Add Art 22-A §§637-a - 637-c, Exec L; add §97-bbbbb, St Fin L
 
Enacts the "Community Violence Intervention and Prevention Act"; provides findings for evidence-based and evidence-informed health programs from hospital-based and community-based programs.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
4571
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 17, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. CUNNINGHAM -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the executive law and the state finance law, in relation
to enacting the "community violence intervention and prevention act"
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 the "community violence intervention and prevention act".
3 § 2. The executive law is amended by adding a new article 22-A to read
4 as follows:
5 ARTICLE 22-A
6 COMMUNITY VIOLENCE INTERVENTION AND PREVENTION ACT
7 Section 637-a. Legislative findings.
8 637-b. Definitions.
9 637-c. Community violence intervention and prevention grants.
10 § 637-a. Legislative findings. The legislature hereby finds and
11 declares that gun violence and other forms of violence constitute a
12 crisis that poses a serious threat to the health and quality of life of
13 all residents of the state of New York. An epidemic of violence is tear-
14 ing at the fabric of life in many urban areas. The legislature further
15 finds that funds from the Victims of Crime Act should be used to support
16 hospital based violence intervention programs and community based
17 violence intervention programs.
18 § 637-b. Definitions. For the purposes of this article, the following
19 terms shall have the following meanings:
20 1. "Evidence-based health program" means a program or an initiative
21 that:
22 (a) is developed and evaluated through scientific research and data
23 collection;
24 (b) uses public health principles that demonstrate measurable positive
25 outcomes in preventing gun violence; and
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07713-01-3
A. 4571 2
1 (c) is implemented by a nonprofit organization or public agency.
2 2. "Evidence-informed health program" means a program, an approach, or
3 an initiative that is:
4 (a) based on public health principles;
5 (b) capable of being studied and evaluated through research and data
6 collection;
7 (c) for the purpose of reducing gun violence;
8 (d) directed to influence factors determined to affect gun violence;
9 and
10 (e) implemented by a nonprofit organization or public agency.
11 3. "Hospital-based violence intervention program" means a violence
12 intervention program that:
13 (a) is operated by:
14 (i) a hospital; or
15 (ii) an individual or entity in collaboration with a hospital; and
16 (b) provides intensive counseling, case management, and social
17 services to individuals who are recovering from injuries resulting from
18 violence or who were witnesses to acts of violence.
19 4. "Community-based violence intervention program" means a violence
20 intervention program that is operated by:
21 (a) a nonprofit organization; and
22 (b) provides intensive counseling, case management, and social
23 services to individuals who are recovering from injuries resulting from
24 violence or who were witnesses to acts of violence.
25 5. "Director" shall mean the head of the office of victim services as
26 set forth by section six hundred twenty-two of this chapter.
27 6. "Crime" shall mean:
28 (a) an act committed in New York state which would, if committed by a
29 mentally competent criminally responsible adult, who has no legal
30 exemption or defense, constitute a crime as defined in and proscribed by
31 law; or
32 (b) an act committed outside the state of New York against a resident
33 of the state of New York which would be compensable had it occurred
34 within the state of New York and which occurred in a state which does
35 not have an eligible crime victim compensation program as such term is
36 defined in the federal Victims of Crime Act of 1984; or
37 (c) an act of terrorism, as defined in section 2331 of title 18,
38 United States Code, committed outside of the United States against a
39 resident of New York state.
40 7. "Elderly victim" shall mean a person sixty years of age or older
41 who suffers loss or damage as a direct result of a crime.
42 § 637-c. Community violence intervention and prevention grants. 1.
43 The office of victim services shall promulgate regulations relating to
44 community violence intervention and prevention grants for hospital-based
45 violence intervention programs and community-based violence intervention
46 programs, which shall be funded from the community violence intervention
47 and prevention fund established by section ninety-seven-bbbbb of the
48 state finance law.
49 (a) These regulations shall be designed to promote:
50 (i) alternative funding sources other than the state, including local
51 government and private sources as well as funding from the federal
52 Victims of Crime Act of 1984;
53 (ii) coordination of public and private efforts to aid individuals who
54 are recovering from injuries resulting from violence or who were
55 witnesses to acts of violence; and
A. 4571 3
1 (iii) long range development of services to victims of violent crimes
2 in the community, to perpetrators of violent crimes and to witnesses of
3 violent crimes involved in criminal prosecutions.
4 (b) These regulations shall also provide for:
5 (i) clearly defined and measurable objectives;
6 (ii) evidence that the proposed evidence-based health programs or
7 evidence-informed health programs would likely reduce gun violence;
8 (iii) a description of how the local government or nonprofit organiza-
9 tion proposes to use the funding to reduce rates of gun violence by:
10 (A) establishing or enhancing evidence-based health programs or
11 evidence-informed health programs;
12 (B) enhancing coordination of existing violence intervention and
13 prevention programs, if any, to minimize duplication of services; and
14 (C) a plan for the collection of relevant data; and
15 (iv) outreach to the community and education and training of law
16 enforcement and other criminal justice officials to the needs of victims
17 of violent crimes in the community, to perpetrators of violent crimes
18 and to witnesses of violent crimes involved in criminal prosecutions.
19 § 3. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 97-bbbbb
20 to read as follows:
21 § 97-bbbbb. Community violence intervention and prevention fund. 1.
22 There is hereby established in the joint custody of the state comp-
23 troller and the commissioner of taxation and finance a fund to be known
24 as the "community violence intervention and prevention fund".
25 2. The community violence intervention and prevention fund shall
26 consist of at least ten million dollars or ten percent of all monies
27 received under the federal Victims of Crime Act of 1984, whichever is
28 greater; and all monies appropriated, credited, or transferred thereto
29 from any other fund or source pursuant to law.
30 3. Monies of the community violence intervention and prevention fund,
31 following appropriation by the legislature shall be expended only:
32 (a) pursuant to article twenty-two-A of the executive law;
33 (b) to support effective violence reduction strategies by providing
34 grants to local governments and nonprofit organizations to fund
35 evidence-based health programs or evidence-informed health programs; and
36 (c) for the evaluation of the efficacy of evidence-based health
37 programs or evidence-informed health programs awarded grants through the
38 fund.
39 4. Monies shall be payable from the fund on the audit and warrant of
40 the comptroller on vouchers approved and certified by the commissioner
41 of taxation and finance.
42 § 4. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivi-
43 sion, section or part of this act shall be adjudged by any court of
44 competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect,
45 impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in
46 its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section
47 or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judg-
48 ment shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of
49 the legislature that this act would have been enacted even if such
50 invalid provisions had not been included herein.
51 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.