- Summary
- Actions
- Committee Votes
- Floor Votes
- Memo
- Text
- LFIN
- Chamber Video/Transcript
AB459 Summary:
BILL NO | A00459 |
  | |
SAME AS | SAME AS S00674 |
  | |
SPONSOR | Gottfried |
  | |
COSPNSR | Paulin, Niou, Fahy, Hevesi, Sayegh, Rosenthal L, Kim, Quart, Epstein, Aubry, Walker, Cruz, Steck, Perry, Dickens, Hunter, Reyes, Cook, Simon, Darling, Walczyk, Rivera J, Seawright, Fernandez, Glick, O'Donnell, Carroll, Taylor, Bronson, Otis, Gallagher, Weprin, Vanel, Forrest, Jackson, Galef, Meeks, Rajkumar, Anderson, Lunsford, Clark, Gonzalez-Rojas, Burdick, Barron, Burgos, Dinowitz, Zinerman, Mamdani, Lupardo |
  | |
MLTSPNSR | |
  | |
Amd 440.10, CP L | |
  | |
Relates to proceedings to vacate convictions for offenses resulting from sex trafficking, labor trafficking and compelling prostitution and provides for confidentiality of records of such proceedings. |
AB459 Actions:
BILL NO | A00459 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
01/06/2021 | referred to codes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
01/20/2021 | reported | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
01/21/2021 | advanced to third reading cal.35 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
05/05/2021 | passed assembly | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
05/05/2021 | delivered to senate | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
05/05/2021 | REFERRED TO CODES | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
05/25/2021 | SUBSTITUTED FOR S674 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
05/25/2021 | 3RD READING CAL.385 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
05/25/2021 | PASSED SENATE | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
05/25/2021 | RETURNED TO ASSEMBLY | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
11/16/2021 | delivered to governor | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
11/16/2021 | signed chap.629 |
AB459 Committee Votes:
Dinowitz | Aye | Morinello | Nay | ||||||
Pretlow | Aye | Giglio | Nay | ||||||
Cook | Aye | Montesano | Nay | ||||||
Cymbrowitz | Aye | Reilly | Nay | ||||||
O'Donnell | Aye | Mikulin | Nay | ||||||
Lavine | Aye | Tannousis | Nay | ||||||
Perry | Aye | ||||||||
Abinanti | Aye | ||||||||
Weprin | Aye | ||||||||
Hevesi | Aye | ||||||||
Fahy | Aye | ||||||||
Seawright | Aye | ||||||||
Rosenthal | Aye | ||||||||
Walker | Aye | ||||||||
Vanel | Aye | ||||||||
Cruz | Aye | ||||||||
Go to top
AB459 Floor Votes:
Yes
Abbate
Yes
Clark
Yes
Frontus
No
Lalor
Yes
Paulin
Yes
Sillitti
Yes
Abinanti
No
Colton
Yes
Galef
Yes
Lavine
Yes
Peoples-Stokes
Yes
Simon
Yes
Anderson
Yes
Conrad
Yes
Gallagher
Yes
Lawler
Yes
Perry
No
Simpson
No
Angelino
Yes
Cook
No
Gallahan
No
Lemondes
Yes
Pheffer Amato
Yes
Smith
No
Ashby
Yes
Cruz
Yes
Gandolfo
Yes
Lunsford
Yes
Pichardo
No
Smullen
Yes
Aubry
Yes
Cusick
Yes
Giglio JA
Yes
Lupardo
Yes
Pretlow
Yes
Solages
No
Barclay
Yes
Cymbrowitz
No
Giglio JM
Yes
Magnarelli
Yes
Quart
Yes
Steck
Yes
Barnwell
Yes
Darling
Yes
Glick
Yes
Mamdani
No
Ra
Yes
Stern
Yes
Barrett
Yes
Davila
Yes
Gonzalez-Rojas
No
Manktelow
Yes
Rajkumar
Yes
Stirpe
Yes
Barron
Yes
De La Rosa
No
Goodell
Yes
McDonald
Yes
Ramos
No
Tague
Yes
Benedetto
No
DeStefano
Yes
Gottfried
No
McDonough
No
Reilly
No
Tannousis
Yes
Bichotte Hermel
ER
Dickens
Yes
Griffin
Yes
McMahon
Yes
Reyes
ER
Taylor
No
Blankenbush
Yes
Dilan
Yes
Gunther
Yes
Meeks
Yes
Richardson
Yes
Thiele
No
Brabenec
Yes
Dinowitz
No
Hawley
No
Mikulin
Yes
Rivera J
Yes
Vanel
Yes
Braunstein
No
DiPietro
Yes
Hevesi
No
Miller B
Yes
Rivera JD
Yes
Walczyk
Yes
Bronson
Yes
Durso
Yes
Hunter
No
Miller M
Yes
Rodriguez
Yes
Walker
Yes
Brown
No
Eichenstein
Yes
Hyndman
Yes
Mitaynes
Yes
Rosenthal D
Yes
Wallace
Yes
Burdick
Yes
Englebright
Yes
Jackson
No
Montesano
Yes
Rosenthal L
No
Walsh
Yes
Burgos
Yes
Epstein
Yes
Jacobson
Yes
Morinello
Yes
Rozic
Yes
Weinstein
Yes
Burke
Yes
Fahy
Yes
Jean-Pierre
Yes
Niou
No
Salka
Yes
Weprin
Yes
Buttenschon
Yes
Fall
No
Jensen
ER
Nolan
No
Santabarbara
Yes
Williams
Yes
Byrne
Yes
Fernandez
Yes
Jones
No
Norris
Yes
Sayegh
Yes
Woerner
No
Byrnes
No
Fitzpatrick
Yes
Joyner
Yes
O'Donnell
Yes
Schmitt
Yes
Zebrowski
Yes
Cahill
Yes
Forrest
Yes
