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History
- Referred to children and families
- Referred to children and families
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the family court act, in relation to orders of restitution in juvenile delinquency proceedings
Purpose
This bill relates to orders of restitution in juvenile delinquency proceedings by raising the restitution amount from $1,500 to a maximum of $5,000.
Summary of provisions
Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 353.6 of the family court act, as amended by chapter 317 of the laws of 2004 is amended to state that as a condition of placement or order as a condition of probation or conditional discharge, restitution in an amount representing a fair and reasonable cost to replace the property or repair the damages caused by the respondent, not however to exceed $5,000.
Justification
Recently, several juveniles in Rockland County were involved in a local crime wave consisting of several burglaries as well as numerous acts of criminal mischief. These juveniles caused over $31,000 worth of damage in the Town of Clarkstown and captured it all on videotape. The matter is being handled by the Rockland County Family Court. The officers as well as the victims thought that the Family Court would provide the proper conduit per restitution, however they were advised that the maximum that the NYS Family Court Act allows is $1,500 per defendant. It would seem far too little to cover the expenses of the victims who sustained any serious damage. By amending this statute to a maximum of $5,000, it might be a more realistic number and more current with our times. The present cost of replacing a residential or commercial window can easily surpass that $1,500 ceiling. While this incident represents an extreme, there are numerous other criminal acts that are committed by juveniles that leave the victims little financial recourse. An amendment of this section will go a long way to increase the latitude afforded to the Family Court system.
Legislative history
2008-07: S.5069 Referred to Social Services, Children and Families 2006-05: S.3310 Referred to Social Services, Children and Families 2004-03: S.4054 Referred to Social Services, Children and Families 2002: S.7162 Referred to Social Services, Children and Families
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.