Increases the amount for awards made to crime victims; specifies certain items of personal property which are necessary and essential to the welfare of a claimant.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A1862
SPONSOR: Rajkumar TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the executive law, in relation to awards made to crime
victims
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To clarify the definitions of "essential personal property" and "proper-
ty necessary and essential to the welfare of the victim" as those terms
are used in the executive law to ensure that crime victims have meaning-
ful access to reimbursement for property lost, damaged, or stolen as the
result of a crime.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends subdivision 8 of section 621 of the executive law, as
added by chapter 197 of the laws of 1983, which defines "essential
personal property", by adding two new subdivisions. The new Subdivision
8(a) clarifies the meaning of personal property necessary and essential
to the welfare of the victim to mean personal property that was lost,
damaged or stolen as a result of the crime for which reimbursement or
replacement is reasonably necessary for the victim to restore stability
and/ or a basic standard of living.
The new Subdivision 8(b) states that the office of victim services shall
promulgate rules and regulations for the determination of which property
is included under subdivision 8(a).
Section 2 amends subdivision 9 of section 631 of the executive law, as
amended by section 1 of part I of chapter 55 of the laws of 2022, by
amending the existing provision and by adding a new subdivisions (b),
(c), (d), and (e)
The new subdivision 9(b) allows the office of victim services to request
estimates or receipts for personal property lost, damaged or stolen as a
result of a crime, but stipulates that the inability of a victim to
provide such estimates or receipts shall not disqualify them from
receiving reimbursement for such items.
The new subdivision 9(c) provides a non-exclusive list of items of
personal property lost, damaged, or stolen as a result of a crime that
are necessary and essential to the welfare of the victim. The new
subdivision 9(d) provides a non-exclusive list of property that is
necessary and essential to the welfare of the victim.
The new subdivision 9(e) allows for the reasonable reimbursement of
property not specifically included in subdivision 9(d) to be determined
by the office of victim services.
Section 3 sets the effective date.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION (IF APPLICABLE):
JUSTIFICATION:
Victims of crimes deserve to be compensated for what they have lost as a
direct result of having suffered a crime. However, the meaning of the
term "welfare" in determining victim awards in this context has been
construed narrowly, depriving some victims of crime of just compen-
sation. This bill clarifies and expands the definition of "welfare" to
allow victims of crime to be compensated for what is necessary to
restore stability in victims' lives and allows victims to achieve a
basic standard of living.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023-24 A03257 referred to governmental operations/passed Senate
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
To be determined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1862
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 14, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. RAJKUMAR -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Governmental Operations
AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to awards made to crime
victims
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 8 of section 621 of the executive law, as added
2 by chapter 197 of the laws of 1983, is amended to read as follows:
3 8. "Essential personal property" shall mean articles of personal prop-
4 erty necessary and essential to the health, welfare or safety of the
5 victim.
6 (a) Personal property necessary and essential to the welfare of the
7 victim shall mean personal property of a victim that is lost, damaged,
8 or stolen as a result of a crime and for which reimbursement or replace-
9 ment is reasonably necessary for the victim to restore stability or
10 maintain a reasonable and/or basic standard of living.
11 (b) The office shall promulgate rules and regulations for the determi-
12 nation and approval of what constitutes property reasonably necessary to
13 restore or maintain a reasonable and/or basic standard of living
14 consistent with this article.
15 § 2. Subdivision 9 of section 631 of the executive law, as amended by
16 section 1 of part I of chapter 55 of the laws of 2022, is amended to
17 read as follows:
18 9. (a) Any award made for the cost of repair or replacement of essen-
19 tial personal property, including cash losses of essential personal
20 property, shall be limited to an amount of twenty-five hundred dollars,
21 except that all cash losses of essential personal property shall be
22 limited to the amount of one hundred dollars. In the case of medically
23 necessary life-sustaining equipment which was lost or damaged as the
24 direct result of a crime, the award shall be limited to the amount of
25 ten thousand dollars.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00484-01-5
A. 1862 2
1 (b) For property necessary and essential to the welfare of the victim,
2 the office may request that the claimant provide estimates or receipts
3 for personal property lost, damaged or stolen as a result of the crime.
4 A claimant's inability to produce a receipt for lost, stolen or damaged
5 personal items shall not in itself disqualify a claimant from receiving
6 reimbursement for such items. The office shall consider all the facts
7 and circumstances of each case before making a determination.
8 (c) Personal property necessary and essential to the welfare of the
9 victim shall include, but not be limited to, the following items lost,
10 damaged, or stolen as a result of the crime:
11 (i) clothing;
12 (ii) shoes;
13 (iii) furniture;
14 (iv) appliances;
15 (v) electronics; and
16 (vi) bedding.
17 (d) Property necessary and essential to the welfare of the victim
18 shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
19 (i) Sofa, couch, loveseat, or chair;
20 (ii) Dining table;
21 (iii) Bed/mattress;
22 (iv) Sheets, pillows, comforters and blankets;
23 (v) Lamp;
24 (vi) Refrigerator;
25 (vii) Microwave;
26 (viii) Stove;
27 (ix) Dishes and eating utensils;
28 (x) Television;
29 (xi) Telephone or cell phone;
30 (xii) Toys for children under six years old; and
31 (xiii) Stroller.
32 (e) Eligible essential personal property as specified in paragraph (d)
33 of this subdivision, including any property not specifically enumerated
34 in paragraph (d) of this subdivision, may be reimbursed at a reasonable
35 rate as determined by the office, provided that such rate does not
36 exceed twenty-five hundred dollars.
37 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
