NY State Senate Bill 2023-S3157

Senate Bill S3157

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Relates to requiring orders of custody to state whether law enforcement is authorized to remove a child or children

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Children And Families Committee

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

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 03, 2024	referred to children and families
Jan 30, 2023	referred to children and families

co-Sponsors

2023-S3157 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A487
Current Committee:: Senate Children And Families
Law Section:: Family Court Act
Laws Affected:: Amd §§651 & 652, Fam Ct Act
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2019-2020: S4955, A6848
2021-2022: S564, A1179

2023-S3157 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires orders of custody to state whether law enforcement is authorized to remove a child or children in order to comply with and enforce such orders.

2023-S3157 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S3157

SPONSOR: HOYLMAN-SIGAL
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the family court act, in relation to the removal of
children by orders of custody

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To require that Family Court judges specify whether law enforcement can
forcibly take a child when there is an order that changes custody,
either permanent or temporary.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

  Section  one  amends  section  -651(e)  (4) of the Family Court Act to
require that an order changing  permanent  or  temporary  custody,  when
relevant,  shall  state  whether law enforcement is authorized to remove
the child or children in order to comply with the order.

  Section two amends section 652 (a) and (b) of the Family Court Act  to

require  that  an  order  or  judgment  modifying permanent or temporary
custody in a matrimonial action, when relevant,  shall  clarify  whether
the law enforcement is authorized to remove the child in order to comply
with the order.

  Section three provides the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Recently,  a  horrific tragedy occurred in Westchester County when a two
year old child was.killed, allegedly murdered by her mother.  The  night
before  the toddler's death, police officers had arrived at the mother's
residence with an order changing custody of the child from the mother to
the father, but the order was written. in such a way that the police did
not believe that they could forcibly remove the  child  from  the  home.
When the mother refused to give the child to police, child services were
called,  and  other  law  enforcement agencies. By the next morning, the
child was dead.

This bill seeks to avoid this terrible tragedy from  being  repeated  by
inserting  language  into  the  existing  law-that requires family court
judges to specify how police should act in carrying out any  orders  and
judgments  changing  custody,  whether temporary or permanent. Any order
that changes custody, either temporary or permanent, must clarify wheth-
er law enforcement-is authorized to take the child. The  purpose  is  to
provide  clarity  to  law  enforcement in these difficult situations, so
that both the police and the litigants know what the police may  or  may
not do.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

S.0564-A of 2021-2022 (Hoylman): died in Children and Families

A.1179-A of 2021-2022(Paulin): died in Judiciary

A.6848,  2019 and 2020, referred to judiciary / Same as S.4955, 2019 and
2020 referred to children and families
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately

2023-S3157 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   3157
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 30, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  HOYLMAN-SIGAL,  MAYER  --  read twice and ordered
   printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Children
   and Families
 
 AN ACT to amend the family court act, in  relation  to  the  removal  of
   children by orders of custody
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Paragraph 4 of subdivision (e) of section 651 of the family
 court act, as amended by chapter 295 of the laws of 2009, is amended  to
 read as follows:
   4.  Notifying  counsel and issuing orders. Upon consideration of deci-
 sions pursuant to article ten of this  act,  and  registry  reports  and
 notifying counsel involved in the proceeding, or in the event of a self-
 represented  party, notifying such party of the results thereof, includ-
 ing any court appointed attorney for children, the  court  may  issue  a
 temporary, successive temporary or final order of custody or visitation.
 SUCH  ORDERS,  WHEN  RELEVANT,  SHALL  STATE  WHETHER LAW ENFORCEMENT IS
 AUTHORIZED TO REMOVE THE CHILD OR CHILDREN IN ORDER TO COMPLY  WITH  AND
 ENFORCE SAID ORDERS.
   §  2. Subdivisions (a) and (b) of section 652 of the family court act,
 as amended by chapter 40 of the laws of 1981, are  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   (a)  When  referred  from  the  supreme court to the family court, the
 family court  has  jurisdiction  to  determine,  with  the  same  powers
 possessed  by the supreme court, applications to fix temporary or perma-
 nent custody and applications to modify judgments and orders of  custody
 or  visitation  in  actions  and  proceedings  for  marital  separation,
 divorce, annulment of marriage and dissolution of marriage. Applications
 to modify judgments and orders of custody may be granted by  the  family
 court  under this section only upon the showing to the family court that
 there has been a subsequent change of circumstances and  that  modifica-

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD02142-01-3

 S. 3157                             2
 
 tion  is required. SUCH DETERMINATIONS, INCLUDING MODIFICATIONS OF JUDG-
 MENTS OR ORDERS OF CUSTODY,  WHEN  RELEVANT,  SHALL  STATE  WHETHER  LAW
 ENFORCEMENT  IS  AUTHORIZED  TO REMOVE THE CHILD OR CHILDREN IN ORDER TO
 COMPLY WITH AND ENFORCE COURT JUDGMENTS OR ORDERS. 
   (b) In the event no such referral has been made and unless the supreme
 court  provides  in the order or judgment awarding custody or visitation
 in an action for divorce,  separation  or  annulment,  that  it  may  be
 enforced  or  modified  only in the supreme court, the family court may:
 (i) determine an application to enforce the order or  judgment  awarding
 custody  or  visitation,  or (ii) determine an application to modify the
 order or judgment awarding custody or visitation  upon  a  showing  that
 there  has been a subsequent change of circumstances and modification is
 required. SUCH DETERMINATIONS, INCLUDING MODIFICATIONS OF  JUDGMENTS  OR
 ORDERS OF CUSTODY, WHEN RELEVANT, SHALL STATE WHETHER LAW ENFORCEMENT IS
 AUTHORIZED  TO  REMOVE THE CHILD OR CHILDREN IN ORDER TO COMPLY WITH AND
 ENFORCE COURT JUDGMENTS OR ORDERS.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

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Senate Bill S3157

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Sponsored By

Brad Hoylman-Sigal