STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6881--A
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
May 20, 2021
___________
Introduced by Sen. MANNION -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Disabilities -- committee
discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
to said committee
AN ACT to amend the executive law, the county law and the criminal
procedure law, in relation to the justice center for the protection of
people with special needs and providing for the repeal of certain
provisions upon expiration thereof
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 552 of the executive law, as added by section 3 of
2 part A of chapter 501 of the laws of 2012, is amended to read as
3 follows:
4 § 552. Organization of the justice center. 1. The justice center shall
5 house the vulnerable persons' central register created in section four
6 hundred ninety-two of the social services law and shall perform all of
7 the necessary functions related to the receipt and acceptance of reports
8 of allegations of reportable incidents involving vulnerable persons, the
9 investigation of such accepted reports and the review of substantiated
10 findings of abuse or neglect, as defined in subdivision eleven of
11 section four hundred eighty-eight of the social services law, including
12 conducting any disciplinary proceedings for state employees resulting
13 from such substantiated findings (for state entities bound by collective
14 bargaining, the disciplinary process established through collective
15 bargaining shall govern). The justice center shall contain two separate
16 units, headed by two distinct deputies, one responsible for the [prose-
17 cution] investigation of criminal matters and one for the investigation
18 and resolution of non-criminal matters. If, during an investigation,
19 what appeared to be a non-criminal matter warrants consideration for
20 criminal charges, the matter shall be promptly referred to the criminal
21 unit as well as the law enforcement agencies with jurisdiction over such
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11578-02-1
S. 6881--A 2
1 matter. Information collected during such investigations may only be
2 shared between such units in accordance with state and federal constitu-
3 tional protections and laws and the secrecy provisions contained in
4 article one hundred ninety of the criminal procedure law, unless so
5 ordered by a court in a pending proceeding.
6 2. (a) The justice center also shall employ a special prosecutor and
7 inspector general for the protection of people with special needs
8 ("special prosecutor"), who shall be appointed by the governor. Other
9 state agencies shall be required to make facilities available for office
10 space throughout the state and to assist when requested with respect to
11 the duties of the office. Pursuant to the provisions of this section,
12 such special prosecutor shall have the duty and power: (i) to investi-
13 gate and, upon the consent of a district attorney, prosecute offenses
14 involving abuse or neglect, as defined in subdivision eleven of section
15 four hundred eighty-eight of the social services law, committed against
16 vulnerable persons by custodians as defined in subdivision two of
17 section four hundred eighty-eight of the social services law; and (ii)
18 to cooperate with and assist district attorneys and other local law
19 enforcement officials in their efforts against such abuse or neglect of
20 vulnerable persons. Provided that nothing herein shall diminish or
21 interfere with the ability of district attorneys at any time to receive
22 complaints, investigate [and] or maintain the ultimate authority to
23 prosecute any offense involving the suspected abuse or neglect of a
24 vulnerable person, or for any persons, whether a mandated reporter or
25 not, to report a complaint to a district attorney or other appropriate
26 law enforcement official. The special prosecutor may request and shall
27 receive, from any agency, department, division, board, bureau or commis-
28 sion of the state, or any political subdivision thereof, cooperation and
29 assistance in the performance of his or her duties, and may provide
30 technical and other assistance to any district attorney or law enforce-
31 ment official requesting assistance in the investigation or prosecution
32 of offenses involving the abuse or neglect of vulnerable persons.
33 (b) The special prosecutor, or one of his or her assistants, duly
34 authorized pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subdivision, is empowered
35 to apply for search warrants pursuant to article six hundred ninety of
36 the criminal procedure law, and, except in exigent circumstances, shall
37 give prior notice of the application to the district attorney of the
38 county in which such a warrant is to be executed, and in such exigent
39 circumstances shall give such notice as soon thereafter as is practica-
40 ble; provided, however that the failure to give notice of a search
41 warrant application to a district attorney shall not be a ground to
42 suppress the evidence seized in executing the warrant. [He or she may
43 designate an assistant to exercise any of such powers.]
