NY State Senate Bill 2017-S6197

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Codes Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 03, 2018	referred to codes
Jun 06, 2017	reported and committed to rules
May 11, 2017	referred to codes

Votes

- Jun 6, 2017 - Codes Committee Vote
  S6197
  
  16
  
  Aye
  
  0
  
  Nay
  
  0
  
  Aye with Reservations
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  0
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Codes Committee Vote: Jun 6, 2017
      
      aye (16)
      
      Akshar
      
      Boyle
      
      Croci
      
      Gallivan
      
      Golden
      
      Griffo
      
      Hoylman-Sigal
      
      Kaminsky
      
      Krueger
      
      Lanza
      
      O'Mara
      
      Peralta
      
      Savino
      
      Serrano
      
      Squadron
      
      Tedisco

co-Sponsors

2017-S6197 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Codes
Law Section:: Civil Rights Law
Laws Affected:: Add §61-a, amd §§61 & 62, Civ Rts L
Versions Introduced in 2019-2020 Legislative Session:: S1669

2017-S6197 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires the court to take all reasonable steps to verify certain information prior to the issue of an order granting a change of name.

2017-S6197 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S6197

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend the civil rights law, in relation to
verification of a name change

 PURPOSE :

To ensure that individuals arc not able to legally change their names
in order to evade legal process or obligation as well as to ensure
that convicted violent felons and sex offenders disclose their
convictions on the name change petitions and that such persons alert
the prosecuting agency and sentencing court of their intent to change
their names.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section one provides that prior to the granting of any petition for
name change, the court which the petition is before shall take all
reasonable steps necessary to verify the information provided by the
petitioner. Additionally, it provides that the Office of Court
Administration (OCA) shall promulgate rules and regulations to give
effect to the verification requirement.

Section two amends Section 61 of the Civil Rights Law to ensure that
even after the period of incarceration, parole or probation ends for a
violent felon or sex offender, such individual would be required to

disclose their conviction for purpose of a. name change petition.

Section three amends Section 62 of the Civil Rights Law to ensure that
even after the period of incarceration, parole, or probation ends for
a violent felon or sex offender, such individual would be required to
provide notice of their intent to change their name to the district
attorney's office that prosecuted them as well as to the court which
sentenced them.

 JUSTIFICATION :

The amount of change of name petitions in many courts around the state
is voluminous. And in many courts, a change of name petition is viewed
as a perfunctory matter, most times granted without any effort to
verify the information provided by the petitioner. There are however
myriad circumstances under which a change of name petition is used as
a vehicle to escape legal process or obligation. The change of name,
while ultimately traceable through a paper trail, creates an
additional step for law enforcement in discovering an individual's
original identity and legal obligation.  This additional step often
times allow such individual to escape detection in ordinary
verification circumstances such as traffic stops.

Recognizing both the need to verify the identity of an individual
seek- ing a name change and the volume and general character of such
petitions, this bill direct the courts to take all reasonable steps in
verification and authorizes OCA to promulgate such rules and
regulations as are necessary to achieve the twin objectives of
preventing name change in undue circumstances and utilizing the
resources of the courts in an economical manner.

Additionally, this bill amends Sections 61 and 62 of the Civil Rights
Law to require that convicted violent felons and sex offenders
disclose their convictions on a name change petition and that they
provide notice to the DA's office that prosecuted them and to the
court that sentenced them of their intent to change their name. It
would further require that such individuals publish notice of their
name change, if granted, in riot only the county of petition, but the
county of conviction. Under current law, these requirements only exist
when the violent felon or sex offender is incarcerated, on parole or
on probation. By extending the notice requirements to any violent
felon or sex offender, this bill recognizes the seriousness of such a
conviction, and ensures that a change of name petition includes all
relevant information in order that due consideration may be given by
the petitioned court:. Further, by extending the publication
requirement, it ensures that communities are given due notice of such
a name change, if granted.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

2011-012: Passed the Senate (S.52BA/A.954A)
2013: Passed the Senate (S.737A/A.2716A)

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None to the state.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
180 days after it shall become law.

