Bill Text: NY S00477 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Relates to the availability of certain benefits and entitlements to exonerees.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-05-10 - REPORTED AND COMMITTED TO FINANCE [S00477 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-S00477-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 477--A 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN SENATE (Prefiled) January 6, 2021 ___________ Introduced by Sen. HOYLMAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary -- recommitted to the Committee on Judiciary in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the court of claims act, the public housing law, the correction law, and the civil service law, in relation to the avail- ability of certain benefits to exonerees; and to repeal certain provisions of the court of claims act relating thereto The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 8-b of the court of claims act is amended by adding 2 a new subdivision 1-a to read as follows: 3 1-a. When used in this section, unless otherwise required by the 4 context, or unless a contrary intent is expressly declared in the 5 provision to be construed, the term "exoneree" shall mean any person who 6 has been granted a judgment in a claim for unjust conviction and impri- 7 sonment under this section. 8 § 2. Subparagraphs (i) and (ii) of paragraph (b) of subdivision 5 of 9 section 8-b of the court of claims act, as added by chapter 1009 of the 10 laws of 1984, are amended to read as follows: 11 (i) he or she has been pardoned upon the ground of innocence of the 12 crime or crimes for which he or she was sentenced and which are the 13 grounds for the complaint; or (ii) his or her judgment of conviction was 14 reversed or vacated, and the accusatory instrument dismissed or, if a 15 new trial was ordered, either he or she was found not guilty at the new 16 trial or he or she was not retried and the accusatory instrument 17 dismissed; provided that the judgement of conviction was reversed or 18 vacated, and the accusatory instrument was dismissed, on any of the 19 following grounds: (A) [paragraph (a), (b), (c), (e) or (g) of] subdivi- EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD01369-02-2S. 477--A 2 1 sion one of section 440.10 of the criminal procedure law; or (B) subdi- 2 vision [one (where based upon grounds set forth in item (A) hereof),] 3 two, three (where the count dismissed was the sole basis for the impri- 4 sonment complained of) or five of section 470.20 of the criminal proce- 5 dure law; or (C) comparable provisions of the former code of criminal 6 procedure or subsequent law; or (D) the statute, or application thereof, 7 on which the accusatory instrument was based violated the constitution 8 of the United States or the state of New York; and 9 § 3. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 5 of section 8-b of the court of 10 claims act, as added by chapter 1009 of the laws of 1984, is amended to 11 read as follows: 12 (c) he or she did not commit any of the acts [charged in the accusato-13ry instrument] for which he or she was convicted or his or her acts or 14 omissions charged in the accusatory instrument did not constitute a 15 felony or misdemeanor against the state; and 16 § 4. Paragraph (d) of subdivision 5 of section 8-b of the court of 17 claims act, as added by chapter 1009 of the laws of 1984, is amended to 18 read as follows: 19 (d) he or she did not by his or her own [conduct] misconduct cause or 20 bring about his or her conviction. For purposes of this subdivision, a 21 confession, admission or plea of guilty made or entered by the claimant 22 may not be considered evidence of misconduct unless such confession, 23 admission or plea of guilty was made or entered knowingly, voluntarily, 24 without duress and with the intent to prevent the investigation or pros- 25 ecution: (i) of the claimant for a crime unrelated to the crime or 26 crimes that were the subject of such confession, admission or plea of 27 guilty; or (ii) of another person who the claimant, at the time of such 28 confession, admission or plea, believed to be the perpetrator of the 29 crime or crimes that were the subject of such confession, admission or 30 plea. 31 § 5. Subdivision 7 of section 8-b of the court of claims act is 32 REPEALED. 33 § 6. Subdivision 6 of section 8-b of the court of claims act, as added 34 by chapter 1009 of the laws of 1984, is amended to read as follows: 35 6. If the court finds that the claimant is entitled to a judgment, it 36 shall award damages in such sum of money as the court determines will 37 fairly and reasonably compensate him or her, as well as any benefits to 38 which the claimant is entitled under this section. 39 § 7. Section 8-b of the court of claims act is amended by adding ten 40 new subdivisions 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 to read as 41 follows: 42 7. Any exoneree shall be entitled to have all records of his or her 43 conviction sealed pursuant to section 160.50 of the criminal procedure 44 law. 45 8. No benefits paid pursuant to this article shall be considered gross 46 income as defined in section six hundred twelve of the tax law, nor 47 shall they be taxable by any entity. 48 9. No benefits paid pursuant to this article shall be reduced by any 49 amount to compensate the state for the costs of incarcerating the exon- 50 eree. 51 10. A person who properly presents a claim pursuant to subdivisions 52 three and four of this section shall be entitled to receive a payment of 53 ten thousand dollars per month from the state for each month between the 54 time a claim is filed and the final judgment is recorded, provided 55 however that on motion of the attorney general the court may stay such 56 payment on the grounds that such claim is frivolous, that the claimantS. 477--A 3 1 is unlikely to prevail on the merits, or that the period of wrongful 2 incarceration was so short that significant damages and benefits should 3 not be awarded. 4 11. An exoneree found by the court to have served a period of wrongful 5 incarceration of more than one year or to have experienced significant 6 hardship resulting from such incarceration shall be ordered by the court 7 to be enrolled in the health benefit plan established pursuant to 8 section one hundred sixty-one of the civil service law, the supplementa- 9 ry health benefit plan established pursuant to section one hundred 10 sixty-three-a of the civil service law, and the dental insurance plan 11 established pursuant to section one hundred sixty of the civil service 12 law. The full cost of premium or subscription charges for such coverage 13 shall be paid by the state. 14 12. The exoneree shall be entitled to reasonable attorney's fees 15 incurred in the process of vacating or reversing the judgment against 16 him or her. The exoneree shall petition the court of claims in seeking 17 reasonable attorney's fees as against the state. Any award of attorney's 18 fees shall be reimbursable by the state. 