Kelles
Yes
Otis
Yes
Seawright
Yes
Zinerman
Yes
Carroll
No
Friend
Yes
Kim
No
Palmesano
Yes
Septimo
Yes
Mr. Speaker
‡ Indicates voting via videoconference
AB459 Memo:
Go to topNEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)   BILL NUMBER: A459 SPONSOR: Gottfried
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to vacating convictions for offenses resulting from sex trafficking, labor traffick- ing and compelling prostitution   PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: To strengthen protections for victims of sex trafficking, labor traf- ficking, compelling prostitution, and trafficking in persons, who are convicted of a range of offenses as a result of that trafficking or compelling.   SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: Section 1 sets forth legislative intent to expand to other offenses New York's existing law that offers vacatur of convictions for prostitu- tion-related offenses that were a result of being a victim of traffick- ing. Section 2 amends CPL § 440.10(1)(i) to allow vacating of a conviction where the offense was a result of sex trafficking, labor trafficking, compelling prostitution and trafficking in persons. It amends CPL § 440.10(1)(i)(i) to remove language that limits such a motion to defend- ants who are no longer victims of trafficking or have already sought victim services. CPL § 440.10 (1)(i)(ii) is renumbered as CPL § 440.10 (1)(i) (i) and amended to include documentation with regard to sex traf- ficking, labor trafficking and aggravated labor trafficking as addi- tional grounds for a presumption that a victim was a victim of traffick- ing. It amends CPL § 440.10(1)(0(ii) to provide confidentiality for motions to vacate a judgement, and adds a new CPL § 440.10(1) (iii) to allow consolidation of proceedings in multiple courts. Section 3 amends CPL § 440.10 (6) to require that judgments be vacated on the merits because the defendant's participation in the offense was a result of having been a victim of trafficking. Section 4 provides an immediate effective date, except that new subpara- graph (ii) takes effect 60 days after enactment into law.   JUSTIFICATION: In 2010, New York State passed an historic law allowing victims of human trafficking to vacate prostitution-related criminal convictions that were directly tied to their victimization. The law recognized that these convictions should be vacated because the conviction itself was unjust. Victims of human trafficking were allowed a second chance at life, free from the criminal records forced upon them by their traffickers. Twenty seven states have since followed New York's example with similar laws. Several states have now gone beyond New York's law, to make this relief available not just for prostitution-related offenses but for all offenses related to the trafficking. This bill follows that example. Trafficking victims may be arrested and prosecuted for a variety of offenses resulting from trafficking. A common example is possessing false documents, usually at the direction of their trafficker, who has confiscated their true documents as part of the exerted coercion. The CPL is further amended to protect the confidentiality of information contained in motions brought under the statute. This explicit and manda- tory protection is necessary to meet the legislation's goals of severing victims of human trafficking from their traumatic past, and to ensure that victims of human trafficking will not be endangered by the process of vacating their convictions. Courts may also take other action, such as offering a closed courtroom for court appearances. The bill emphasizes that these convictions should be vacated because of the circumstances of the offenses and convictions, not because of a victim's post-conviction circumstances.   PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 2016: A.10353 Referred to Codes 2017-2018: A4540 Passed Assembly / Senate Rules 2019-2020: A6983B Passed Assembly / Senate Rules   FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None.   EFFECTIVE DATE: Immediate, except that new CPLR§ 440.10(1)(iii) takes effect 60 days after enactment into law.
