STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
4541--A
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 4, 2011
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ENGLEBRIGHT, JACOBS, BENEDETTO, MAISEL,
J. RIVERA, LUPARDO, TITUS, MILLMAN, CYMBROWITZ, PEOPLES-STOKES, DINOW-
ITZ, ROBINSON, MARKEY, CLARK, GABRYSZAK, HOOPER, ROSENTHAL -- Multi-
Sponsored by -- M. of A. ABBATE, BROOK-KRASNY, FARRELL, GOTTFRIED,
JEFFRIES, V. LOPEZ, MAGNARELLI, McENENY, ORTIZ, PERRY, REILLY, SWEE-
NEY, WEISENBERG -- read once and referred to the Committee on Banks --
recommitted to the Committee on Banks in accordance with Assembly Rule
3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the banking law and the elder law, in relation to finan-
cial exploitation and to amend the state finance law, in relation to
establishing the financial exploitation, outreach, education and
training fund
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The banking law is amended by adding a new section 9-v to
2 read as follows:
3 § 9-v. Reporting of suspected financial exploitation. 1. As used in
4 this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
5 (a) "Financial institution" shall mean any of the following:
6 (1) A depository institution, as defined in Section 3(c) of the Feder-
7 al Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. Sec. 1813(c)).
8 (2) An institution-affiliated party, as defined in Section 3(u) of the
9 Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. Sec. 1813(u)).
10 (3) A federal credit union or state credit union, as defined in
11 Section 101 of the Federal Credit Union Act (12 U.S.C. Sec. 1752),
12 including, but not limited to, an institution-affiliated party of a
13 credit union, as defined in Section 206(r) of the Federal Credit Union
14 Act (12 U.S.C. Sec. 1786(r)).
15 (b) "Elderly person" shall mean a person sixty years of age or older.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07964-03-2
A. 4541--A 2
1 (c) "Financial exploitation" shall mean improper use of an elderly
2 person's funds, property or resources by another individual, including
3 but not limited to fraud, false pretenses, misrepresentation, embezzle-
4 ment, conspiracy, forgery, falsifying records, coerced property trans-
5 fers or denial of access to assets.
6 2. Any certified public accountant or attorney licensed in this state,
7 any preparer of taxes operating in this state, and any officer or
8 employee of a financial institution located within this state, who
9 reviews or approves an elderly person's financial documents, records or
10 transactions, in connection with providing financial and/or legal
11 services to or on behalf of an elderly person shall be required to
12 report in accordance with this section when such individual, within the
13 scope of his or her employment or professional practice, has reasonable
14 cause to believe that such elderly person has been or is being subjected
15 to financial exploitation. A bank teller shall be exempt from the
16 requirements of this section, provided that bank tellers receive train-
17 ing approved by the office for the aging on identifying scams and other
18 forms of financial exploitation.
19 3. In addition to those persons required to report suspected financial
20 exploitation under this section, any other person may make such a report
21 if he or she has reasonable cause to believe that an elderly person has
22 been or is being subjected to financial exploitation.
23 4. Reports of suspected financial exploitation under this section
24 shall be made immediately by telephone or as soon as practicably possi-
25 ble, and by written report sent within two working days to the adult
26 protective services unit of the local department of social services.
27 5. An allegation by an elderly person, or any other person, that
28 financial exploitation has occurred is sufficient to trigger the report-
29 ing requirement in subdivision two of this section.
30 6. Any person who in good faith makes a report under this section
31 shall have immunity from any liability, civil or criminal, for having
32 made such a report. For the purpose of any proceeding, civil or crimi-
33 nal, the good faith of any person required to report instances of finan-
34 cial exploitation under subdivision two of this section shall be
35 presumed.
36 7. If, after a proceeding with notice and a hearing, the superinten-
37 dent determines that any person required by this section to report an
38 instance of suspected financial exploitation has willfully failed to
39 report such instance, such person shall be deemed to have violated this
40 section and shall be subject to a penalty not to exceed one thousand
41 dollars per violation.
