S 3909: Enacts the "New York State Phoenix Act"; extends the statute of limitations for felony family offenses to ten years and misdemeanor family offenses to five years.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3909 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE January 30, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law and the executive law, in relation to enacting the "New York State Phoenix Act" The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "New York 2 State Phoenix Act". 3 § 2. Legislative findings. The legislature finds and declares all of 4 the following: 5 1. Domestic violence is a pattern of coercive behavior and tactics 6 used by someone against their intimate partner in an attempt to gain or 7 maintain power and control and types of abuse can include physical, 8 sexual, emotional, psychological, technological and economic abuse or 9 threats of actions. 10 2. On average, one in three women and one in four men in the United 11 States experience rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate 12 partner in their lifetime. 13 3. Between six percent and fourteen percent of male offenders of 14 domestic violence and between 23 percent and 37 percent of female offen- 15 ders of domestic violence report they had been physically or sexually 16 abused before the age of 18. 17 4. When domestic violence occurs in New York state, the time victims 18 have to report the incident to law enforcement to initiate criminal 19 proceedings varies depending on the type of crime committed. 20 5. Research demonstrates that survivors of domestic violence who were 21 hesitant to call law enforcement frequently cite fear of reprisal, 22 eviction, arrest, embarrassment, immigration status and fear of losing 23 custody of their children as reasons for their hesitation. 24 6. Due to systemic racism, which affects social structures, laws and 25 policies, Black men and Black women experience domestic violence at EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD00160-01-5 
 S. 3909 2 1 higher rates than other communities. Due to distrust in government agen- 2 cies or law enforcement due to years of discrimination and abuse, Black 3 victims experiencing domestic violence are less likely to call law 4 enforcement due to fears of their partner being brutalized or killed by 5 the police. On average, Black men are 2.5 times more likely to be killed 6 by police than white men, and Black women are 1.4 times more likely to 7 be killed by police than white women. 8 7. Black women who report crime to law enforcement are more likely to 9 be criminalized, prosecuted and incarcerated while trying to navigate 10 and survive the conditions of violence in their lives. Compared to other 11 groups, Black women are 80% more likely to be convicted of killing their 12 abusive partner when defending themselves from abuse. 13 8. Law enforcement officers often have initial contact with victims of 14 domestic violence and such response should be viewed as a serious call 15 for service and an opportunity to provide life-saving engagement with 16 victims and connection to community-based supportive services. 17 9. It is the intent of the legislature to allow for victims of domes- 18 tic violence to seek justice by extending the statute of limitations for 19 reporting family offenses to law enforcement. 20 10. It is the intent of the legislature to ensure law enforcement 21 personnel receive comprehensive survivor-centered, trauma-informed 22 training that is culturally sensitive and appropriate for diverse commu- 23 nities. 24 § 3. Subdivision 3 of section 30.10 of the criminal procedure law is 25 amended by adding a new paragraph (i) to read as follows: 26 (i) A prosecution of a felony family offense defined in subdivision 27 one of section 530.11 of this chapter with a period of limitation of 28 less than ten years may be commenced within ten years of the commission 29 thereof. A prosecution of a misdemeanor family offense defined in subdi- 30 vision one of section 530.11 of this chapter with a period of limitation 31 of less than five years may be commenced within five years of the 32 commission thereof. 33 § 4. Section 214-b of the executive law, as amended by chapter 432 of 34 the laws of 2015, is amended to read as follows: 35 § 214-b. Family offense intervention. The superintendent shall, for 36 all members of the state police including new and veteran officers, 37 develop, maintain and disseminate, in consultation with the state office 38 for the prevention of domestic violence and the New York state coalition 39 against domestic violence, written policies and procedures consistent 40 with article eight of the family court act and applicable provisions of 41 the criminal procedure and domestic relations laws, regarding the inves- 42 tigation of and intervention in incidents of family offenses. The writ- 43 ten policies and procedures shall include a brief current and historical 44 context on communities of color impacted by incarceration and violence, 45 enforcement of criminal laws in family offense situations, availability 46 of civil remedies and community resources, and protection of the victim. 47 Such policies and procedures shall make provision for education and 48 training in the interpretation and enforcement of New York's family 49 offense laws, including but not limited to: 50 (a) techniques for handling incidents of family offenses that minimize 51 the likelihood of injury and promote the safety of all individuals at 52 the scene, including officers. These techniques shall include, but are 53 not limited to, the following: 54 (i) methods for ensuring victim interviews occur in a trauma-informed 55 manner and are conducted beyond the presence of other involved parties 
