Senate Bill S5502

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5502
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               March 6, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. SCARCELLA-SPANTON -- read twice and ordered printed,
   and when printed to be committed to the Committee  on  Crime  Victims,
   Crime and Correction
 
 AN  ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to certain notifications
   and the rights of crime victims

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1. Section 646-a of the executive law, as added by chapter 67
 of the laws of 1994, subdivisions 1, 3 and 4 as amended by section 35 of
 part A-1 of chapter 56 of the laws of 2010, and paragraph (g) of  subdi-
 vision 2 as added by chapter 186 of the laws of 2005, is amended to read
 as follows:
   § 646-a. Information   relative   to  the  fair  treatment  standards;
 pamphlet.   1. The district attorney OR  THE  COURT  shall  provide  the
 victim,  PARENT  OR GUARDIAN OF A MINOR, OR A SURVIVING FAMILY MEMBER IN
 THE CASE OF HOMICIDE, at the TIME OF SENTENCING OR AT THE earliest  time
 possible,  with  an informational pamphlet detailing the rights of crime
 victims which shall be prepared by  the  division  of  criminal  justice
 services  in  consultation  with  the  director  of the office of victim
 services AND THE OFFICE OF VICTIM ASSISTANCE, and  distributed  to  each
 district attorney's office.
   2.  The  pamphlet shall summarize provisions of this article. It shall
 also include specific information with appropriate statutory  references
 on the following:
   (a) the rights of crime victims to compensation and services;
   (b)  the  rights  of crime victims to routine notification of judicial
 proceedings relating to their case as provided in  section  six  hundred
 forty-one  of  this article, in section 330.20, [and] section 440.50 AND
 SECTION 380.50 of the criminal procedure law [and  section  one  hundred
 forty-nine-a of the correction law];

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD02597-01-3
 S. 5502                             2
              

 
   (c)  the rights of crime victims to be protected from intimidation and
 to have  the  court,  where  appropriate,  issue  protective  orders  as
 provided in sections 530.12 and 530.13 of the criminal procedure law and
 sections 215.15, 215.16 and 215.17 of the penal law;
   (d) the rights of crime victims to submit, where appropriate, a victim
 impact statement for the pre-sentencing report and the parole hearing as
 provided in section 390.30 of the criminal procedure law and section two
 hundred fifty-nine-i of this chapter;
   (e)  the rights of crime victims, where a defendant is being sentenced
 for a felony, to request the right to make a statement at  the  time  of
 sentencing  as provided in section 380.50 of the criminal procedure law;
 [and]
   (f) the rights of crime victims to request restitution  and  have  the
 district attorney present such request to the court and assist the crime
 victim  in  the  filing and collection of a restitution order in cooper-
 ation with the designated agency of the court  as  provided  in  section
 420.10  of  the  criminal  procedure  law and section 60.27 of the penal
 law[.];
   (g) the rights of crime victims to be aware of the defendant's  incar-
 ceration  status  by providing the [division of] STATE BOARD OF parole's
 contact information, including the [division's] BOARD'S toll-free  tele-
 phone  number, as provided for in subdivision two of section two hundred
 fifty-nine-i of this chapter. Such notice shall advise the crime  victim
 to  use  the  [division's]  BOARD'S toll-free telephone number to update
 contact information[.];
   (H) THE REQUIREMENT OF A VICTIM OR A SURVIVING FAMILY MEMBER TO REGIS-
 TER WITH THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  CORRECTIONS  AND  COMMUNITY  SUPERVISION'S
 OFFICE OF VICTIM ASSISTANCE IF, AT ANY TIME, THEY WANT TO:
   (I)  BE  NOTIFIED  OF  A DEFENDANT'S RELEASE FROM A STATE CORRECTIONAL
 FACILITY;
   (II)  BE NOTIFIED OF PAROLE BOARD INTERVIEWS WITH A DEFENDANT, AND THE
 RESULTS OF ANY SUCH INTERVIEWS; OR
   (III) PROVIDE OR UPDATE A VICTIM IMPACT  STATEMENT  TO  THE  BOARD  OF
 PAROLE; AND
   (I)  THE RIGHT OF CRIME VICTIMS OR SURVIVING FAMILY MEMBERS TO OBTAIN,
 AT NO COST, A COPY OF THE TRANSCRIPTS OF PAROLE HEARINGS.
   3. This pamphlet shall provide space for the insertion of the  follow-
 ing information:
   (a) the address and phone number of the office of victim services;
   (b) THE ADDRESS AND PHONE NUMBER OF THE OFFICE OF VICTIM ASSISTANCE;
   (C)  the  address  and phone numbers of local victim service programs,
 where appropriate;
   [(c)] (D) the name, phone number and office location of the person  in
 the   district  attorney's  office  to  whom  inquiries  concerning  the
 [victims] VICTIM'S case may be directed; and
   [(d)] (E) any other information the division deems appropriate.
   4. (a) The commissioner of the division of criminal  justice  services
 in  consultation  with the director of the office of victim services AND
 THE OFFICE OF VICTIM ASSISTANCE, shall develop and prepare  a  standard-
 ized  form  for  the use of district attorney offices for the purpose of
 reporting compliance with this section. The form is to be distributed to
 each district attorney. Every district attorney's office  in  the  state
 shall  complete  the reporting form annually and send it to the director
 of the office of victim services by the first day of January  each  year
 subsequent to the effective date of this subdivision.
 S. 5502                             3

   (b)  A  copy  of the report shall be retained by the district attorney
 and upon request, a victim of a crime or relative of a victim  shall  be
 entitled  to receive from the district attorney a copy of their district
 attorney's annual report without charge. Any other person  requesting  a
 copy  of  the  report  shall  pay a fee not to exceed the actual cost of
 reproduction.
   § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
 have become a law.