Establishes standards for crime victim awards for loss of earnings or support

BILL NUMBER:S4341

Title of bill

An act to amend the executive law, in relation to awards made by the office of victim services

Purpose of Bill: This bill would amend the Executive Law to authorize the Office of Victim Services (OVS) to make awards for loss or earnings and loss of support based only on income of the victim that was reported to an appropriate taxing authority.

Summary of Provisions:

Section one of the bill would amend Executive Law § 631(3) to limit any awards for loss or earnings or support to reported income. It would provide that if it is later determined that such income is not subject to taxation, OVS must request alternate information to verify that income.

Section two of the bill contains the effective date.

Existing Law: Executive Law § 631(3) authorizes OVS to make awards for a victim's loss of earnings, or for the loss of support provided by a homicide victim. Under existing law, OVS has no statutorily defined limitations when determining loss of earnings or loss of support.

Prior Legislative History: This is a new bill.

Statement in Support: The statutory provisions relating to awards for loss of earnings and loss of support do not provide guidance for calculating a victim's earnings or for making awards for loss of support to multiple claimants. With respect to earnings, OVS proposes to limit such awards to the victim's reportable income. OVS should not compensate victims for illegally earned income.

With respect to loss of support, this bill also would provide that if multiple victims are entitled to an award for loss of support as a result of a death of a person, OVS will apportion the award among the claimants. This will clarify the appropriate distribution of such awards.

Budget Implications: None.

Effective Date: This bill would take effect 30 days after it becomes a law.