BILL NUMBER:S4084

PURPOSE OF BILL:

This bill would add the recently created crime of Criminal Obstruction
of Breathing or Blood Circulation (Penal Law § 121.11) to Executive
Law § 631(12), to allow the Office of Victim Services (0VS) to
make awards to victims of this crime, even if the victim did not
sustain a physical injury.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the bill would amend Executive Law § 631(12) to include
the class A misdemeanor offense of Criminal Obstruction of Breathing
or Blood Circulation, as defined in Penal Law § 121.11, to the list
of offenses for which the OVS may make awards to victims when the
victim does not suffer physical injury.

Section 2 of the bill would make this provision effective 90 days
after enactment.

EXISTING LAW:

Chapter 405 of the Laws of 2010 added a new Article 121 to the Penal Law
related to strangulation and related offenses. New Penal Law § 121.11
creates the class A misdemeanor crime of Criminal Obstruction of
              

Breathing or Blood Circulation, which is committed when a person,
with intent to impede the normal breathing or circulation of the
blood of another person:
(a) applies pressure on the throat or neck of such person; or (b)
blocks the nose or mouth of such person.

Executive Law § 631(12) ensures victims of certain harassment and
menacing charges (more commonly referred to as "stalking") who have
not suffered a physical injury, are eligible to receive certain
awards from the OVS.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

This is a new bill.

STATEMENT IN SUPPORT:

Chapter 405 of the Laws of 2010 added a new Article 121 to the Penal
Law related to strangulation and related offenses. Included in
Article 121 is the class A misdemeanor crime of Criminal Obstruction
of Breathing or Blood Circulation, as defined in Penal Law § 121.11.
The other two offenses included in Article 121 are Strangulation in the
Second Degree, as defined in Penal Law § 121.12, and Strangulation in
the First Degree, as defined in Penal Law § 121.13, both of which are
felony offenses and both of which specifically include as elements

the causing of physical injury and serious physical injury,
respectively. The misdemeanor charge does not include any requirement
of physical injury. The justification for the creation of these new
criminal charges was that strangulation "has been identified in
recent years as one of the most lethal forms of domestic abuse. When
perpetrators use strangulation to silence their victims, this is a
form of power and control" and victims of such acts suffer
devastating psychological trauma.

Under Article 22 of the Executive Law, in order to receive an award
from the OVS, one must suffer a physical injury or be a victim of
either a certain group (such as: elderly, minors or the disabled) or
certain crimes (such as: specific charges of unlawful imprisonment,
kidnapping, harassment and menacing). One exception to this general
rule is contained in Executive Law § 631 (12), which was added by
Chapter 443 of the Laws of 1998, to ensure that victims of certain
harassment and menacing charges, more commonly referred to as
"stalking," were eligible to receive certain awards under Article 22
of the Executive Law. The justification for making stalking victims
eligible for such awards was similar to the reasons for creating the
new strangulation crimes: "The primary goals of stalking are power
and control. Persistent threats of physical injury are means by which
the stalker exerts control over one's victim (sic)."

The addition of the new crime of Criminal Obstruction of Breathing or
Blood Circulation to the other crimes enumerated in Executive Law
631 (12) is a logical and natural expansion of the current provision.
This measure would ensure that victims of this new crime, many of
whom may be victims of domestic abuse generally, may receive awards
from the OVS. These awards could be made for: loss or earnings or
support, the unreimbursed cost of repair or replacement of essential
personal property, the unreimbursed cost for security devices, and
expenses related to certain court transportation, counseling,
relocation and occupational or job training.

BUDGET IMPLICATIONS:

The changes proposed by this measure are not expected to have a
material impact on either the compensation or operational expenses
of the OVS. Victim compensation expenses are funded through a
combination of State and federal funding. pursuant to the federal
grant (Victims of Crime Act or VOCA) received by the State for such
compensation, any increase to the overall compensation expenses of
the OVS will be offset by a subsequent increase in federal
compensation funding.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

This bill would take effect 90 after enactment, and would apply to all
pending and subsequent original awards made by the OVS.