S 770: Provides that the contact information for the department of corrections and community supervision and the office of victim assistance shall be provided to crime victims.
The bill aims to improve the contact information provided to crime victims in New York. The district attorney or court is required to give victims an informational pamphlet detailing their rights at the time of sentencing or as soon as possible. This pamphlet will be prepared by the Division of Criminal Justice Services in collaboration with the Office of Victim Services and the Office of Victim Assistance. Additionally, the bill mandates that the department of corrections and community supervision's office of victim assistance provides its contact information, including a toll-free telephone number, to inform victims of their rights. This contact information should be used by victims to update their information. The bill takes effect on the same date as a separate 2024 amendment to the executive law, relating to notifications and crime victim rights.
| Jan. 28, 2025 | SUBSTITUTED BY A693 |
| Jan. 13, 2025 | ORDERED TO THIRD READING CAL.44 |
| Jan. 08, 2025 | REFERRED TO RULES |
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 770 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE (Prefiled) January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. SCARCELLA-SPANTON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to certain contact infor- mation provided to crime victims The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 1, paragraph (g) of subdivision 2 and paragraph 2 (b) of subdivision 3 of section 646-a of the executive law, as amended 3 by a chapter of the laws of 2024 amending the executive law relating to 4 certain notifications and the rights of crime victims, as proposed in 5 legislative bills numbers S. 5502 and A. 4199, are amended to read as 6 follows: 7 1. The district attorney [or the court] shall provide the victim, 8 parent or guardian of a minor, or a surviving family member in the case 9 of homicide, at the time of sentencing or at the earliest time possible, 10 with an informational pamphlet detailing the rights of crime victims 11 which shall be prepared by the division of criminal justice services in 12 consultation with the director of the office of victim services and the 13 office of victim assistance, and distributed to each district attorney's 14 office. 15 (g) the rights of crime victims to be aware of the defendant's incar- 16 ceration status by providing the [state board of parole's] department of 17 corrections and community supervision's contact information, including 18 the [board's] office of victim assistance's toll-free telephone number, 19 as provided for in subdivision two of section two hundred fifty-nine-i 20 of this chapter. Such notice shall advise the crime victim to use the 21 [board's] office of victim assistance's toll-free telephone number to 22 update contact information; 23 (b) the address and phone number of the department of corrections and 24 community supervision's office of victim assistance; EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD02911-01-5S. 770 2 1 § 2. This act shall take effect on the same date and in the same 2 manner as a chapter of the laws of 2024 amending the executive law 3 relating to certain notifications and the rights of crime victims, as 4 proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 5502 and A. 4199, takes effect.