Add §607, amd §§606 & 227, V & T L; add §202-m, Lab L
Enacts the "crash victims bill of rights"; requires accident reports to be delivered to victims of accidents or their next of kin; requires victim impact statements to be delivered at traffic infraction hearings by injured parties or their next of kin; requires employers to grant leave of absence to employees delivering a victim impact statement at a traffic infraction hearing; directs the superintendent of financial services to conduct a study and complete a report on certain automobile crash information.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9530
IN SENATE
March 20, 2026
___________
Introduced by Sen. COONEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the vehicle and traffic law and the labor law, in
relation to enacting the crash victims bill of rights
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 "crash victims bill of rights".
3 § 2. The vehicle and traffic law is amended by adding a new section
4 607 to read as follows:
5 § 607. Reports; injured or killed persons. 1. Any report of an acci-
6 dent required under this article or under the rules and regulations of
7 the commissioner, in which any person is killed or injured shall be
8 provided, free of charge:
9 (a) to all persons injured as a result of such accident;
10 (b) to the next of kin of all persons killed or seriously injured as a
11 result of such accident; and
12 (c) to the parent or guardian of all persons under the age of eighteen
13 injured as a result of such accident.
14 2. Reports provided pursuant to this section shall be made available
15 electronically.
16 3. Reports provided pursuant to this section shall be provided within
17 twenty-four hours of processing by the department.
18 4. The commissioner shall promulgate such rules and regulations as are
19 necessary to effectuate the provisions of this section.
20 § 3. Section 606 of the vehicle and traffic law, as added by chapter
21 429 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as follows:
22 § 606. Processing of required reports. The commissioner, when process-
23 ing reports of accidents filed pursuant to this article, and when
24 distributing reports pursuant to section six hundred seven of this arti-
25 cle, shall give priority to reports involving persons under the age of
26 eighteen, serious physical injury (as defined in subdivision ten of
27 section 10.00 of the penal law), or death.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02657-02-6
S. 9530 2
1 § 4. Subdivision 1 of section 227 of the vehicle and traffic law, as
2 amended by chapter 337 of the laws of 1970, is amended to read as
3 follows:
4 1. a. Every hearing for the adjudication of a traffic infraction, as
5 provided by this article, shall be held before a hearing officer
6 appointed by the commissioner. The burden of proof shall be upon the
7 people, and no charge may be established except by clear and convincing
8 evidence. The commissioner may prescribe, by rule or regulation, the
9 procedures for the conduct of such hearings.
10 b. The commissioner shall prescribe, by rule or regulation, procedures
11 for presentation of victim impact statements by individuals injured
12 during the course of a traffic infraction, or in the case of a death
13 resulting from such traffic infraction, from the deceased's next of kin,
14 at hearings for the adjudication of a traffic infraction under this
15 section.
16 § 5. The labor law is amended by adding a new section 202-m to read as
17 follows:
18 § 202-m. Leave of absence for traffic hearings; impact statements. 1.
19 For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the
20 following meanings:
21 (a) "Employee" means a person who performs services for hire for an
22 employer, for an average of twenty or more hours per week, and includes
23 all individuals employed at any site owned or operated by an employer,
24 but shall not include an independent contractor.
25 (b) "Employer" means a person or entity that employs twenty or more
26 employees on at least one site and includes an individual, corporation,
27 partnership, association, nonprofit organization, group of persons,
28 county, town, city, school district, public authority or other govern-
29 mental subdivision of any kind.
30 2. An employer shall grant a leave of absence to an employee providing
31 an impact statement at a traffic infraction adjudication hearing under
32 section two hundred twenty-seven of the vehicle and traffic law, and who
33 is eligible to do so pursuant to rules and regulations promulgated
34 pursuant to paragraph b of subdivision one of such section. The length
35 of such leave shall not exceed four work hours, unless otherwise agreed
36 to by such employer.
37 3. An employer shall not retaliate against an employee for requesting
38 or obtaining a leave of absence as provided by this section for the
39 purpose of providing a victim impact statement at a traffic infraction
40 adjudication hearing under section two hundred twenty-seven of the vehi-
41 cle and traffic law.
42 4. The provisions of this section shall not prevent an employer from
43 granting a leave of absence to an employee providing a victim impact
44 statement at a traffic infraction adjudication hearing under section two
45 hundred twenty-seven of the vehicle and traffic law in addition to leave
46 allowed under any other provision of law. The provisions of this section
47 shall not affect an employee's rights with respect to any other employee
48 benefit otherwise provided by law.
49 § 6. 1. The superintendent of financial services is hereby authorized
50 and directed to conduct a study and prepare a report examining the unmet
51 resource needs facing persons injured in automobile crashes and next of
52 kin to persons killed in automobile crashes within the past three years
53 for which data and information is available. The superintendent of
54 financial services may request, and shall receive upon request, data and
55 information from insurers that provide no-fault or liability auto cover-
56 age, health insurance coverage, and from any other entities and relevant
S. 9530 3
1 sources to meet the purposes of the study. Such data and information
2 shall include but not be limited to:
3 (a) The number of persons injured in an automobile crash that filed a
4 no-fault claim;
5 (b) The number of persons injured in an automobile crash that filed
6 for a liability claim;
7 (c) The number of persons injured in an automobile crash that received
8 a no-fault award;
9 (d) The number of persons injured in an automobile crash that received
10 a liability award;
11 (e) The number of persons who filed for a no-fault death benefit on
12 behalf of a person killed in an automobile crash;
13 (f) The number of persons who filed a liability claim on behalf of a
14 person killed in an automobile crash;
15 (g) The number of persons who received a no-fault award on behalf of a
16 person killed in an automobile crash;
17 (h) The number of persons who received a liability award on behalf of
18 a person killed in an automobile crash;
19 (i) Aggregate data on no-fault and liability awards paid to persons
20 injured in an automobile crash, or to awards paid to persons on behalf
21 of a person killed in an automobile crash; and
22 (j) Any other data and information the superintendent of financial
23 services deems relevant to meet the purposes of the study required to be
24 completed under this section.
25 2. The report required to be prepared under subdivision one of this
26 section shall be submitted to the governor, the temporary president of
27 the senate and the speaker of the assembly on or before December 31,
28 2027. The superintendent of financial services shall include in such
29 report an extrapolation of any discernable trends in collected data, and
30 any recommendations the superintendent of financial services believes
31 would improve access to resources for automobile crash victims and their
32 families.
33 3. The superintendent of financial services may consult with any state
34 or local office, agency, or department and request information from any
35 such entity that is relevant and material to the completion of the study
36 and report required to be completed under this section.
37 § 7. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
38 it shall have become a law.
