the adminis-
trative code of the city of New York, as added by local law number 143
of the city of New York for the year 2018, is amended to read as
follows:
9. A statement that a consumer may be eligible for refundable [cash]
bail.
§ 22. This act shall take effect immediately.
