Provides immunity from prosecution for certain individuals engaged in prostitution who are victims of or witnesses to a crime and who report such crime or assist in the investigation or prosecution.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A1029B
SPONSOR: Kelles TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the penal law, in relation to individuals engaged in
prostitution who are victims of or witnesses to a crime
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To encourage sex workers who are crime victims and witnesses to seek
help without fear Of being prosecuted for prostitution.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 adds a new section 230.45 to the penal law to provide immunity
from prosecution under § 230.00 (prostitution)and/or § 230.03 (prostitu-
tion in a school zone) to victims of and witnesses to crimes under the
following circumstances: (a) reports the crime to a criminal law
enforcement agency, (b) seeks or receives health care services as a
result of the crime (if medically necessary) or (c) attempts to assist
in the investigation or prosecution of the crime.
Section 2 establishes the right to a hearing in court where the victim
or witness to a crime believes the conditions for immunity have been met
and have been erroneously charged under § 230.00 and/or § 230.03.
Section 3 is the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Sex workers often are victims and witnesses of violent crime and coer-
cive exploitation but often don't report crimes due to fear of arrest
for prostitution. When criminal abusers are not reported, they continue
their violent acts with impunity. The most recent, prescient example is
of the Long Island Serial Killer. In 2023, Suffolk County law enforce-
ment arrested Rex Heuermann for the murders of three women whose bodies
were discovered over a decade prior while there are other unsolved
murders that may be associated with this suspect. His victims were known
sex workers and he continued patronizing sex workers while law enforce-
ment monitored him without obtaining potentially helpful testimony from
witnesses or victims.
This bill protects a victim or witness to a crime from prosecution for
prostitution, prostitution in a school zone, or permitting prostitution
(which is what a roommate would be charged with) when they seek help.
The concept is similar to the so-called "Good Samaritan" law enacted in
2011 to protect people who seek help for someone suffering an overdose.
Similar legislation has already been passed in Alaska, California, Colo-
rado, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. This legis-
lation has also received support from: Alvin Bragg (NYC DA), Decriminal-
ize Sex Work, ECLI-VIBES, Girl Vow Inc., We Are Revolutionary, SOAR
Institute, Old Pros, Legal Aid Society, and Hudson Catskill Housing
Coalition.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023-24: A7471 - 3rd Reading Calendar
2021-22: A255a (Gottfried) - 3rd Reading Calendar
2019-20: A8869 (Gottfried) - Codes reported to Rules
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect 60 days after it shall have become a law, and
shall apply to any prosecution pending on or after the time it shall
take effect.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1029--B
Cal. No. 123
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 8, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. KELLES, SEAWRIGHT, SAYEGH, SIMON, STECK, PAULIN,
GALLAGHER, VANEL, OTIS, GONZALEZ-ROJAS, EPSTEIN, CRUZ, GLICK, LEVEN-
BERG, BURDICK, SHIMSKY, LAVINE, SHRESTHA, MAMDANI, REYES, HUNTER,
BICHOTTE HERMELYN, FORREST, STERN, DINOWITZ, R. CARROLL, GIBBS,
SIMONE, DAIS, CUNNINGHAM, WALKER, WEPRIN, ANDERSON, TAPIA, TAYLOR,
MEEKS, HEVESI, ROMERO, BORES, ROSENTHAL, KASSAY, KIM, CLARK, MITAYNES,
SCHIAVONI, COLTON, O'PHARROW, HOOKS -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Codes -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee -- reported
from committee, advanced to a third reading, amended and ordered
reprinted, retaining its place on the order of third reading
AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to individuals engaged in
prostitution who are victims of or witnesses to a crime
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 230.45 to
2 read as follows:
3 § 230.45 Limited immunity from prosecution.
4 1. This section applies where a person is the victim of or a witness
5 to a crime (including an individual who becomes aware that another
6 person is a victim of a crime), and has engaged or is alleged to have
7 engaged in an act prohibited under section 230.00 or 230.03 of this
8 article at or in reasonable proximity to the time of the crime or under
9 circumstances reasonably related to the crime, and, in good faith but
10 not prior to, during or subsequent to an arrest or investigation for
11 such prohibited act, (a) reports the crime to a criminal law enforcement
12 agency, (b) if medically necessary, seeks or receives health care
13 services as a result of the crime, or (c) attempts to assist in the
14 investigation or prosecution of the crime. No such victim or witness to
15 the crime shall be charged or prosecuted for an offense under section
16 230.00 or 230.03 of this article which is alleged to have been committed
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00064-04-5
A. 1029--B 2
1 at or in reasonable proximity to the time of the crime or under circum-
2 stances reasonably related to the crime for which the person is a victim
3 or witness. As used in this section, "crime" shall include an act that
4 reasonably appears to be a crime, regardless of whether it results in a
5 conviction as a crime.
6 2. Where a victim or witness to a crime believes that the conditions
7 for immunity pursuant to subdivision one of this section have been met
8 and such victim or witness has been erroneously charged under section
9 230.00 or 230.03 of this article, such victim or witness may request a
10 hearing to be conducted no later than fifteen days after the charge or
11 charges have been filed to move the court to decide whether conditions
12 for immunity have been met. At such hearing, the court shall be permit-
13 ted to accept all legally permitted evidence, including legally permis-
14 sible hearsay, in support of both parties. If, after conducting such
15 hearing, and by clear and convincing evidence, the court determines that
16 the conditions for immunity were met, then the charge or charges shall
17 be dismissed. If, after conducting such hearing, the court determines
18 that the conditions for immunity were not met, then the charges shall
19 not be dismissed and immunity shall be denied.
20 § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
21 have become a law, and shall apply to any prosecution pending on or
22 after the time it shall take effect.