44 (c) The special prosecutor or one of his or her assistants duly
45 authorized pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subdivision, may[, after
46 consultation with the district attorney as to the time and place of such
47 attendance or appearance,] attend in person any term of [the county]
48 court [or supreme court] having appropriate jurisdiction, including an
49 extraordinary special or trial term of the supreme court when one is
50 appointed pursuant to section one hundred forty-nine of the judiciary
51 law, or appear before the grand jury thereof, for the purpose of manag-
52 ing and conducting in such court or before such jury a criminal action
53 or proceeding concerned with an offense where any conduct constituting
54 or requisite to the completion of or in any other manner related to such
55 offense involved the abuse or neglect of a vulnerable person, as defined
56 in subdivision eleven of section four hundred eighty-eight of the social
S. 6881--A 3
1 services law. [In such case, such special prosecutor or his or her
2 assistant so attending may exercise all the powers and perform all the
3 duties in respect of such actions or proceedings which the district
4 attorney would otherwise be authorized or required to exercise or
5 perform.]
6 § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 700 of the county law, as amended by
7 chapter 560 of the laws of 1991, is amended to read as follows:
8 1. Except as provided in section seven hundred one of this chapter, it
9 shall be the duty of every district attorney to conduct, or cause to be
10 conducted, all prosecutions for crimes and offenses cognizable by the
11 courts of the county for which he or she shall have been elected or
12 appointed; except when the place of trial of an indictment is changed
13 from one county to another, it shall be the duty of the district attor-
14 ney of the county where the indictment is found to conduct the trial of
15 the indictment so removed, and it shall be the duty of the district
16 attorney of the county to which such trial is changed to assist in such
17 trial upon the request of the district attorney of the county where the
18 indictment was found. He or she shall perform such additional and
19 related duties as may be prescribed by law and directed by the board of
20 supervisors.
21 § 3. Section 702 of the county law is amended by adding a new subdivi-
22 sion 8 to read as follows:
23 8. Notwithstanding any provision of law with respect to the require-
24 ments of residence or number of appointments, a district attorney may
25 appoint the special prosecutor and/or one or more of his or her assist-
26 ants employed by the justice center for the protection of people with
27 special needs as special assistant district attorneys with respect to
28 any investigation or prosecution involving abuse or neglect, as defined
29 in subdivision eleven of section four hundred eighty-eight of the social
30 services law, committed against a vulnerable person by a custodian as
31 defined in subdivision two of section four hundred eighty-eight of the
32 social services law. Nothing herein shall limit the duration of such
33 appointment, provided however, that such appointment may be rescinded at
34 any time by the district attorney.
35 § 4. Subdivision 32 of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law, as
36 amended by section 2 of part PPP of chapter 59 of the laws of 2017, is
37 amended to read as follows:
38 32. "District attorney" means a district attorney, an assistant
39 district attorney or a special district attorney, and, where appropri-
40 ate, the attorney general, an assistant attorney general, a deputy
41 attorney general, a special deputy attorney general, or the special
42 prosecutor and inspector general for the protection of people with
43 special needs or his or her assistants when acting [pursuant to their
44 duties] in [matters arising under] accordance with article twenty of the
45 executive law, or the inspector general of New York for transportation
46 or his or her deputies when acting pursuant to article four-B of the
47 executive law.
48 § 5. Subdivision 34 of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law is
49 amended by adding a new paragraph (w) to read as follows:
50 (w) A sworn investigator employed by the justice center for the
51 protection of people with special needs.
52 § 6. Subdivision 34 of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law is
53 amended by adding a new paragraph (w) to read as follows:
54 (w) A sworn investigator employed by the justice center for the
55 protection of people with special needs where such department or force
S. 6881--A 4
1 is certified in accordance with paragraph (d) of subdivision one of
2 section eight hundred forty-six-h of the executive law.
3 § 7. This act shall take effect immediately, provided, however that
4 section five of this act shall expire and be deemed repealed on the same
5 date as section 13 of part BBB of chapter 59 of the laws of 2021 takes
6 effect, when upon such date the provisions of section six of this act
7 shall take effect.