 S. 3909 3 1 and with appropriate sound barriers to prevent the conversation from 2 being overheard; 3 (ii) intake and recording of victim statements, and the prompt trans- 4 lation of such statements if made in a language other than English, in 5 accordance with [subdivision (c)] paragraph (iv) of this [section] 6 subdivision, on a standardized "domestic violence incident report form" 7 promulgated by the state division of criminal justice services in 8 consultation with the superintendent and with the state office for the 9 prevention of domestic violence, and the investigation thereof so as to 10 ascertain whether a crime has been committed against the victim by a 11 member of the victim's family or household as such terms are defined in 12 section eight hundred twelve of the family court act and section 530.11 13 of the criminal procedure law; 14 [(b)] (iii) the need [for immediate intervention in family offenses] 15 to respond to every domestic incident as a serious call for service and 16 to immediately intervene, as appropriate including the arrest and 17 detention of alleged offenders, pursuant to subdivision four of section 18 140.10 of the criminal procedure law, and notifying victims of their 19 criminal and civil rights, in their native language, if identified as 20 other than English, in accordance with [subdivision (c)] paragraph (iv) 21 of this [section] subdivision, including but not limited to immediately 22 providing the victim with the written notice provided in subdivision six 23 of section 530.11 of the criminal procedure law and subdivision five of 24 section eight hundred twelve of the family court act[.]; and 25 [(c) The] (iv) the superintendent, in consultation with the division 26 of criminal justice services and the office for the prevention of domes- 27 tic violence shall determine the languages in which such translation 28 required by [subdivision (a)] paragraph (ii) of this [section] subdivi- 29 sion, and the notification required pursuant to [subdivision (b)] para- 30 graph (iii) of this [section] subdivision, shall be provided. Such 31 determination shall be based on the size of the New York state popu- 32 lation that speaks each language and any other relevant factor. Such 33 written notice required pursuant to [subdivision (b)] paragraph (iii) of 34 this [section] subdivision shall be made available to all state police 35 officers in the state[.]; 36 (b) case law and definitions of domestic violence and the tactics 37 commonly used by one party to induce fear in another party, including 38 verbal, emotional, psychological, economic, physical, technological, 39 coercive and sexual abuse, and monitoring of a partner's location and 40 activities; 41 (c) relevant statutes and case law involving law enforcement's inves- 42 tigation and intervention of cases involving family offenses and court- 43 issued orders of protection, including assessing the immediate safety 44 and welfare of all occupants at the location, including children; iden- 45 tifying the presence of any firearms in the household; and laws and 46 protocols pertaining to the search and seizure of firearms in plain 47 sight or discovered pursuant to a consensual or lawful search; 48 (d) the increased risk posed to victims and children after police 49 intervention; 50 (e) the legal rights of, and remedies available to, victims of family 51 offenses, including the right to seek justice in either a civil or crim- 52 inal court or in both; 53 (f) the process for documenting the complete history of the parties' 54 abusive tactics and coercive control behaviors, collection of evidence 55 and documentation of the investigation, including requests by victims to 56 not be recorded on body cameras; 
 S. 3909 4 1 (g) the disproportionate levels of violence experienced by communities 2 of color, particularly women, and data regarding rates of physical 3 violence, psychological abuse, sexual violence and homicide experienced 4 by such communities in comparison to other communities; 5 (h) the disproportionate involvement of communities of color with the 6 criminal justice system and racial profiling, and trends in rates of 7 incarceration for such communities; 8 (i) the culturally specific ways domestic violence can be perpetrated 9 and the need for law enforcement to consider the cultural background and 10 unique issues facing parties when investigating and responding to inci- 11 dents involving family offenses; and 12 (j) community-based resources and services available to parties 13 involved in family offense situations. 14 § 5. Paragraph (f) of subdivision 3 of section 840 of the executive 15 law, as amended by chapter 432 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read 16 as follows: 17 (f) Develop, maintain and disseminate, in consultation with the state 18 office for the prevention of domestic violence and the New York state 19 coalition against domestic violence, written policies and procedures and 20 a course or courses of instruction consistent with article eight of the 21 family court act and applicable provisions of the criminal procedure and 22 domestic relations laws, regarding the investigation of and intervention 23 by new and veteran police officers in incidents of family offenses. 