AB459 Text:
Go to top STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 459 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled) January 6, 2021 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. GOTTFRIED, PAULIN, NIOU, FAHY, HEVESI, SAYEGH, L. ROSENTHAL, KIM, QUART, EPSTEIN, AUBRY, WALKER, CRUZ, STECK, PERRY, DICKENS, HUNTER, REYES, COOK, SIMON, DARLING, WALCZYK, J. RIVERA, SEAWRIGHT, FERNANDEZ, GLICK, O'DONNELL, CARROLL, TAYLOR, BRONSON, OTIS -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to vacating convictions for offenses resulting from sex trafficking, labor traf- ficking and compelling prostitution The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Legislative intent. The purpose of this legislation is to 2 strengthen protection for the victims of sex trafficking, labor traf- 3 ficking, compelling prostitution and trafficking in persons, who are 4 convicted of a range of offenses as a result of that trafficking or 5 compelling. New York's landmark law offering the vacating of convictions 6 for prostitution-related offenses that were a result of this trafficking 7 has been the model for laws in more than half of the states. However, 8 several states wisely offer this relief to victims who may be compelled 9 to participate in other offenses as well. This legislation would follow 10 that example. 11 § 2. Paragraph (i) of subdivision 1 of section 440.10 of the criminal 12 procedure law, as amended by section 3 of part OO of chapter 55 of the 13 laws of 2019 and subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (i) of subdivision 1 as 14 amended by chapter 131 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as 15 follows: 16 (i) The judgment is a conviction where [the arresting charge was under17section 240.37 (loitering for the purpose of engaging in a prostitution18offense, provided that the defendant was not alleged to be loitering for19the purpose of patronizing a person for prostitution or promoting pros-20titution) or 230.00 (prostitution) or 230.03 (prostitution in a schoolEXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD00354-01-1A. 459 2 1zone) of the penal law, and] the defendant's participation in the 2 offense was a result of having been a victim of sex trafficking under 3 section 230.34 of the penal law, sex trafficking of a child under 4 section 230.34-a of the penal law, labor trafficking under section 5 135.35 of the penal law, aggravated labor trafficking under section 6 135.37 of the penal law, compelling prostitution under section 230.33 of 7 the penal law, or trafficking in persons under the Trafficking Victims 8 Protection Act (United States Code, title 22, chapter 78); provided that 9 (i) [a motion under this paragraph shall be made with due diligence,10after the defendant has ceased to be a victim of such trafficking or11compelling prostitution crime or has sought services for victims of such12trafficking or compelling prostitution crime, subject to reasonable13concerns for the safety of the defendant, family members of the defend-14ant, or other victims of such trafficking or compelling prostitution15crime that may be jeopardized by the bringing of such motion, or for16other reasons consistent with the purpose of this paragraph; and17(ii)] official documentation of the defendant's status as a victim of 18 sex trafficking, labor trafficking, aggravated labor trafficking, 19 compelling prostitution, or trafficking in persons at the time of the 20 offense from a federal, state or local government agency shall create a 21 presumption that the defendant's participation in the offense was a 22 result of having been a victim of sex trafficking, labor trafficking, 23 aggravated labor trafficking, compelling prostitution or trafficking in 24 persons, but shall not be required for granting a motion under this 25 paragraph; 26 (ii) a motion under this paragraph, and all pertinent papers and docu- 27 ments, shall be confidential and may not be made available to any person 28 or public or private entity except where specifically authorized by the 29 court; and 30 (iii) when a motion is filed under this paragraph, the court may, upon 31 the consent of the petitioner and all of the state and local prosecuto- 32 rial agencies that prosecuted each matter, consolidate into one proceed- 33 ing a motion to vacate judgments imposed by distinct or multiple crimi- 34 nal courts; or 35 § 3. Subdivision 6 of section 440.10 of the criminal procedure law, as 36 amended by chapter 131 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as 37 follows: 38 6. If the court grants a motion under paragraph (i) or paragraph (k) 39 of subdivision one of this section, it must vacate the judgment and 40 dismiss the accusatory instrument, and may take such additional action 41 as is appropriate in the circumstances. In the case of a motion granted 42 under paragraph (i) of subdivision one of this section, the court must 43 vacate the judgment on the merits because the defendant's participation 44 in the offense was a result of having been a victim of trafficking. 45 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately; provided that subpara- 46 graph (ii) of paragraph (i) of subdivision 1 of section 440.10 of the 47 criminal procedure law, as added by section two of this act, shall take 48 effect on the sixtieth day after it shall have become a law.