S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
5559
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
March 16, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. K. BROWN -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Governmental Operations
AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to requiring a defendant
who causes the death of a person with children due to driving while
intoxicated or impaired to pay for child support
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as "Tsakos' Law".
§ 2. Subdivision 5 and 11 of section 621 of the executive law, subdi-
vision 5 as amended by chapter 189 of the laws of 2018 and subdivision
11 as amended by chapter 178 of the laws of 2019, are amended to read as
follows:
5. "Victim" shall mean (a) a person who suffers personal physical
injury as a direct result of a crime; (b) a person who is the victim of
either the crime of (1) unlawful imprisonment in the first degree as
defined in section 135.10 of the penal law, (2) kidnapping in the second
degree as defined in section 135.20 of the penal law, (3) kidnapping in
the first degree as defined in section 135.25 of the penal law, (4)
menacing in the first degree as defined in section 120.13 of the penal
law, (5) criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation as
defined in section 121.11 of the penal law, (6) harassment in the second
degree as defined in section 240.26 of the penal law, (7) harassment in
the first degree as defined in section 240.25 of the penal law, (8)
aggravated harassment in the second degree as defined in subdivision
three or five of section 240.30 of the penal law, (9) aggravated harass-
ment in the first degree as defined in subdivision two of section 240.31
of the penal law, (10) criminal contempt in the first degree as defined
in subdivision (b) or subdivision (c) of section 215.51 of the penal
law, (11) stalking in the fourth, third, second or first degree as
defined in sections 120.45, 120.50, 120.55 and 120.60 of the penal law,
(12) labor trafficking as defined in section 135.35 of the penal law,
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06516-01-3
A. 5559 2
(13) sex trafficking as defined in section 230.34 of the penal law; or
(14) sex trafficking of a child as defined in section 230.34-a of the
penal law; a vulnerable elderly person or an incompetent or physically
disabled person as defined in section 260.31 of the penal law who incurs
a loss of savings as defined in subdivision twenty-four of this section;
or a person who has had a frivolous lawsuit filed against them; (C) A
CHILD VICTIM OF A PERSON OR PERSONS WHO DIED AS A DIRECT RESULT OF
EITHER THE CRIME OF (1) VEHICULAR MANSLAUGHTER IN THE SECOND DEGREE AS
DEFINED IN SECTION 125.12 OF THE PENAL LAW, (2) VEHICULAR MANSLAUGHTER
IN THE FIRST DEGREE AS DEFINED IN SECTION 125.13 OF THE PENAL LAW, OR
(3) AGGRAVATED VEHICULAR HOMICIDE AS DEFINED IN SECTION 125.14 OF THE
PENAL LAW.
11. For purposes of this article "child victim" shall mean a person
less than eighteen years of age who suffers physical, mental or
emotional injury, or loss or damage, as a direct result of a crime or
any violation listed in subdivision twelve of section six hundred thir-
ty-one of this article, or as a result of witnessing a crime or any
violation listed in subdivision twelve of section six hundred thirty-one
of this article, OR A CHILD OF A VICTIM OF A CRIME LISTED IN PARAGRAPH
(C) OF SUBDIVISION FIVE OF THIS SECTION.
§ 3. Subdivision 2 of section 631 of the executive law, as amended by
chapter 233 of the laws of 2020, is amended and a new subdivision 19 is
added to read as follows:
2. Any award made pursuant to this article shall be in an amount not
exceeding out-of-pocket expenses, including indebtedness reasonably
incurred for medical or other services necessary as a result of the
injury upon which the claim is based; loss of earnings or support
resulting from such injury not to exceed thirty thousand dollars; loss
of savings not to exceed thirty thousand dollars; burial expenses not
exceeding six thousand dollars of a victim who died on or after November
first, nineteen ninety-six as a direct result of a crime; the costs of
crime scene cleanup and securing of a crime scene not exceeding twenty-
five hundred dollars; reasonable relocation expenses not exceeding twen-
ty-five hundred dollars; reasonable employment-related transportation
expenses, not exceeding twenty-five hundred dollars [and]; the unreim-
bursed cost of repair or replacement of articles of essential personal
property lost, damaged or destroyed as a direct result of the crime; AND
CHILD SUPPORT FOR A CHILD VICTIM PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH (C) OF SUBDIVI-
SION FIVE OF SECTION SIX HUNDRED TWENTY-ONE OF THIS ARTICLE UNTIL SUCH
CHILD REACHES THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN. An award for loss of earnings shall
include earnings lost by a parent or guardian as a result of the hospi-
talization of a child victim under age eighteen for injuries sustained
as a direct result of a crime. In addition to the medical or other
services necessary as a result of the injury upon which the claim is
based, an award may be made for rehabilitative occupational training for
the purpose of job retraining or similar employment-oriented rehabilita-
tive services based upon the claimant's medical and employment history.
For the purpose of this subdivision, rehabilitative occupational train-
ing shall include but not be limited to educational training and
expenses. An award for rehabilitative occupational training may be made
to a victim, or to a family member of a victim where necessary as a
direct result of a crime. An award for employment-related transporta-
tion expenses shall be limited to the time period necessary due to the
personal physical injuries sustained as a direct result of the crime
upon which the claim is based, as determined by the medical information
collected during the investigation of the claim.
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19. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY INCONSISTENT PROVISIONS OF THIS ARTICLE, WHERE
A CHILD VICTIM HAS LOST A PARENT OR PARENTS AS A RESULT OF A CRIME LIST-
ED IN PARAGRAPH (C) OF SUBDIVISION FIVE OF SECTION SIX HUNDRED TWENTY-
ONE OF THIS ARTICLE THE CLAIMANT SHALL BE ELIGIBLE OF AN AWARD OF CHILD
SUPPORT WHICH SHALL BE PAID MONTHLY TO THE CHILD VICTIM'S OTHER PARENT
OR LEGAL GUARDIAN UNTIL SUCH CHILD VICTIM REACHES THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN.
SUCH AWARD OF CHILD SUPPORT SHALL BE DETERMINED BY THE OFFICE AFTER
TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION THE CLAIMANT'S FINANCIAL RESOURCES.
§ 4. Subdivision 1 of section 632 of the executive law, as amended by
chapter 287 of the laws of 1972, is amended to read as follows:
1. The award shall be paid in a lump sum, except that in the case of
death or protracted disability the award shall provide for periodic
payments to compensate for loss of earnings or support; OR IN THE CASE
OF A CHILD VICTIM PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH (C) OF SUBDIVISION FIVE OF
SECTION SIX HUNDRED TWENTY-ONE OF THIS ARTICLE THE AWARD OF CHILD
SUPPORT SHALL BE PAID MONTHLY UNTIL SUCH CHILD VICTIM REACHES THE AGE OF
EIGHTEEN. No award made pursuant to this article shall be subject to
execution or attachment other than for expenses resulting from the inju-
ry which is the basis for the claim.
§ 5. This act shall take effect immediately.