24 Such courses of instruction and policies and procedures shall make 25 provisions for education and training in the interpretation and enforce- 26 ment of New York's family offense laws, including but not limited to: 27 (1) techniques for handling incidents of family offenses that minimize 28 the likelihood of injury and promote the safety of all individuals at 29 the scene, including officers. These techniques shall include, but are 30 not limited to, the following: 31 (i) methods for ensuring victim interviews occur in a trauma-informed 32 manner and are conducted beyond the presence of other involved parties 33 and with appropriate sound barriers to prevent the conversation from 34 being overheard; 35 (ii) intake and recording of victim statements, and the prompt trans- 36 lation of such statements if made in a language other than English, in 37 accordance with [subparagraph three] clause (iv) of this [paragraph] 38 subparagraph, on a standardized "domestic violence incident report form" 39 promulgated by the division of criminal justice services in consultation 40 with the superintendent of state police, representatives of local police 41 forces and the state office for the prevention of domestic violence, and 42 the investigation thereof so as to ascertain whether a crime has been 43 committed against the victim by a member of the victim's family or 44 household as such terms are defined in section eight hundred twelve of 45 the family court act and section 530.11 of the criminal procedure law; 46 [and 47 (2)] (iii) the need [for immediate intervention in family offenses] to 48 respond to every domestic incident as a serious call for service and to 49 immediately intervene, as appropriate, including the arrest and 50 detention of alleged offenders, pursuant to subdivision four of section 51 140.10 of the criminal procedure law, and notifying victims of their 52 criminal and civil rights, in their native language, if identified as 53 other than English, in accordance with [subparagraph three] clause (iv) 54 of this [paragraph] subparagraph, including but not limited to imme- 55 diately providing the victim with the written notice required in subdi- 
 S. 3909 5 1 vision six of section 530.11 of the criminal procedure law and subdivi- 2 sion five of section eight hundred twelve of the family court act; and 3 [(3)] (iv) determine, in consultation with the superintendent of state 4 police and the office for the prevention of domestic violence, the 5 languages in which such translation required by [subparagraph one] 6 clause (ii) of this [paragraph] subparagraph, and the notification 7 required by [subparagraph two] clause (iii) of this [paragraph] subpara- 8 graph, shall be provided. Such determination shall be based on the size 9 of the New York state population that speaks each language and any other 10 relevant factor. Such written notice required pursuant to [subparagraph 11 two] clause (iii) of this [paragraph] subparagraph shall be made avail- 12 able to all local law enforcement agencies throughout the state. Nothing 13 in this [paragraph] subparagraph shall prevent the council from using 14 the determinations made by the superintendent of state police pursuant 15 to paragraph (iv) of subdivision [(c)] (a) of section two hundred four- 16 teen-b of this chapter; 17 (2) case law and definitions of domestic violence and the tactics 18 commonly used by one party to induce fear in another party, including 19 verbal, emotional, psychological, economic, physical, technological, 20 coercive and sexual abuse, and monitoring of a partner's location and 21 activities; 22 (3) relevant statutes and case law involving law enforcement's inves- 23 tigation and intervention of cases involving family offenses and court- 24 issued orders of protection, including assessing the immediate safety 25 and welfare of all occupants at the location, including children; iden- 26 tifying the presence of any firearms in the household; and laws and 27 protocols pertaining to the search and seizure of firearms in plain 28 sight or discovered pursuant to a consensual or lawful search; 29 (4) the increased risk posed to victims and children after police 30 intervention; 31 (5) the legal rights of, and remedies available to, victims of family 32 offenses, including the right to seek justice in either a civil or crim- 33 inal court or in both; 34 (6) the process for documenting the complete history of the parties' 35 abusive tactics and coercive control behaviors, collection of evidence 36 and documentation of the investigation, including requests by victims to 37 not be recorded on body cameras; 38 (7) the disproportionate levels of violence experienced by communities 39 of color, particularly women, and data regarding rates of physical 40 violence, psychological abuse, sexual violence and homicide experienced 41 by such communities in comparison to other communities; 42 (8) the disproportionate involvement of communities of color with the 43 criminal justice system and racial profiling, and trends in rates of 44 incarceration for such communities; 45 (9) the culturally specific ways domestic violence can be perpetrated 46 and the need for law enforcement to consider the cultural background and 47 unique issues facing parties when investigating and responding to inci- 48 dents involving family offenses; and 49 (10) community-based resources and services available to parties 50 involved in family offense situations. 51 § 6. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed- 52 ing the date upon which it shall have become a law; provided that 53 section three of this act shall apply to crimes committed on or after 54 such date and to crimes for which the statute of limitations that was in 55 effect prior to such date has not elapsed as of such date.