What's happening
This bill increases crime victim assistance fees, creates a crime victim's lien, and establishes a crime victim's assistance account.
Why it matters
Significantly increases financial penalties on convicted offenders. , especially for felonies, violent felonies, and homicides, with the new crime victim assistance fee reaching as high as $2,500 per month of incarceration for homicide convictions. This could serve as a powerful deterrent, but also imposes substantial financial burdens on offenders and their families.
Creates a new, enforceable “crime victim’s lien”. that allows the state to collect unpaid crime victim assistance fees and surcharges by attaching, seizing, or selling the convicted person’s property, garnishing up to 25% of wages, and targeting assets even if the offender receives litigation settlements. This gives the state strong tools to pursue payment over up to 25 years.
Establishes a dedicated “Crime Victim’s Assistance Account”. to segregate and track funds collected from these fees, with clear rules on how the money can be used (e.g., compensation to victims, funding services for victims and witnesses, and grants to support victim services). Payouts to individual crime victims are directly tied to the amount collected from their offender, creating a more tangible link between offender payment and victim compensation.
Mandates confidential record-keeping of crime victims’ identities. (via a victim’s list filed with the Attorney General) to protect privacy while ensuring that victims can be notified and compensated when payments are collected. This approach may reassure victims while also introducing new administrative requirements.
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Who cares
People convicted of crimes
The bill would raise victim assistance fees to $500 for most felonies and $250 for misdemeanors, with fees of $2,500 per month of incarceration imposed for homicide and $1,000 per month for violent felonies.
Crime victims and families of homicide victims
Eligible victims listed by the court could apply for payments tied to fees collected from their offender, with 75% of the certified deposits distributed pro rata among victims.
Attorney general and state comptroller
They would administer the new assistance account, while the attorney general could enforce liens lasting up to 25 years through asset seizures and garnishment of up to 25% of an offender’s wages without prior court approval.
Court clerks and correctional officials
Clerks would calculate fees and prepare sealed victim lists, while correctional officials would collect unpaid charges from incarcerated people’s funds, including litigation awards and settlements.
Headline styles
Increase Crime Victim Fees
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
History
- Held for consideration in codes
- Referred to codes
- Referred to codes
Full text
9 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
5193
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 7, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. DiPIETRO -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the penal law and the state finance law, in relation to increasing the crime victim assistance fee, creating a crime victim's lien and creating a crime victim's assistance account
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 80.00 of the penal law is amended by adding a new subdivision 8 to read as follows:
8. The term "fine" as defined in this section shall not include a mandatory surcharge or a crime victim assistance fee as defined in section 60.35 of this title.
§ 2. Section 80.05 of the penal law is amended by adding a new subdivision 7 to read as follows:
7. The term "fine" as defined in this section shall not include a mandatory surcharge or a crime victim assistance fee as defined in section 60.35 of this title.
§ 3. Section 60.35 of the penal law, as amended by section 1 of part E of chapter 56 of the laws of 2004, subparagraphs (i), (ii) and (iii) of paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 as amended by section 1 of part DD and subdivision 10 as amended by section 2 of part Y of chapter 56 of the laws of 2008, paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 320 of the laws of 2006, subdivision 4 as amended by chapter 525 of the laws of 2013, and subdivision 8 as amended by section 121 of subpart B of part C of chapter 62 of the laws of 2011, is amended to read as follows: § 60.35 Mandatory surcharge, sex offender registration fee, DNA databank
fee, supplemental sex offender victim fee and crime victim
assistance fee required in certain cases.