2017-S6197 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6197
 
                        2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 11, 2017
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  BROOKS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes
 
 AN ACT to amend the civil rights law, in relation to verification  of  a
   name change
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section 1. The civil rights law is amended by  adding  a  new  section
 61-a to read as follows:
   § 61-A. VERIFICATION. 1. PRIOR TO THE ISSUANCE OF ANY ORDER GRANTING A
 CHANGE  OF  NAME,  THE  COURT IN WHICH THE PETITION HAS BEEN FILED SHALL
 TAKE ALL REASONABLE STEPS TO VERIFY  THE  INFORMATION  PROVIDED  BY  THE
 PETITIONER PURSUANT TO SECTION SIXTY-ONE OF THIS ARTICLE.
   2.  THE OFFICE OF COURT ADMINISTRATION SHALL PROMULGATE SUCH RULES AND
 REGULATIONS TO IMPLEMENT THIS SECTION.  IN PROMULGATING SUCH  RULES  AND
 REGULATIONS, THE OFFICE SHALL TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE LEGISLATURE'S INTENT
 THAT THE PROCESS OF VERIFICATION AS DESCRIBED IN SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS
 SECTION  SHALL BE MEANT TO PREVENT THE PETITIONER FROM USING NAME CHANGE
 TO EVADE LEGAL PROCESS OR OBLIGATION.
   § 2. Subdivision 2 of section 61 of the civil rights law,  as  amended
 by  section 54 of subpart B of part C of chapter 62 of the laws of 2011,
 is amended to read as follows:
   2. If the petitioner stands convicted of a violent felony  offense  as
 defined in section 70.02 of the penal law or a felony defined in article
 one  hundred  twenty-five of such law or any of the following provisions
 of such law sections 130.25, 130.30,  130.40,  130.45,  255.25,  255.26,
 255.27,  article  two  hundred  sixty-three,  SECTIONS  135.10,  135.25,
 230.05, 230.06, subdivision two of section  230.30  or  SECTION  230.32,
 [and  is currently confined as an inmate in any correctional facility or
 currently under the supervision of the  department  of  corrections  and
 community  supervision  or  a county probation department as a result of
 such conviction,] the petition shall for each  such  conviction  specify
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD11717-01-7

 S. 6197                             2
 
 such  felony conviction, the date of such conviction or convictions, and
 the court in which such conviction or convictions were entered.
   §  3.  Subdivision 2 of section 62 of the civil rights law, as amended
 by section 55 of subpart B of part C of chapter 62 of the laws of  2011,
 is amended to read as follows:
   2.  If  the  petition  be  to  change  the name of a person [currently
 confined as an inmate in any correctional facility  or  currently  under
 the  supervision  of  the department of corrections and community super-
 vision or a county probation department as a result of a conviction for]
 WHO STANDS CONVICTED OF a violent felony offense as defined  in  section
 70.02  of the penal law or a felony defined in article one hundred twen-
 ty-five of such law or any of  the  following  provisions  of  such  law
 sections 130.25, 130.30, 130.40, 130.45, 255.25, 255.26, 255.27, article
 two hundred sixty-three, SECTIONS 135.10, 135.25, 230.05, 230.06, subdi-
 vision  two  of section 230.30 or SECTION 230.32, notice of the time and
 place when and where the petition will be presented shall be served,  in
 like  manner as a notice of a motion upon an attorney in an action, upon
 the district attorney of every county in  which  such  person  has  been
 convicted  of  such  felony  and  upon  the court or courts in which the
 sentence for such felony was entered. Unless a shorter period of time is
 ordered by the court,  said  notice  shall  be  served  upon  each  such
 district  attorney and court or courts not less than sixty days prior to
 the date on which such petition is noticed to be heard.
   § 4. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
 it shall have become a law.

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Senate Bill S6197

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Codes Committee

Jun 6, 2017 - Codes Committee Vote

Codes Committee Vote: Jun 6, 2017

co-Sponsors

2017-S6197 (ACTIVE) - Details

2017-S6197 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2017-S6197 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2017-S6197 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S6197

Share this bill

Sponsored By

John E. Brooks

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Codes Committee

co-Sponsors

Jamaal T. Bailey

2017-S6197 (ACTIVE) - Details

2017-S6197 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2017-S6197 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2017-S6197 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments