Enacts Caylee's law; establishes the crime of failure to report a child's disappearance or death, a class D felony; makes exception where child dies while under the medical care of a licensed physician.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A6178
SPONSOR: Brabenec TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the penal law, in relation to establishing the crime of
failure to report the death or disappearance of a child
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To make it a class D felony for failure to report the death or disap-
pearance of a child within 24 hours.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: This act shall be known as Caytee's Law. Section 2: The penal
law is amended by adding a new section 260.35. in a timely manner upon
the disappearance of their child or their death. I understand the impor-
tance of protecting children and requiring these important notifications
are critical. We must provide justice for innocent children and also be
able to save children before it's too late. We must punish those who
knew their child was missing but didn't notify law enforcement so that
proper steps could be taken to find that child before it's too late.
This legislation will save lives as well as punish those who fail to act
on behalf of their own children.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2024: A5452 Referred to Codes
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall have
become law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6178
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 26, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. BRABENEC -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to establishing the crime of
failure to report the death or disappearance of a child
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2 "Caylee's law".
3 § 2. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 260.37 to read
4 as follows:
5 § 260.37 Failure to report the death or disappearance of a child.
6 1. A person is guilty of failure to report the death or disappearance
7 of a child when:
8 (a) Such person is the parent, guardian or other person legally
9 charged with the care or custody of a child less than eighteen years old
10 and knowingly or intentionally fails to notify and report to law
11 enforcement within twenty-four hours of the death of such child, regard-
12 less of whether such death was accidental or intentional; or
13 (b) Such person is the parent, guardian or other person legally
14 charged with the care or custody of a child less than eighteen years old
15 and knowingly or intentionally fails to notify and report to law
16 enforcement within twenty-four hours of the disappearance of such child.
17 2. A person is not guilty of the provisions of this section when such
18 person engages in the conduct described in subdivision one of this
19 section and the child dies while under medical care from a duly licensed
20 physician or when a death certificate has been issued for the child.
21 Failure to report the death or disappearance of a child is a class D
22 felony.
23 § 3. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
24 have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04031-01-5
