S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1534
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             January 10, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. K. BROWN -- read once and referred to the Commit-
   tee on Governmental Operations
 
 AN  ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to requiring a defendant
   who causes the death of a person with children due  to  driving  while
   intoxicated or impaired to pay for child support

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as "Tsakos' Law".
   § 2.   Subdivisions 5 and 11 of section  621  of  the  executive  law,
 subdivision 5 as amended by chapter 189 of the laws of 2018 and subdivi-
 sion  11  as  amended by chapter 178 of the laws of 2019, are amended to
 read as follows:
   5. "Victim" shall mean (a) a  person  who  suffers  personal  physical
 injury  as a direct result of a crime; (b) a person who is the victim of
 either the crime of (1) unlawful imprisonment in  the  first  degree  as
 defined in section 135.10 of the penal law, (2) kidnapping in the second
 degree  as defined in section 135.20 of the penal law, (3) kidnapping in
 the first degree as defined in section 135.25  of  the  penal  law,  (4)
 menacing  in  the first degree as defined in section 120.13 of the penal
 law, (5) criminal obstruction  of  breathing  or  blood  circulation  as
 defined in section 121.11 of the penal law, (6) harassment in the second
 degree  as defined in section 240.26 of the penal law, (7) harassment in
 the first degree as defined in section 240.25  of  the  penal  law,  (8)
 aggravated  harassment  in  the  second degree as defined in subdivision
 three or five of section 240.30 of the penal law, (9) aggravated harass-
 ment in the first degree as defined in subdivision two of section 240.31
 of the penal law, (10) criminal contempt in the first degree as  defined
 in  subdivision  (b)  or  subdivision (c) of section 215.51 of the penal
 law, (11) stalking in the fourth,  third,  second  or  first  degree  as
 defined  in sections 120.45, 120.50, 120.55 and 120.60 of the penal law,
 (12) labor trafficking as defined in section 135.35 of  the  penal  law,
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD03087-01-5
              

