BILL NUMBER:  S7191

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend the executive law, in relation to
the eligibility for reimbursement of burial expenses

 PURPOSE :

This bill would include any business represented by a person who has
paid for or incurred the expenses of a deceased victim's burial, as a
party eligible for reimbursement from the Office of Victim Services
(OVS).

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section one of the bill would amend paragraph d of subdivision 1 of
section 624 of the Executive Law to add businesses represented by a
person who has paid for or incurred the burial expenses of a crime
victim as a party eligible for reimbursement from the Office.

Section two of the bill would make it effective immediately.

 EXISTING LAW :

Under current law, only a person who has paid for or incurred the
burial expenses of a crime victim is eligible to file a claim for the
reimbursement of such expenses. Funeral homes themselves can, and
              

sometimes do, voluntarily take on these expenses. When a funeral home
does so and they seek reimbursement, OVS must get the owner of the
business to file, as he or she is the "person" who has paid for or
incurred the expense.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

This is a new bill.

 STATEMENT IN SUPPORT :

It is to a victim's family's benefit that funeral homes step-in during
a time of crisis, taking the worry of arrangement expenses upon
themselves and off the table for the family. OVS wants to encourage
the filing of such claims by funeral homes and the Office wants to
reimburse these businesses, but the current statutory language makes
it difficult.

These changes are necessary because it is becoming more and more
impractical to track down the "owner" of a funeral home, so they can
be the claimant when such business wants to cover the expenses of the
crime victim themselves. There are many funeral homes which are part
of larger businesses run by boards and not individual owners but
current language arguably excludes such businesses from filing a
claim.

 BUDGET IMPLICATIONS :

The OVS has determined that there will be no adverse fiscal impact on
either the compensation or operational expenses of the Office.

 LOCAL IMPACT :

None.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
Immediate.