(Binghamton, N.Y.) Senator Webb and the Senate Democratic Majority advanced legislation to protect the safety and privacy of crime victims and support survivors of domestic and sexual violence. The bills in this package build on our legislative efforts from last year, including legislation we passed, enacted in October during Domestic Violence Awareness Month, that requires law enforcement responding to reports of domestic and family violence to temporarily remove firearms from the possession of accused defendants pending court action. We remain committed to further strengthening New York’s criminal laws to protect survivors from retaliation and support them on their healing journey, ensuring they have access to the resources they need to rebuild their lives, empower themselves, and thrive. 

This package includes legislation that would expand the definition of the offense of aggravated harassment in the second degree, foster the adoption and implementation of co-sheltering friendly housing models, permit pension beneficiary status changes upon conviction, and allow domestic violence survivors to opt out of or be released from a shared contract without penalty. 

In addition, as April marks Sexual Assault Awareness Month, it includes legislation that would prevent using the voluntary intoxication of a victim as a defense in sex related crimes, and raise awareness of New York’s Address Confidentiality Program to ensure the privacy of crime victims and survivors of sexual assault. 

Public safety and well-being are key issues that we must equitably support as a community and state. As Chair of the Women’s Issues Committee, it is my priority to pass policies to ensure survivors of domestic violence get the support they need to heal and rebuild,” said State Senator Lea Webb. “My legislation restores justice and gives survivors the power to protect their financial future. Under current law, once a retired member elects a beneficiary for their pension option, that designation is locked in for life. This bill allows retirees to revoke pension benefits from a beneficiary who has been convicted of a family offense, including domestic violence. I thank the Majority Leader for putting forth this important package and supporting survivors across New York.

The legislation passed by the Senate Democratic Majority includes: 

•  Ensures Necessary Compensation for Dispossessed Crime Victims: This bill, S.156A, sponsored by Senator Salazar, defines the terms “essential personal property” and “property necessary and essential to the welfare of the victim” in the context of determining awards for crime victims who have lost their property, in order to ensure they receive accurate compensation to restore stability to their lives and allow them to return to their basic standard of living. 
•  Enacts the Survivors First Act: This bill, S.4584A, sponsored by Senator Salazar, expands access to and facilitates the equitable administration of state victim compensation funds by requiring the Office of Victim Services to distribute information concerning their existence, to disclose specific data about crime victim services programs, to establish an outreach plan, and to disregard certain kinds of funding as collateral sources historically used to reduce compensation for victims. 
• Notifies Crime Victims of the Address Confidentiality Program: This bill, S.8628, sponsored by Senator Salazar, requires the Office of Victim Services to notify victims of crime and of sexual offenses of the Address Confidentiality Program. 
• Extends Emergency Priority for Public Housing to Domestic Violence Survivors: This bill, S.871, sponsored by Senator Bailey, would require statewide housing authorities that have established waiting list preferences, and which are reviewing applicants, to grant domestic violence survivors the same preference granted to prioritized populations. It would also establish a standardized definition of domestic violence to determine whether an applicant is eligible to qualify as a member of that prioritized group. 
• Creates an Opt-out Structure for Crime Victim Notifications: This bill, S.6814, sponsored by Senator Bailey, creates automatic phone or email notifications to victims, witnesses, relatives of those victims and witnesses who are minors, and relatives of homicide victims. The information to be notified on includes arrests, initial court appearances, custody releases, and information on the judicial proceedings. The bill also creates a right for the crime victim or surviving family to be notified on the person’s release from state custody, parole board interviews, and the crime victim’s right to provide a victim impact statement to the parole board. 
• Equips Survivors with Information to Prevent Cyber Stalking and Electronic Harassment: This bill, S.8045, sponsored by Senator Bynoe, would require the Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence to provide informational materials to survivors of domestic violence on how to remove abusers from smart home electronic systems to protect themselves against cyber harassment and stalking. 
• Removes the ‘Voluntary Intoxication’ Exclusion: This bill, S.54A, sponsored by Senator Fernandez, would prohibit the using of the voluntary intoxication of a victim as a defense in sex crimes, and establish a legal standard that a person who is voluntarily intoxicated can be incapable of consent. 
• Expands the Definition of Aggravated Harassment in the Second Degree: This bill, S.2273, sponsored by Senator Krueger, would include forms of contact such as text, private message, direct message, and email, as well as other methods of electroniccommunication, in the definition of the offense of aggravated harassment in the second degree. 
• Promotes the Implementation of Co-sheltering Models: This bill, S.7612, sponsored by Senator Martinez, would direct the Office of Temporary Disability Assistance in consultation with the Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence to establish a co-shelter toolkit of best practices, resources, case studies and other information deemed helpful to inform and encourage the adoption and implementation of co-sheltering friendly models to accommodate victims of domestic violence and people experiencing homelessness who have companion animals. 
• Protects Domestic Violence Survivors in Shared Contracts: This bill, S.2416, sponsored by Senator Parker, would allow individuals who are under a shared contract toopt-out and be released of such contract without charges or penalties due to their status as a survivor of domestic violence.
• Establishes a Forfeiture of Beneficiary’s Rights Upon Domestic Violence Conviction: This bill, S.6750, sponsored by Senator Webb, would permit the removal of named beneficiaries, who commit and are convicted of a family offense against a state or city retiree, preventing them from collecting the victims pension benefits.