S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    24
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 8, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  TEDISCO,  GALLIVAN,  HELMING, MATTERA, OBERACKER,
   ORTT, PALUMBO, STEC, WEIK -- read twice and ordered printed, and  when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend  the  criminal procedure law, in relation to allowing
   victim impact statements in New York state be video recorded;  and  to
   amend  the executive law, in relation to requiring that the members of
   the parole board and all  presiding  commissioners  for  such  hearing
   review all relevant victim impact statements prior to the conduct of a
   parole hearing
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 3 of  section  390.30  of  the
 criminal  procedure  law, as amended by chapter 618 of the laws of 1992,
 is amended to read as follows:
   (b) The report shall also contain a victim impact statement, unless it
 appears that such information would be of no relevance to the  recommen-
 dation  or  court  disposition,  which  shall include an analysis of the
 victim's version of the offense, the extent of injury or  economic  loss
 and  the  actual  out-of-pocket  loss to the victim and the views of the
 victim relating to disposition including the amount of  restitution  and
 reparation  sought  by  the victim after the victim has been informed of
 the right to seek restitution and reparation, subject to the availabili-
 ty of such information. In the case of a homicide or where the victim is
 unable to assist in the preparation of the victim impact statement,  the
 information  may be acquired from the victim's family OR REPRESENTATIVE.
 The victim impact statement shall be made available to the victim by the
 prosecutor pursuant to subdivision two of section 390.50 of  this  arti-
 cle.  Nothing  contained in this section shall be interpreted to require
 that a victim supply information for the preparation of this report.

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD00179-01-5
              

 S. 24                               2
 
   § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 440.50 of the criminal procedure law, as
 amended by chapter 322 of the laws  of  2021,  is  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   1.  Upon  the  request  of a victim of a crime, or in any event in all
 cases in which the final disposition includes a conviction of a  violent
 felony  offense  as  defined in section 70.02 of the penal law, a felony
 defined in article one hundred twenty-five of  such  law,  or  a  felony
 defined in article one hundred thirty of such law, the district attorney
 shall,  within  sixty  days of the final disposition of the case, inform
 the victim by letter of such final disposition. If such  final  disposi-
 tion  results  in  the commitment of the defendant to the custody of the
 department of corrections and community supervision for an indeterminate
 OR COMBINED sentence, the notice provided to the crime victim shall also
 inform the victim of [his or her] THE VICTIM'S right to submit  a  writ-
 ten,  audiotaped, or [videotaped] VIDEO RECORDED victim impact statement
 to the department of corrections and community supervision  or  to  meet
 [personally] IN PERSON OR BY VIDEO CONFERENCE with a member of the state
 board of parole at a time and place separate from the personal interview
 between a member or members of the board and the incarcerated individual
 and  make  such  a  statement,  subject  to  procedures  and limitations
 contained in rules of the board, both pursuant  to  subdivision  two  of
 section  two  hundred  fifty-nine-i of the executive law. A copy of such
 letter OR STATEMENT shall be provided to the board  of  parole  AND  ALL
 PRESIDING  COMMISSIONERS FOR SUCH HEARING. The right of the victim under
 this subdivision to submit a [written] victim impact  statement  IN  ANY
 FORMAT  or  to meet [personally] IN PERSON OR BY VIDEO CONFERENCE with a
 member of the state board of parole applies to each  personal  interview
 between  a  member or members of the board and the incarcerated individ-
 ual.
   § 3. Subdivision 2 of section 259-i of the executive law is amended by
 adding a new paragraph (f) to read as follows:
   (F) PRIOR TO THE CONDUCT OF ANY PAROLE HEARING  AS  PROVIDED  IN  THIS
 ARTICLE,  THE  MEMBERS  OF THE BOARD AND ALL PRESIDING COMMISSIONERS FOR
 SUCH HEARING SHALL REVIEW ALL VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENTS RELATING  TO  THE
 OFFENSE  OR  OFFENSES  OF  WHICH  THE  INCARCERATED  INDIVIDUAL HAS BEEN
 CONVICTED, INCLUDING VICTIM IMPACT  STATEMENTS  PROVIDED  IN  CONNECTION
 WITH  THE  PRE-SENTENCING  REPORT  AND VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENTS PROVIDED
 DIRECTLY TO THE PAROLE BOARD.  THE PRESIDING COMMISSIONERS  AND  MEMBERS
 OF THE BOARD THAT PARTICIPATE IN THE HEARING SHALL SIGN A WRITTEN ATTES-
 TATION  CONFIRMING  THAT THEY HAVE REVIEWED THE VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENTS
 PRIOR TO THE HEARING.
   § 4. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
 have  become a law. Effective immediately the addition, amendment and/or
 repeal of any rule or regulation necessary  for  the  implementation  of
 this  act  on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed
 on or before such date.