19 13. An exoneree who enrolls at any institution of the city university 20 of New York or any institution of the state university of New York shall 21 be eligible for a tuition award in an amount equal to the tuition 22 charged at such institution, the mandatory fees charged at such institu- 23 tion and the non-tuition cost of attendance at such institution or 24 college, provided that the scholarship shall not exceed an amount that 25 is equal to the total cost of attendance determined for federal Title IV 26 student financial aid purposes. 27 14. Any and all benefits made available to parolees through the divi- 28 sion of parole shall also be made available to exonerees. Any state 29 contract with a service provider for parolees must also require the 30 service provider to also serve exonerees. 31 15. Nothing in this act shall be construed to prevent an exoneree from 32 pursuing further civil lawsuits against any state agencies or employees 33 for any reason, including in connection with the wrongful conviction. 34 16. (a) Any person claiming compensation and additional benefits under 35 this section based on a pardon that was granted on or after the effec- 36 tive date of this subdivision or the dismissal of an accusatory instru- 37 ment that occurred on or after the effective date of this subdivision 38 shall file his or her claim within three years after the pardon or 39 dismissal. 40 (b) Any person who obtained a judgment under this section prior to the 41 effective date may file for additional benefits under this section with- 42 in two years after such effective date. 43 (c) Any person whose claim was dismissed prior to the effective date 44 of this section on the grounds that the claim did not satisfy clause (A) 45 or (B) of subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (b) of subdivision five of this 46 section may refile his or her claim under this section within two years 47 after the effective date of this subdivision. 48 (d) Any person who did not previously file a claim because his or her 49 claim did not satisfy clause (A) or (B) of subparagraph (ii) of para- 50 graph (b) of subdivision five of this section and is barred by the 51 existing statute of limitations, may file his or her claim under this 52 section within two years after the effective date of this subdivision. 53 § 8. Subdivision 1 of section 156 of the public housing law is amended 54 by adding a new paragraph c to read as follows: 55 c. also for any exoneree as defined in subdivision one-a of section 56 eight-b of the court of claims act. Any benefits due to such exonereeS. 477--A 4 1 shall not be included in the calculation of probable aggregate income 2 used to determine eligibility for these dwellings. Exonerees shall be 3 assigned the highest need-based priority for placement in a dwelling 4 unit. 5 § 9. Subdivision 4 of section 404 of the correction law, as amended by 6 chapter 322 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows: 7 4. Every incarcerated individual who has received mental health treat- 8 ment pursuant to this article within three years of his or her antic- 9 ipated release date from a state correctional facility and every exoner- 10 ee, as defined in subdivision one-a of section eight-b of the court of 11 claims act, shall be provided with mental health discharge planning and, 12 when necessary, an appointment with a mental health professional in the 13 community who can prescribe medications following discharge and suffi- 14 cient mental health medications and prescriptions to bridge the period 15 between discharge and such time as such mental health professional may 16 assume care of the patient. Incarcerated individuals who have refused 17 mental health treatment may also be provided mental health discharge 18 planning and any necessary appointment with a mental health profes- 19 sional. 20 § 10. Subdivision 2 of section 163 of the civil service law, as 21 amended by section 4 of part T of chapter 56 of the laws of 2010, is 22 amended to read as follows: 23 2. The contract or contracts shall provide for health benefits for 24 retired employees of the state and of the state colleges of agriculture, 25 home economics, industrial labor relations and veterinary medicine, the 26 state agricultural experiment station at Geneva, and any other institu- 27 tion or agency under the management and control of Cornell university as 28 the representative of the board of trustees of the state university of 29 New York, and the state college of ceramics under the management and 30 control of Alfred university as the representative of the board of trus- 31 tees of the state university of New York, and their spouses and depend- 32 ent children as defined by the regulations of the president, and exoner- 33 ees as defined in subdivision one-a of section eight-b of the court of 34 claims act, on such terms as the president may deem appropriate, and the 35 president may authorize the inclusion in the plan of the employees and 36 retired employees of public authorities, public benefit corporations, 37 school districts, special districts, district corporations, municipal 38 corporations excluding active employees and retired employees of cities 39 having a population of one million or more inhabitants whose compen- 40 sation is or was before retirement paid out of the city treasury, or 41 other appropriate agencies, subdivisions or quasi-public organizations 42 of the state, including active members of volunteer fire and volunteer 43 ambulance companies serving one or more municipal corporations pursuant 44 to subdivision seven of section ninety-two-a of the general municipal 45 law, and their spouses and dependent children as defined by the regu- 46 lations of the president. Any such corporation, district, agency or 47 organization electing to participate in the plan shall be required to 48 pay its proportionate share of the expenses of administration of the 49 plan in such amounts and at such times as determined and fixed by the 50 president. All amounts payable for such expenses of administration shall 51 be paid to the commissioner of taxation and finance and shall be applied 52 to the reimbursement of funds previously advanced for such purposes. 53 Neither the state nor any other participant in the plan shall be charged 54 with the particular experience attributable to the employees of the 55 participant, and all dividends or retroactive rate credits shall beS. 477--A 5 1 distributed pro-rata based upon the number of employees of such partic- 2 ipant covered by the plan. 3 § 11. This act shall take effect immediately and, except as otherwise 4 expressly provided in this act, shall apply to convictions entered 5 before, on or after such effective date.
