Establishes a persistent domestic violence offender registry of individuals convicted of multiple domestic violence offenses, which is available for public inquiry.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8932
IN SENATE
January 16, 2026
___________
Introduced by Sen. MATTERA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to establishing a
persistent domestic violence offender registry
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 "Savanna's Law".
3 § 2. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 837-aa to
4 read as follows:
5 § 837-aa. Persistent domestic violence offender registry. 1. As used
6 in this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
7 (a) "Convicted" and "conviction" mean a verdict of guilty by a judge
8 or jury or a plea of guilty and include a plea of nolo contendere and a
9 best interest plea accepted by the court.
10 (b) "Victim of domestic violence" has the same meaning as defined in
11 section four hundred fifty-nine-a of the social services law.
12 (c) "Persistent domestic violence offender" means a person who:
13 (i) has been convicted in this state of a domestic violence offense;
14 and
15 (ii) has at least one prior conviction for a domestic violence
16 offense.
17 (d) "Domestic violence" means an act which would constitute a
18 violation of the penal law, including, but not limited to acts consti-
19 tuting disorderly conduct, harassment, aggravated harassment, sexual
20 misconduct, forcible touching, sexual abuse, stalking, criminal
21 mischief, menacing, reckless endangerment, kidnapping, assault,
22 attempted assault, attempted murder, criminal obstruction of breathing
23 or blood circulation, strangulation, identity theft, grand larceny or
24 coercion, which have been committed by a family or household member of
25 the victim.
26 (e) "Family or household members" mean the following individuals:
27 (i) persons related by consanguinity or affinity;
28 (ii) persons legally married to one another;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14459-01-6
S. 8932 2
1 (iii) persons formerly married to one another regardless of whether
2 they still reside in the same household;
3 (iv) persons who have a child in common regardless of whether such
4 persons are married or have lived together at any time;
5 (v) unrelated persons who are continually or at regular intervals
6 living in the same household or who have in the past continually or at
7 regular intervals lived in the same household;
8 (vi) persons who are not related by consanguinity or affinity and who
9 are or have been in an intimate relationship regardless of whether such
10 persons have lived together at any time. Factors that may be considered
11 in determining whether a relationship is an "intimate relationship"
12 include, but are not limited to: the nature or type of relationship,
13 regardless of whether the relationship is sexual in nature; the frequen-
14 cy of interaction between the persons; and the duration of the relation-
15 ship. Neither a casual acquaintance nor ordinary fraternization between
16 two individuals in business or social contexts shall be deemed to
17 constitute an "intimate relationship"; or
18 (vii) any other category of individuals deemed to be a victim of
19 domestic violence as defined by the office of children and family
20 services in regulation.
21 2. (a) There is created within the division a registry of persistent
22 domestic violence offenders.
23 (b) The division shall maintain this registry based upon information
24 supplied to the division by the court clerks pursuant to paragraphs (c)
25 and (d) of this subdivision and information available to the division
26 from the department of corrections and community supervision and state
27 and local law enforcement agencies. The division shall make the registry
28 available for public inquiry on the internet.
29 (c) The registry shall consist of the persistent domestic violence
30 offender's name, date of birth, conviction date, county or counties of
31 convictions, and a current photograph of the persistent domestic
32 violence offender. If available after reasonable inquiry, the court
33 clerk shall provide the division with a copy of the persistent domestic
34 violence offender's driver license, or other state or federal identifi-
35 cation, and such other identifying data as the division determines is
36 necessary to properly identify the persistent domestic violence offender
37 and exclude innocent persons. However, the registry available for public
38 inquiry must not include the persistent domestic violence offender's
39 address, social security number, driver license number, or any other
40 state or federal identification number.
41 (d)(i) If a person is convicted of an offense committed against a
42 victim of domestic violence and the person convicted has at least one
43 prior conviction for an offense committed against a victim of domestic
44 violence, then the court shall, upon proof of any prior convictions
45 committed against a victim of domestic violence, order the defendant to
46 register as a persistent domestic violence offender under this section.
47 (ii) If a court orders a defendant to register under this section,
48 then the court clerk shall forward to the division a certified copy of
49 the qualifying conviction and the date of birth of the defendant. The
50 court clerk shall forward the information to the division within seven
51 days of the date of the conviction.
52 (e) In addition to any other punishment that may be imposed for a
53 conviction of the offense, a defendant required to register under this
54 section shall be assessed a registration fee in the amount of one
55 hundred fifty dollars, which shall be paid to the clerk of the court
56 imposing the sentence, who shall:
S. 8932 3
1 (i) Retain fifty dollars of the fee for the administration of this
2 section, which shall be reserved for the purposes authorized by this
3 section at the end of each fiscal year; and
4 (ii) Remit one hundred dollars of the fee to the domestic violence
5 awareness fund established pursuant to section ninety-seven-yyy of the
6 state finance law, as added by chapter six hundred thirty-four of the
7 laws of two thousand two.
8 (f) The division shall remove from the registry the name and other
9 identifying information of a persistent domestic violence offender
10 required to register under this section:
11 (i) Five years after the date of the most recent conviction for an
12 offense committed against a domestic abuse victim if the defendant has
13 one prior conviction for an offense committed against a victim of domes-
14 tic violence;
15 (ii) Seven years after the date of the most recent conviction for an
16 offense committed against a domestic abuse victim if the defendant has
17 two prior convictions for an offense committed against a victim of
18 domestic violence;
19 (iii) Ten years after the date of the most recent conviction for an
20 offense committed against a domestic abuse victim if the defendant has
21 three prior convictions for an offense committed against a victim of
22 domestic violence; and
23 (iv) Twenty years after the date of the most recent conviction for an
24 offense committed against a domestic abuse victim if the defendant has
25 four or more prior convictions for an offense committed against a victim
26 of domestic violence.
27 (g) This section applies only to persons convicted of a domestic
28 violence offense that occurred on or after January first, two thousand
29 twenty-seven; provided, however, that a prior conviction for the
30 purposes of this section may have occurred before such date.
31 § 3. This act shall take effect January 1, 2027.