42 § 2. Section 202 of the elder law is amended by adding a new subdivi-
43 sion 16 to read as follows:
44 16. to conduct an outreach, education and training program for finan-
45 cial institutions as defined in paragraph (a) of subdivision one of
46 section nine-v of the banking law.
47 § 3. The elder law is amended by adding a new section 219-a to read
48 as follows:
49 § 219-a. Financial exploitation, outreach, education and training
50 program. 1. Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the term
51 "designated agency" shall have the meaning ascribed to it under section
52 two hundred fourteen of this title.
53 2. The director, within the amounts appropriated therefor, shall, in
54 conjunction with the office of children and family services and the
55 banking department, establish a financial outreach, education and train-
56 ing program, hereinafter referred to in this section as "the program,"
A. 4541--A 3
1 for the purpose of providing an education, outreach and training program
2 to certified public accountants licensed in this state, attorneys
3 licensed in this state, any preparer of taxes operating in this state,
4 and to financial institutions as defined in section nine-v of the bank-
5 ing law located within this state. The outreach, education and training
6 program shall be a voluntary program. The director, in conjunction with
7 the office of children and family services and the department of finan-
8 cial services, shall coordinate activities to identify and provide
9 training to the institutions and individuals described in this section.
10 3. (a) As part of the program, the director may award grants to quali-
11 fied designated agencies to establish local elderly exploitation
12 outreach, education and training programs. Qualified designated agencies
13 shall work collaboratively with such institutions and individuals, and
14 their representative associations.
15 (b) In making such grants, the director shall consider:
16 (1) the manner in which the designated agency proposes to provide such
17 education, outreach and training;
18 (2) the capacity of the designated agency to coordinate its services
19 with banking, human service and law enforcement and public agencies
20 which provide services or assistance to the elderly, including the local
21 department of social services adult protective services unit; and
22 (3) any other criteria determined by the director to be appropriate.
23 4. The program shall, at a minimum, consist of the following elements
24 which shall be provided by the office for the aging:
25 (a) educational and informational materials in print, audio, visual,
26 electronic or other media;
27 (b) public service announcements, advertisements, media campaigns,
28 workshops and mass mailings;
29 (c) conferences or presentations designed to provide information to
30 those individuals identified in subdivision two of section nine-v of the
31 banking law; and
32 (d) instructions on how to report known or suspected incidents of
33 financial exploitation of the elderly, including the appropriate tele-
34 phone numbers to call and the types of information that would assist the
35 office with its investigation of the report.
36 5. The director shall convene an advisory committee made up of at
37 least ten but no more than twenty members to advise the director and
38 make recommendations on the aspects of developing and implementing the
39 program. Members of the advisory committee shall include but not be
40 limited to: at least two representatives from statewide senior advocacy
41 organizations, at least one representative representing a non-profit
42 senior organization which operates an elder abuse prevention program, at
43 least one attorney whose practice concentrates in elder law or an indi-
44 vidual acting on behalf of the elder law section of the New York state
45 bar association, at least one banker or a representative of an associ-
46 ation representing bankers, at least one certified public accountant or
47 a representative of an association representing certified public
48 accountants, at least two members representing protective services for
49 adults, and at least two law enforcement representatives.
50 § 4. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 99-u to
51 read as follows:
52 § 99-u. Financial exploitation, outreach, education and training fund.
53 1. There is hereby established in the joint custody of the comptroller
54 and the superintendent of banks a special revenue fund to be known as
55 the "financial exploitation, outreach, education and training fund".
A. 4541--A 4
1 2. The financial exploitation, outreach, education and training fund
2 shall consist of all moneys received by the state under section nine-v
3 of the banking law and all other fees, fines, grants, bequests or other
4 monies credited, appropriated or transferred thereto from any other fund
5 or source.
6 3. The moneys of the financial exploitation, outreach, education and
7 training fund shall be disbursed by the comptroller to the state office
8 for the aging for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of sections
9 two hundred nineteen and two hundred nineteen-a of the elder law.
10 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
11 subdivisions 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 of section 9-v of the banking law, as
12 added by section one of this act, shall take effect on the two hundred
13 seventieth day after this act shall have become a law.