1. (a) Except as provided in section eighteen hundred nine of the vehicle and traffic law and section 27.12 of the parks, recreation and historic preservation law, whenever proceedings in an administrative
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07641-01-9
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tribunal or a court of this state result in a conviction for a felony, a misdemeanor, or a violation, as these terms are defined in section 10.00 of this chapter, there shall be levied at sentencing a mandatory surcharge, sex offender registration fee, DNA databank fee and a crime victim assistance fee in addition to any sentence required or permitted by law, in accordance with the following schedule:
(i) a person convicted of a felony, excluding those felonies set forth in clauses (A) and (B) of this subparagraph, shall pay a mandatory surcharge of three hundred dollars and a crime victim assistance fee of [twenty-five] five hundred dollars;
(A) A person convicted of a felony offense of homicide, as defined in section 125.00 of this chapter, shall pay a mandatory surcharge of five hundred dollars and a crime victim assistance fee of two thousand five hundred dollars for every month of which such person is sentenced to serve time in a correctional facility, as defined in section forty of the correction law;
(B) A person convicted of a violent felony offense, as defined in section 70.02 of this chapter, shall pay a mandatory surcharge of two hundred fifty dollars and a crime victim assistance fee of one thousand dollars for every month of which such person is sentenced to serve time in a correctional facility, as defined in section forty of the correction law;
(ii) a person convicted of a misdemeanor shall pay a mandatory surcharge of one hundred seventy-five dollars and a crime victim assistance fee of [twenty-five] two hundred fifty dollars;
(iii) a person convicted of a violation shall pay a mandatory surcharge of [ninety-five] one hundred dollars and a crime victim assistance fee of twenty-five dollars;
(iv) a person convicted of a sex offense as defined by subdivision two of section one hundred sixty-eight-a of the correction law or a sexually violent offense as defined by subdivision three of section one hundred sixty-eight-a of the correction law shall, in addition to a mandatory surcharge and crime victim assistance fee, pay a sex offender registration fee of fifty dollars.
(v) a person convicted [of] as a designated [offense] offender as defined by subdivision seven of section nine hundred ninety-five of the executive law shall, in addition to a mandatory surcharge and crime victim assistance fee, pay a DNA databank fee of fifty dollars.
(b) When the felony or misdemeanor conviction in subparagraphs (i), (ii) or (iv) of paragraph (a) of this subdivision results from an offense contained in article one hundred thirty of this chapter, incest in the third, second or first degree as defined in sections 255.25, 255.26 and 255.27 of this chapter or an offense contained in article two hundred sixty-three of this chapter, the person convicted shall pay a supplemental sex offender victim fee of one thousand dollars in addition to the mandatory surcharge and any other fee.
2. Where a person is convicted of two or more crimes or violations committed through a single act or omission, or through an act or omission which in itself constituted one of the crimes or violations and also was a material element of the other, the court shall impose a mandatory surcharge and a crime victim assistance fee, and where appropriate a supplemental sex offender victim fee, in accordance with the provisions of this section for the crime or violation which carries the highest classification, and no other sentence to pay a mandatory surcharge, crime victim assistance fee or supplemental sex offender victim fee required by this section shall be imposed. Where a person is
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convicted of two or more sex offenses or sexually violent offenses, as defined by subdivisions two and three of section one hundred sixtyeight-a of the correction law, committed through a single act or omission, or through an act or omission which in itself constituted one of the offenses and also was a material element of the other, the court shall impose only one sex offender registration fee. Where a person is convicted of two or more designated offenses, as defined by subdivision seven of section nine hundred ninety-five of the executive law, committed through a single act or omission, or through an act or omission which in itself constituted one of the offenses and also was a material element of the other, the court shall impose only one DNA databank fee.
3. The mandatory surcharge, sex offender registration fee, DNA databank fee[, crime victim assistance fee,] and supplemental sex offender victim fee provided for in subdivision one of this section shall be paid to the clerk of the court or administrative tribunal that rendered the conviction. Within the first ten days of the month following collection of the mandatory surcharge[, crime victim assistance fee,] and supplemental sex offender victim fee, the collecting authority shall determine the amount of mandatory surcharge, crime victim assistance fee, and supplemental sex offender victim fee collected and, if it is an administrative tribunal, or a town or village justice court, it shall then pay such money to the state comptroller who shall deposit such money in the state treasury pursuant to section one hundred twenty-one of the state finance law to the credit of the criminal justice improvement account established by section ninety-seven-bb of the state finance law. Within the first ten days of the month following collection of the sex offender registration fee and DNA databank fee, the collecting authority shall determine the amount of the sex offender registration fee and DNA databank fee collected and, if it is an administrative tribunal, or a town or village justice court, it shall then pay such money to the state comptroller who shall deposit such money in the state treasury pursuant to section one hundred twenty-one of the state finance law to the credit of the general fund. If such collecting authority is any other court of the unified court system, it shall, within such period, pay such money attributable to the mandatory surcharge or crime victim assistance fee to the state commissioner of taxation and finance to the credit of the criminal justice improvement account established by section ninety-seven-bb of the state finance law. If such collecting authority is any other court of the unified court system, it shall, within such period, pay such money attributable to the sex offender registration fee and the DNA databank fee to the state commissioner of taxation and finance to the credit of the general fund.
