STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6243
IN SENATE(Prefiled)
January 6, 2016
___________
Introduced by Sen. HAMILTON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Banks
AN ACT to amend the banking law and the elder law, in relation to finan-
cial exploitation; and to amend the state finance law, in relation to
establishing the financial exploitation, outreach, education and
training fund
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The banking law is amended by adding a new section 9-x to
2 read as follows:
3 § 9-x. Reporting of suspected financial exploitation. 1. As used in
4 this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
5 (a) "Financial institution" shall mean any of the following:
6 (1) A depository institution, as defined in Section 3(c) of the Feder-
7 al Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. Sec. 1813(c)).
8 (2) An institution-affiliated party, as defined in Section 3(u) of the
9 Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. Sec. 1813(u)).
10 (3) A federal credit union or state credit union, as defined in
11 Section 101 of the Federal Credit Union Act (12 U.S.C. Sec. 1752),
12 including, but not limited to, an institution-affiliated party of a
13 credit union, as defined in Section 206(r) of the Federal Credit Union
14 Act (12 U.S.C. Sec. 1786(r)).
15 (b) "Elderly person" shall mean a person sixty years of age or older.
16 (c) "Financial exploitation" shall mean improper use of an elderly
17 person's funds, property or resources by another individual, including
18 but not limited to fraud, false pretenses, misrepresentation, embezzle-
19 ment, conspiracy, forgery, falsifying records, coerced property trans-
20 fers or denial of access to assets.
21 2. Any certified public accountant or attorney licensed in this state,
22 any preparer of taxes operating in this state, and any officer or
23 employee of a financial institution located within this state, who
24 reviews or approves an elderly person's financial documents, records or
25 transactions, in connection with providing financial and/or legal
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06748-03-5
S. 6243 2
1 services to or on behalf of an elderly person shall be required to
2 report in accordance with this section when such individual, within the
3 scope of his or her employment or professional practice, has reasonable
4 cause to believe that such elderly person has been or is being subjected
5 to financial exploitation. A bank teller shall be exempt from the
6 requirements of this section, provided that bank tellers receive train-
7 ing approved by the office for the aging on identifying scams and other
8 forms of financial exploitation.
9 3. In addition to those persons required to report suspected financial
10 exploitation under this section, any other person may make such a report
11 if he or she has reasonable cause to believe that an elderly person has
12 been or is being subjected to financial exploitation.
13 4. Reports of suspected financial exploitation under this section
14 shall be made immediately by telephone or as soon as practicably possi-
15 ble, and by written report sent within two working days to the adult
16 protective services unit of the local department of social services.
17 5. An allegation by an elderly person, or any other person, that
18 financial exploitation has occurred is sufficient to trigger the report-
19 ing requirement in subdivision two of this section.
20 6. Any person who in good faith makes a report under this section
21 shall have immunity from any liability, civil or criminal, for having
22 made such a report. For the purpose of any proceeding, civil or crimi-
23 nal, the good faith of any person required to report instances of finan-
24 cial exploitation under subdivision two of this section shall be
25 presumed.
26 7. If, after a proceeding with notice and a hearing, the superinten-
27 dent determines that any person required by this section to report an
28 instance of suspected financial exploitation has willfully failed to
29 report such instance, such person shall be deemed to have violated this
30 section and shall be subject to a penalty not to exceed one thousand
31 dollars per violation.
32 § 2. Section 202 of the elder law is amended by adding a new subdivi-
33 sion 16 to read as follows:
34 16. to conduct an outreach, education and training program for finan-
35 cial institutions as defined in paragraph (a) of subdivision one of
36 section nine-x of the banking law.
37 § 3. The elder law is amended by adding a new section 219-a to read
38 as follows:
39 § 219-a. Financial exploitation, outreach, education and training
40 program. 1. Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the term
41 "designated agency" shall have the meaning ascribed to it under section
42 two hundred fourteen of this title.
43 2. The director, within the amounts appropriated therefor, shall, in
44 conjunction with the office of children and family services and the
45 department of financial services, establish a financial outreach, educa-
46 tion and training program, hereinafter referred to in this section as
47 "the program," for the purpose of providing an education, outreach and
48 training program to certified public accountants licensed in this state,
49 attorneys licensed in this state, any preparer of taxes operating in
50 this state, and to financial institutions as defined in section nine-x
51 of the banking law located within this state. The outreach, education
52 and training program shall be a voluntary program. The director, in
53 conjunction with the office of children and family services and the
54 department of financial services, shall coordinate activities to identi-
55 fy and provide training to the institutions and individuals described in
56 this section.
S. 6243 3
1 3. (a) As part of the program, the director may award grants to quali-
2 fied designated agencies to establish local elderly exploitation
3 outreach, education and training programs. Qualified designated agencies
4 shall work collaboratively with such institutions and individuals, and
5 their representative associations.
6 (b) In making such grants, the director shall consider:
7 (1) the manner in which the designated agency proposes to provide such
8 education, outreach and training;
9 (2) the capacity of the designated agency to coordinate its services
10 with banking, human service and law enforcement and public agencies
11 which provide services or assistance to the elderly, including the local
12 department of social services adult protective services unit; and
13 (3) any other criteria determined by the director to be appropriate.
14 4. The program shall, at a minimum, consist of the following elements
15 which shall be provided by the office for the aging:
16 (a) educational and informational materials in print, audio, visual,
17 electronic or other media;
18 (b) public service announcements, advertisements, media campaigns,
19 workshops and mass mailings;
20 (c) conferences or presentations designed to provide information to
21 those individuals identified in subdivision two of section nine-x of the
22 banking law; and
23 (d) instructions on how to report known or suspected incidents of
24 financial exploitation of the elderly, including the appropriate tele-
25 phone numbers to call and the types of information that would assist the
26 office with its investigation of the report.
27 5. The director shall convene an advisory committee made up of at
28 least ten but no more than twenty members to advise the director and
29 make recommendations on the aspects of developing and implementing the
30 program. Members of the advisory committee shall include but not be
31 limited to: at least two representatives from statewide senior advocacy
32 organizations, at least one representative representing a non-profit
33 senior organization which operates an elder abuse prevention program, at
34 least one attorney whose practice concentrates in elder law or an indi-
35 vidual acting on behalf of the elder law section of the New York state
36 bar association, at least one banker or a representative of an associ-
37 ation representing bankers, at least one certified public accountant or
38 a representative of an association representing certified public
39 accountants, at least two members representing protective services for
40 adults, and at least two law enforcement representatives.
41 § 4. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 99-x to
42 read as follows:
43 § 99-x. Financial exploitation, outreach, education and training fund.
44 1. There is hereby established in the joint custody of the comptroller
45 and the superintendent of financial services a special revenue fund to
46 be known as the "financial exploitation, outreach, education and train-
47 ing fund".
48 2. The financial exploitation, outreach, education and training fund
49 shall consist of all moneys received by the state under section nine-x
50 of the banking law and all other fees, fines, grants, bequests or other
51 monies credited, appropriated or transferred thereto from any other fund
52 or source.
53 3. The moneys of the financial exploitation, outreach, education and
54 training fund shall be disbursed by the comptroller to the state office
55 for the aging for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of sections
56 two hundred nineteen and two hundred nineteen-a of the elder law.
S. 6243 4
1 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
2 subdivisions 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 of section 9-x of the banking law, as
3 added by section one of this act, shall take effect on the two hundred
4 seventieth day after this act shall have become a law.
