Senate Bill S6908

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S6908

SPONSOR: SALAZAR
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the executive law, in relation to eligibility require-
ments for victims of sex offenses to receive awards from the office of
victim services

 
PURPOSE:

To remove barriers for victims of sex offenses to receive awards from
the office of victim services.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Subdivision 1 of section 631 of the executive law, as sepa-
rately amended by chapters 189 and 295 of the law of 2018, is amended to
read as follows: No award shall be made unless the office finds that (a)
a crime was 5 committed, (b) such crime directly resulted in personal
physical injury 6 to or the exacerbation of a preexisting disability, or
condition, or death of, the victim, and (c) criminal justice agency
              

records show that such crime was promptly reported to the proper author-
ities; and in no case may an award be made where the criminal justice
agency records show that such report was made more than one week after
the occurrence of such crime unless the office, for good cause shown,
finds the delay to have been justified. Notwithstanding the foregoing
provisions of this 13 subdivision, in cases involving (an alleged sex
offense as contained in 14 article one hundred thirty of the penal law
or) incest as defined in section 255.25, 255.26 or 255.27 of the penal
law or labor trafficking as defined in section 135.35 of the penal law
or sex trafficking as defined in sections 230.34 and 230.34-a of the
penal law or an offense chargeable as a family offense as described in
section eight hundred twelve of the family court act or section 530.11
of the criminal procedure law, the criminal justice agency report need
only be made within a reasonable time considering all the circumstances,
including the victim's physical, emotional and mental condition and
family situation. For the purposes of this subdivision, "criminal
justice agency" shall include, but not be limited to, a police depart-
ment, a district attorney's office, and any other governmental agency
having responsibility for the enforcement of the criminal laws of the
state provided, however, that in cases involving such sex offense or
family offense a criminal justice agency shall also mean a family court,
a governmental agency responsible for child and/or adult protective
services pursuant to title six of article six of the social services law
and/or title one of article nine-B of the social services law, and any
medical facility established under the laws of the state that provides a
forensic physical examination for victims of rape and sexual assault.

Section 2: Section 631 of the executive law is amended by adding a new
subdivision 1-b to read as follows:

1-b: Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision one of this section,
in cases involving alleged sex offenses contained in article one hundred
thirty of the penal law, there shall be not time limitation for when a
report shall be filed in order to be eligible to receive an award pursu-
ant to this section. No victim of an alleged sex offense shall be
required to participate in the criminal justice system, either prior to
examination or at any time. A written or verbal statement made by a
victim to a law enforcement officer, emergency department, sexual
assault nurse examiner, or victim's advocate of an alleged sexual
offense shall be deemed to be a report to the proper authorities for the
purposes of paragraph (c) of subdivision one of this section.

Section 3: Provides that the provisions of this act shall take effect
immediately.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Currently, the requirements for the allocation of awards by the office
of victims services presents barriers for sexual assault survivors that
often do not have access to other means of support after their assault.
We need to make eligibility requirements more accessible to the neediest
of New Yorkers, not implement requirements that are difficult to meet.
The unfortunate reality is that in New York we have many survivors of
sexual assault, therefore it is imperative that we do all we can to get
sexual assault survivors the services they need to help themselves and
their families after am assault.

The proposed changes will eliminate the time requirement that requires
victims of sexual assault to report their assault within a certain time
which will allow awards for survivors that previously were ineligible.
Additionally, this legislation will ensure that survivors have more
options than to be required to participate in the criminal legal system
which can be re-traumatizing for survivors.

 
GENDER JUSTICE IMPACT:

According to National Organization for Women (NOW) 1 in 3 women have
experienced sexual assault by an intimate partner in their life time and
91% of the victims of rape and sexual assault are women. This legis-
lation will remove the barriers that are often in place for women that
have survived sexual assault, specifically women of color, immigrant
women, and lower-income women. Removing such barriers and allowing sexu-
al assault survivors to receive needed awards from the office of victim
services will have a positive impact on gender justice in New York
State.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

This is a new bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined. This legislation will likely result in more financial
awards being issued by the office of victim services, but any increase
in such awards is offset by the fact that the individuals receiving the
funds will be less likely to require assistance from social services and
will also engage more with their local economy, helping to generate
revenue.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.