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 (13)  sex  trafficking as defined in section 230.34 of the penal law; or
 (14) sex trafficking of a child as defined in section  230.34-a  of  the
 penal  law;  a vulnerable elderly person or an incompetent or physically
 disabled person as defined in section 260.31 of the penal law who incurs
 a loss of savings as defined in subdivision twenty-four of this section;
 or  a  person  who has had a frivolous lawsuit filed against them; (C) A
 CHILD VICTIM OF A PERSON OR PERSONS WHO  DIED  AS  A  DIRECT  RESULT  OF
 EITHER  THE  CRIME OF (1) VEHICULAR MANSLAUGHTER IN THE SECOND DEGREE AS
 DEFINED IN SECTION 125.12 OF THE PENAL LAW, (2)  VEHICULAR  MANSLAUGHTER
 IN  THE  FIRST  DEGREE AS DEFINED IN SECTION 125.13 OF THE PENAL LAW, OR
 (3) AGGRAVATED VEHICULAR HOMICIDE AS DEFINED IN SECTION  125.14  OF  THE
 PENAL LAW.
   11.  For  purposes  of this article "child victim" shall mean a person
 less than  eighteen  years  of  age  who  suffers  physical,  mental  or
 emotional  injury,  or  loss or damage, as a direct result of a crime or
 any violation listed in subdivision twelve of section six hundred  thir-
 ty-one  of  this  article,  or  as a result of witnessing a crime or any
 violation listed in subdivision twelve of section six hundred thirty-one
 of this article, OR A CHILD OF A VICTIM OF A CRIME LISTED  IN  PARAGRAPH
 (C) OF SUBDIVISION FIVE OF THIS SECTION.
   §  3. Subdivision 2 of section 631 of the executive law, as amended by
 chapter 233 of the laws of 2020, is amended and a new subdivision 19  is
 added to read as follows:
   2.  Any  award made pursuant to this article shall be in an amount not
 exceeding  out-of-pocket  expenses,  including  indebtedness  reasonably
 incurred  for  medical  or  other  services necessary as a result of the
 injury upon which the claim  is  based;  loss  of  earnings  or  support
 resulting  from  such injury not to exceed thirty thousand dollars; loss
 of savings not to exceed thirty thousand dollars;  burial  expenses  not
 exceeding six thousand dollars of a victim who died on or after November
 first,  nineteen  ninety-six as a direct result of a crime; the costs of
 crime scene cleanup and securing of a crime scene not exceeding  twenty-
 five hundred dollars; reasonable relocation expenses not exceeding twen-
 ty-five  hundred  dollars;  reasonable employment-related transportation
 expenses, not exceeding twenty-five hundred dollars [and];  the  unreim-
 bursed  cost  of repair or replacement of articles of essential personal
 property lost, damaged or destroyed as a direct result of the crime; AND
 CHILD SUPPORT FOR A CHILD VICTIM PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH (C)  OF  SUBDIVI-
 SION  FIVE  OF SECTION SIX HUNDRED TWENTY-ONE OF THIS ARTICLE UNTIL SUCH
 CHILD REACHES THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN.  An award for loss of earnings  shall
 include  earnings lost by a parent or guardian as a result of the hospi-
 talization of a child victim under age eighteen for  injuries  sustained
 as  a  direct  result  of a crime.   In addition to the medical or other
 services necessary as a result of the injury upon  which  the  claim  is
 based, an award may be made for rehabilitative occupational training for
 the purpose of job retraining or similar employment-oriented rehabilita-
 tive  services based upon the claimant's medical and employment history.
 For the purpose of this subdivision, rehabilitative occupational  train-
 ing  shall  include  but  not  be  limited  to  educational training and
 expenses. An award for rehabilitative occupational training may be  made
 to  a  victim,  or  to  a family member of a victim where necessary as a
 direct result of a crime.  An award for  employment-related  transporta-
 tion  expenses  shall be limited to the time period necessary due to the
 personal physical injuries sustained as a direct  result  of  the  crime
 upon  which the claim is based, as determined by the medical information
 collected during the investigation of the claim.
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   19. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY INCONSISTENT PROVISIONS OF THIS ARTICLE, WHERE
 A CHILD VICTIM HAS LOST A PARENT OR PARENTS AS A RESULT OF A CRIME LIST-
 ED IN PARAGRAPH (C) OF SUBDIVISION FIVE OF SECTION SIX  HUNDRED  TWENTY-
 ONE  OF THIS ARTICLE THE CLAIMANT SHALL BE ELIGIBLE OF AN AWARD OF CHILD
 SUPPORT  WHICH  SHALL BE PAID MONTHLY TO THE CHILD VICTIM'S OTHER PARENT
 OR LEGAL GUARDIAN UNTIL SUCH CHILD VICTIM REACHES THE AGE  OF  EIGHTEEN.
 SUCH  AWARD  OF  CHILD  SUPPORT  SHALL BE DETERMINED BY THE OFFICE AFTER
 TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION THE CLAIMANT'S FINANCIAL RESOURCES.
   § 4. Subdivision 1 of section 632 of the executive law, as amended  by
 chapter 287 of the laws of 1972, is amended to read as follows:
   1.  The  award shall be paid in a lump sum, except that in the case of
 death or protracted disability the  award  shall  provide  for  periodic
 payments  to  compensate for loss of earnings or support; OR IN THE CASE
 OF A CHILD VICTIM PURSUANT TO  PARAGRAPH  (C)  OF  SUBDIVISION  FIVE  OF
 SECTION  SIX  HUNDRED  TWENTY-ONE  OF  THIS  ARTICLE  THE AWARD OF CHILD
 SUPPORT SHALL BE PAID MONTHLY UNTIL SUCH CHILD VICTIM REACHES THE AGE OF
 EIGHTEEN.  No award made pursuant to this article shall  be  subject  to
 execution or attachment other than for expenses resulting from the inju-
 ry which is the basis for the claim.
   § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.