Relates to the eligibility for awards for victims of a crime; includes the commission of suicide within two years after being a victim of a crime as a death that is the direct result of a crime.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5878
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
May 16, 2019
___________
Introduced by Sen. SERINO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Crime Victims, Crime and
Correction
AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to eligibility for awards
for victims of a crime
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraphs (i) and (j) of subdivision 1 of section 624 of
2 the executive law, subdivision (i) as amended by section 9 of part A-1
3 of chapter 56 of the laws of 2010 and subdivision (j) as added by chap-
4 ter 427 of the laws of 1999, are amended to read as follows:
5 (i) a surviving spouse of a crime victim who died from causes not
6 directly related to the crime when such victim died prior to filing a
7 claim with the office or subsequent to filing a claim but prior to the
8 rendering of a decision by the office. Such award shall be limited to
9 out-of-pocket loss incurred as a direct result of the crime; [and]
10 (j) a spouse, child or stepchild of a victim of a crime who has
11 sustained personal physical injury as a direct result of a crime[.]; and
12 § 2. Section 624 of the executive law is amended by adding a new
13 subdivision 3 to read as follows:
14 3. For the purposes of this article, a victim of a crime who commits
15 suicide within two years after such crime shall be deemed to have died
16 as a direct result of such crime, unless the office determines that the
17 suicide was not in any way a result of being the victim of such crime.
18 § 3. Subdivision 5 of section 631 of the executive law is amended by
19 adding a new paragraph (h) to read as follows:
20 (h) Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of this article, the
21 office shall disregard the responsibility of the victim for his own
22 injury where the record shows that the victim committed suicide within
23 two years after such crime, unless the office determines that the
24 suicide was not in any way a result of being the victim of such crime.
25 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10699-02-9
