Senate Bill S3829

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S3829

SPONSOR: RIVERA
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the insurance law, in relation to the money deposited as
bail by charitable bail organizations

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

This bill would amend the Insurance Law to enable charitable bail organ-
izations to provide more effective assistance to indigent persons in
need of such services.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of this bill would amend section 6805 of the Insurance Law, as
it relates to charitable bail bonds, to eliminate the cap on bail that
can be paid by a charitable organization and remove the geographical
restriction that an organization may only offer bail in one county.

Section 2 provides the effective date.
              

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Every year, millions of Americans are incarcerated while awaiting trial,
sometimes for very lengthy periods, simply because they can't afford to
post bail, including 45,000 people in New York City alone.  By assisting
with cash bail for New Yorkers who cannot afford it, charitable bail
organizations can help keep people out of jail while awaiting trial,
protect the presumption of innocence, and help keep families intact.

A period of pretrial incarceration can have a devastating effect on a
person's life. As a result of pretrial incarceration, families may be
torn apart and individuals may lose their employment, housing, and
dignity. This bill seeks to mitigate these possible collateral conse-
quences by enabling more nonprofit organizations to establish bail funds
in the state to assist individuals in need. Charitable bail organiza-
tions have been formally recognized in New York since 2012 as nonprofit
organizations regulated by the New York State Department of Financial
Services (See L. 2012, c. 181). Due to changes in the bail laws, chari-
table bail organizations are limited in which offenses qualify for bail
as many eligible offenses are now not eligible for bail, and the maximum
amount of bail they can post needs to be increased. This bill expands
these organizations' reach to all offenses as defined in Penal Law 10.00
and removes the cap on the amount of bail they are allowed to deposit.

Under the Criminal Procedure Law, a bail amount is set by the court,
when authorized, in each case. Bail posted during the pendency of the
case is returned to the surety when the case concludes, but bail may be
forfeited if the person fails to appear in court when required. Thus, a
charitable bail organization has the incentive to monitor the individual
during the proceedings and help ensure their presence for every court
appearance. Moreover, the presiding judge, in any case, may conduct an
inquiry to determine the reliability of the obligors posting cash bail
(See Criminal Procedure Law § 520.30).

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2017-2018: S4776-A / A4880-A Blake 2019:

S494 / A6980 Blake

2020: S7143-A / A9610-A Blake

2021-2022: S3059 / No same as

2023-2024: S1573-A / A4874-A Kelles

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.