S 9809: Relates to claims for unjust conviction and imprisonment and the availability of certain benefits and entitlements to exonerees; allows for sealing of records, payment of awards and payment of attorney's fees; repeals certain provisions relating thereto.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 9809  IN SENATE April 6, 2026 ___________ Introduced by Sen. SALAZAR -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary AN ACT to amend the court of claims act, the public housing law, the correction law, and the civil service law, in relation to the avail- ability of certain benefits to exonerees; and to repeal certain provisions of the court of claims act relating thereto The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 8-b of the court of claims act is amended by adding 2 a new subdivision 1-a to read as follows: 3 1-a. When used in this section, unless otherwise required by the 4 context, or unless a contrary intent is expressly declared in the 5 provision to be construed, the term "exoneree" shall mean any person who 6 has been granted a judgment in a claim for unjust conviction and impri- 7 sonment under this section. 8 § 2. Subparagraphs (i) and (ii) of paragraph (b) of subdivision 5 of 9 section 8-b of the court of claims act, as added by chapter 1009 of the 10 laws of 1984, are amended to read as follows: 11 (i) [he has] they have been pardoned upon the ground of innocence of 12 the crime or crimes for which [he was] they were sentenced and which are 13 the grounds for the complaint; or (ii) [his] their judgment of 14 conviction was reversed or vacated, and the accusatory instrument 15 dismissed or, if a new trial was ordered, either [he was] they were 16 found not guilty at the new trial or [he was] they were not retried and 17 the accusatory instrument dismissed; provided that the judgement of 18 conviction was reversed or vacated, and the accusatory instrument was 19 dismissed, on any of the following grounds: (A) [paragraph (a), (b), 20 (c), (e) or (g) of] subdivision one of section 440.10 of the criminal 21 procedure law; or (B) subdivision [one (where based upon grounds set 22 forth in item (A) hereof),] two, three (where the count dismissed was 23 the sole basis for the imprisonment complained of) or five of section 24 470.20 of the criminal procedure law; or (C) comparable provisions of 25 the former code of criminal procedure or subsequent law; or (D) the 26 statute, or application thereof, on which the accusatory instrument was EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD01726-01-5 
 S. 9809 2 1 based violated the constitution of the United States or the state of New 2 York; and 3 § 3. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 5 of section 8-b of the court of 4 claims act, as added by chapter 1009 of the laws of 1984, is amended to 5 read as follows: 6 (c) [he] they did not commit any of the acts [charged in the accusato- 7 ry instrument] for which they were convicted or [his] their acts or 8 omissions charged in the accusatory instrument did not constitute a 9 felony or misdemeanor against the state; and 10 § 4. Paragraph (d) of subdivision 5 of section 8-b of the court of 11 claims act, as added by chapter 1009 of the laws of 1984, is amended to 12 read as follows: 13 (d) [he] they did not by [his] their own [conduct] misconduct cause or 14 bring about [his] their conviction. For purposes of this subdivision, a 15 confession, admission or plea of guilty made or entered by the claimant 16 may not be considered evidence of misconduct unless such confession, 17 admission or plea of guilty was made or entered knowingly, voluntarily, 18 without duress and with the intent to prevent the investigation or pros- 19 ecution: (i) of the claimant for a crime unrelated to the crime or 20 crimes that were the subject of such confession, admission or plea of 21 guilty; or (ii) of another person who the claimant, at the time of such 22 confession, admission or plea, believed to be the perpetrator of the 23 crime or crimes that were the subject of such confession, admission or 24 plea. 25 § 5. Subdivision 7 of section 8-b of the court of claims act is 26 REPEALED. 27 § 6. Subdivision 6 of section 8-b of the court of claims act, as added 28 by chapter 1009 of the laws of 1984, is amended to read as follows: 29 6. If the court finds that the claimant is entitled to a judgment, it 30 shall award damages in such sum of money as the court determines will 31 fairly and reasonably compensate [him] them, as well as any benefits to 32 which the claimant is entitled under this section. 33 § 7. Section 8-b of the court of claims act is amended by adding ten 34 new subdivisions 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 to read as 35 follows: 36 8. Any exoneree shall be entitled to have all records of their 37 conviction sealed pursuant to section 160.50 of the criminal procedure 38 law. 39 9. No benefits paid pursuant to this article shall be considered gross 40 income as defined in section six hundred twelve of the tax law, nor 41 shall they be taxable by any entity. 42 10. No benefits paid pursuant to this article shall be reduced by any 43 amount to compensate the state for the costs of incarcerating the exon- 44 eree. 45 11. A person who properly presents a claim pursuant to subdivisions 46 three and four of this section shall be entitled to receive a payment of 47 ten thousand dollars per month from the state for each month between the 48 time a claim is filed and the final judgment is recorded, provided 49 however that on motion of the attorney general the court may stay such 50 payment on the grounds that such claim is frivolous, that the claimant 51 is unlikely to prevail on the merits, or that the period of wrongful 52 incarceration was so short that significant damages and benefits should 53 not be awarded. 54 12. An exoneree found by the court to have served a period of wrongful 55 incarceration of more than one year or to have experienced significant 56 hardship resulting from such incarceration shall be ordered by the court 
