Requires the office of victim assistance to notify crime victims of the availability of victim support services by providing such victims with a written notice of the availability of statewide programs.
Provides additional protection to judges and their family members under the Judicial Security Act; expands protection to domestic partners and adult children; relates to records to be kept private; relates to the continuation of the prohibition against the public disclosure of personal information; authorizes the chief administrator of the courts to develop procedures necessary to prevent the disclosure of personal information in the possession of the unified court system.
This bill allows minors under 18 to participate in certain court arraignments via electronic appearance instead of appearing in person. It permits this under specific conditions, such as when the minor is hospitalized, facing extreme weather, requesting the option with a guarantee of non-monetary release, or when no Youth Part judge is available. For electronic appearances involving minors, the court must determine that the virtual format serves the child's best interests and that physical attendance would unnecessarily disrupt important activities like school or medical treatment. The law also requires that all parties, including the prosecutor and the minor's legal advisor, consent to the electronic process on the record.
Establishes the crimes of benefiting from a labor trafficking venture, benefiting from a sex trafficking venture and aggravated benefiting from a sex trafficking venture; establishes civil action for victims of benefiting from a trafficking venture; revives such actions otherwise barred by the existing statute of limitations, grants trial preference to such actions; directs the chief administrator of the courts to promulgate rules for the timely adjudication of certain revived actions.
Relates to the rights of sexual assault survivors during the investigative process; establishes a task force to study and assess sexual assault survivors' rights and services.
Enacts the "cannabis supply chain integrity and anti-inversion act"; prohibits any act or omission involving illicit cannabis; provides penalties for such cannabis inversion.
Requires that curricula and educational programs provide incarcerated individuals the opportunity to earn educational or vocational credits which shall be transferable to an educational institution upon the release of the incarcerated individual.
Directs the commissioner of corrections and community supervision, in consultation with the commissioner of mental health, to make mental health counseling available to all correction officers and civilian staff in correctional facilities.
Establishes a blue envelope program for persons with mental health disorders, behavioral disorders and persons who are neurodivergent to be provided with blue envelopes to keep their identification, vehicle registration, and other related documents to improve their safety during law enforcement interactions; requires the municipal police training council to promulgate rules and regulations requiring training and instruction for all police officers with respect to the blue envelope program.
This bill proposes to remove the ten-year time limit for prosecuting the crime of persistent sexual abuse in New York State. Currently, individuals can only be charged with this offense if they commit multiple qualifying sexual crimes within a ten-year period, but this legislation would eliminate that restriction. The change would allow prosecutors to pursue charges against repeat offenders regardless of how much time has passed since their previous convictions, provided the new offenses are separate criminal incidents. The bill directly affects the state's penal law and would impact how sexual abuse cases are investigated and prosecuted. If passed, it would take effect on November 1st of the following year.