3-a. Within the first ten days following the pronouncement of sentence of the convicted offender, the clerk of the court pronouncing the sentence shall calculate and determine the amount of the crime victim assistance fee provided for in subdivision one of this section. Immediately thereafter, the convicted offender shall pay to the clerk of the court or administrative tribunal that rendered the conviction the full amount of the crime victim assistance fee so calculated and determined, and such court shall thereupon act as the collecting authority. If such collecting authority is an administrative tribunal, or a town or village justice court, it shall then pay such money to the state comptroller who shall deposit such money in the state treasury pursuant to section one hundred twenty-one of the state finance law to the credit of the crime victim's assistance account established by section ninetyfour-c of the state finance law. If such collecting authority is any
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other court of the unified court system, it shall, within such period, pay such money to the state commissioner of taxation and finance to the credit of the crime victim's assistance account established by section ninety-four-c of the state finance law.
3-b. Upon the pronouncement of sentence upon a convicted offender, the clerk of the court pronouncing such sentence shall create a crime victim's list. This list shall provide the name of the convicted offender and the offenses for which he was convicted, as well as the name, address, and telephone number of every individual whom the court deems a victim of the crime or crimes for which the convicted offender was convicted. A victim of the crime shall include anyone against whom a crime or violent act in furtherance of a crime was committed, or in the case of a homicide all family members of the deceased victim within one degree of consanguinity. This list shall be filed with the attorney general and shall be sealed from public inspection so as to protect crime victims from having their names and identities made known to the public and the press.
4. Any person who has paid a mandatory surcharge, sex offender registration fee, DNA databank fee, a crime victim assistance fee or a supplemental sex offender victim fee under the authority of this section based upon a conviction that is subsequently reversed or who paid a mandatory surcharge, sex offender registration fee, DNA databank fee, a crime victim assistance fee or supplemental sex offender victim fee under the authority of this section which is ultimately determined not to be required by this section shall be entitled to a refund of such mandatory surcharge, sex offender registration fee, DNA databank fee, crime victim assistance fee or supplemental sex offender victim fee upon application, in the case of a town or village court, to the state comptroller. The state comptroller shall require such proof as is necessary in order to determine whether a refund is required by law. In all other cases, such application shall be made to the department, agency or court that collected such surcharge or fee. Such department, agency or court shall initiate the refund process and the state comptroller shall pay the refund pursuant to subdivision fifteen of section eight of the state finance law.
5. (a) When a person who is convicted of a crime or violation and sentenced to a term of imprisonment has failed to pay the mandatory surcharge, sex offender registration fee, DNA databank fee, crime victim assistance fee or supplemental sex offender victim fee required by this section, the clerk of the court that rendered the conviction shall notify the superintendent or the municipal official of the facility where the person is confined. The superintendent or the municipal official shall cause any amount owing to be collected from such person during his or her term of imprisonment from moneys to the credit of an inmates' fund or such moneys as may be earned by a person in a work release program pursuant to section eight hundred sixty of the correction law or as they may be awarded to such inmate pursuant to litigation or settlement of litigation. Such moneys attributable to the mandatory surcharge or crime victim assistance fee shall be paid over to the state comptroller to the credit of the criminal justice improvement account established by section ninety-seven-bb of the state finance law and such moneys attributable to the sex offender registration fee or DNA databank fee shall be paid over to the state comptroller to the credit of the general fund, except that any such moneys collected which are surcharges, sex offender registration fees, DNA databank fees[, crime victim assistance fees] or supplemental sex offender victim fees levied
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