 S. 9809 3 1 to be enrolled in the health benefit plan established pursuant to 2 section one hundred sixty-one of the civil service law, the supplementa- 3 ry health benefit plan established pursuant to section one hundred 4 sixty-three-a of the civil service law, and the dental insurance plan 5 established pursuant to section one hundred sixty of the civil service 6 law. The full cost of premium or subscription charges for such coverage 7 shall be paid by the state. 8 13. The exoneree shall be entitled to reasonable attorney's fees 9 incurred in the process of vacating or reversing the judgment against 10 them. The exoneree shall petition the court of claims in seeking reason- 11 able attorney's fees as against the state. Any award of attorney's fees 12 shall be reimbursable by the state. 13 14. An exoneree who enrolls at any institution of the city university 14 of New York or any institution of the state university of New York shall 15 be eligible for a tuition award in an amount equal to the tuition 16 charged at such institution, the mandatory fees charged at such institu- 17 tion and the non-tuition cost of attendance at such institution or 18 college, provided that the scholarship shall not exceed an amount that 19 is equal to the total cost of attendance determined for federal Title IV 20 student financial aid purposes. 21 15. Any and all benefits made available to parolees through the divi- 22 sion of parole shall also be made available to exonerees. Any state 23 contract with a service provider for parolees must also require the 24 service provider to also serve exonerees. 25 16. Nothing in this act shall be construed to prevent an exoneree from 26 pursuing further civil lawsuits against any state agencies or employees 27 for any reason, including in connection with the wrongful conviction. 28 17. (a) Any person claiming compensation and additional benefits under 29 this section based on a pardon that was granted on or after the effec- 30 tive date of this subdivision or the dismissal of an accusatory instru- 31 ment that occurred on or after the effective date of this subdivision 32 shall file their claim within three years after the pardon or dismissal. 33 (b) Any person who obtained a judgment under this section prior to the 34 effective date may file for additional benefits under this section with- 35 in two years after such effective date. 36 (c) Any person whose claim was dismissed prior to the effective date 37 of this section on the grounds that the claim did not satisfy clause (A) 38 or (B) of subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (b) of subdivision five of this 39 section may refile their claim under this section within two years after 40 the effective date of this subdivision. 41 (d) Any person who did not previously file a claim because their claim 42 did not satisfy clause (A) or (B) of subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (b) 43 of subdivision five of this section and is barred by the existing stat- 44 ute of limitations, may file their claim under this section within two 45 years after the effective date of this subdivision. 46 § 8. Subdivision 1 of section 156 of the public housing law is amended 47 by adding a new paragraph c to read as follows: 48 c. also for any exoneree as defined in subdivision one-a of section 49 eight-b of the court of claims act. Any benefits due to such exoneree 50 shall not be included in the calculation of probable aggregate income 51 used to determine eligibility for these dwellings. Exonerees shall be 52 assigned the highest need-based priority for placement in a dwelling 53 unit. 54 § 9. Subdivision 4 of section 404 of the correction law, as amended by 55 chapter 322 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows: 
 S. 9809 4 1 4. Every incarcerated individual who has received mental health treat- 2 ment pursuant to this article within three years of [his or her] their 3 anticipated release date from a state correctional facility and every 4 exoneree, as defined in subdivision one-a of section eight-b of the 5 court of claims act, shall be provided with mental health discharge 6 planning and, when necessary, an appointment with a mental health 7 professional in the community who can prescribe medications following 8 discharge and sufficient mental health medications and prescriptions to 9 bridge the period between discharge and such time as such mental health 10 professional may assume care of the patient. Incarcerated individuals 11 who have refused mental health treatment may also be provided mental 12 health discharge planning and any necessary appointment with a mental 13 health professional. 14 § 10. Subdivision 2 of section 163 of the civil service law, as 15 amended by section 6 of part S of chapter 57 of the laws of 2023, is 16 amended to read as follows: 17 2. The contract or contracts shall provide for health benefits for 18 retired employees of the state and of the state colleges of agriculture, 19 home economics, industrial labor relations and veterinary medicine, the 20 state agricultural experiment station at Geneva, and any other institu- 21 tion or agency under the management and control of Cornell university as 22 the representative of the board of trustees of the state university of 23 New York, and the state college of ceramics under the management and 24 control of Alfred university as the representative of the board of trus- 25 tees of the state university of New York, and their spouses and depend- 26 ent children as defined by the regulations of the president, and exoner- 27 ees as defined in subdivision one-a of section eight-b of the court of 28 claims act, on such terms as the president may deem appropriate, and the 29 president may authorize the inclusion in the plan of the employees and 30 retired employees of public authorities, public benefit corporations, 31 school districts, special districts, district corporations, municipal 32 corporations excluding active employees and retired employees of cities 33 having a population of one million or more inhabitants whose compen- 34 sation is or was before retirement paid out of the city treasury, or 35 other appropriate agencies, subdivisions or quasi-public organizations 36 of the state, including active members of volunteer fire and volunteer 37 ambulance companies serving one or more municipal corporations pursuant 38 to subdivision seven of section ninety-two-a of the general municipal 39 law, and their spouses and dependent children as defined by the regu- 40 lations of the president. Notwithstanding any law or regulation to the 41 contrary, active members of volunteer ambulance companies serving one or 42 more municipal corporations pursuant to subdivision seven of section 43 ninety-two-a of the general municipal law shall be eligible for health 44 benefits regardless of the amount of funds derived from public sources. 45 Any such corporation, district, agency or organization electing to 46 participate in the plan shall be required to pay its proportionate share 47 of the expenses of administration of the plan in such amounts and at 48 such times as determined and fixed by the president. All amounts payable 49 for such expenses of administration shall be paid to the commissioner of 50 taxation and finance and shall be applied to the reimbursement of funds 51 previously advanced for such purposes. Neither the state nor any other 52 participant in the plan shall be charged with the particular experience 53 attributable to the employees of the participant, and all dividends or 54 retroactive rate credits shall be distributed pro-rata based upon the 55 number of employees of such participant covered by the plan. 
 S. 9809 5 1 § 11. This act shall take effect immediately and, except as otherwise 2 expressly provided in this act, shall apply to convictions entered 3 before, on or after such effective date.