§ 627. Determination of claims. 1. The office shall determine claims
in accordance with rules and regulations promulgated by the director.
Such rules and regulations must provide for:

(a) written notification to an applying victim of their right to
representation by counsel, as well as their potential eligibility for an
award of attorney's fees pursuant to subdivision one of section six
hundred twenty-six of this article;

(b) administrative procedures regarding the intake and initial
processing of claims, including mandatory timelines for the initiation
of investigation of a properly filed claim;

* (c) the investigation and determination of claims regardless of
whether the alleged criminal has been apprehended or prosecuted for or
convicted of any crime based upon the same incident, or has been
acquitted, or found not guilty of the crime in question owing to
criminal irresponsibility or other legal exemption;

* NB Effective until December 31, 2025

* (c) the investigation and determination of claims regardless of
whether the alleged criminal has been arrested, charged, apprehended or
prosecuted for or convicted of any crime based upon the same incident,
or has been acquitted, or found not guilty of the crime in question
owing to criminal irresponsibility or other legal exemption;

* NB Effective December 31, 2025

(d) the rebuttable presumption that a child reported missing for a
time period exceeding seven days is a victim of a crime;

(e) the generation of a written decision for each properly filed
claim, and written notice to the claimant of the written decision and
their right to a copy of such a decision, as well as any rights to
appeal that the claimant may have of the decision and a projected date
of payment in the case of an award to the claimant;

(f) expedited determination of claims with respect to a livery
operator within thirty days of the date upon which the claim was
accepted for filing, as well as standards for awards of loss of earnings
or support granted pursuant to rules and regulations promulgated in
accordance with the provisions of this subdivision and subdivision three
of section six hundred thirty-one of this article. Each award for loss
of earnings pursuant to rules and regulations promulgated in accordance
with this subdivision made with respect to a claim involving a livery
operator assault victim shall be for such period of time as the office
determines that the livery operator assault victim is unable to work and
has lost earnings as a result of such assault, in an amount not to
exceed twenty thousand dollars. Such award shall be distributed in
increments of five hundred dollars per week. Each award for loss of
support pursuant to rules and regulations promulgated in accordance with
this subdivision made with respect to a claim involving a livery
operator homicide victim shall be in the amount of twenty thousand
dollars, distributed in increments of five hundred dollars per week; and

(g) provisions for any claimant to submit an additional claim for any
loss of earnings or support in excess of the amount awarded pursuant to
rules and regulations in accordance with paragraph (f) of this
subdivision, or an additional claim for any other award pursuant to
rules and regulations promulgated in accordance with this article, in
each case pursuant to and in accordance with the other provisions of
this article or any rules and regulations promulgated in accordance
thereof and subject to any applicable maximum award limitations
contained in this article.

2. The claimant may, within thirty days after receipt of the decision
of the office regarding a claim, make an application in writing to the
director of the office for reconsideration of such decision. The
director, or his or her designee, shall consider such applications in
accordance with rules and regulations promulgated by the director and
may affirm or modify the decision. The decision of the director, or his
or her designee, shall become the final determination of the office
regarding the claim.