What's happening
This bill creates a Gang Prevention Coordination Council to oversee anti-gang efforts, award grants, and publish annual reports in New York State.
Why it matters
Brings multiple state agencies and judicial leaders together. by creating a council with representatives from education, health, mental health, housing, law enforcement, courts, prosecutors, and defenders, the bill aims to coordinate a comprehensive response to gang issues that goes beyond policing.
Mandates evidence-based, preventive approaches. the council must develop and promote strategies like early childhood development, family stabilization, job training, mental health and substance abuse services, and reentry support, signaling a shift from punitive to preventative and rehabilitative measures.
Creates a new grant system for local innovation. local governments and nonprofits can apply for funding to implement gang prevention strategies tailored to their communities, potentially spurring creative, localized solutions and addressing disparities in resources.
Requires transparency and accountability. annual public reports and mandatory auditing of grant effectiveness ensure that the council’s work and spending are subject to oversight, aiming to build public trust and allow for data-driven adjustments to anti-gang initiatives.
Albany, before your first meeting.
Every bill that moved yesterday, summarized in a sentence and ranked by impact. The Albany Scorecard follows on Sundays.
Free. Unsubscribe in one click. Want alerts on specific bills? Create an account.
Who cares
Headline styles
Create Gang Prevention Council
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
Senator · Senate District 14
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to finance
- Referred to finance
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Create Gang Prevention Council
In Assembly Committee · Governmental Operations · Sponsor Taylor Darling
Full text
3 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
2538
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 28, 2019
Introduced by Sen. COMRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance
AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to establishing a gang prevention coordination council
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 413 to read as follows:
§ 413. Gang prevention coordination council. 1. Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
a. "Council" means the gang prevention coordination council established pursuant to this section.
b. "Gang" means an ongoing group, club, organization, or association of five or more persons which satisfies each of the following criteria, with no one criterion being sufficient to be considered a gang:
(1) One of the gang's primary purpose is the commission of one or more penal code offenses;
(2) The members of the gang engage or have engaged within the past ten years in a continuing series of penal code offenses described in, and which includes three or more individual instances of such offenses; and
(3) The gang is identifiable by at least two of the following commonalities: name of the association, sign, symbol, article of clothing, style of dress, tattoo, code word, or other marking or identifying factor.
c. "Gang activity" means actions, patterns of actions, and behavior related to a gang.
2. Membership. a. The council shall consist of:
(1) The commissioner of education, or his or her designee;
(2) The commissioner of health, or his or her designee;
(3) The commissioner of mental health, or his or her designee;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08656-01-9
S. 2538 2
(4) The commissioner of homes and community renewal, or his or her designee;
(5) The commissioner of children and family services, or his or her designee;
(6) The superintendent of New York state police, or his or her designee;
(7) The chief judge of the court of appeals, or his or her designee;
(8) One family court judge, appointed by the chief judge of the court of appeals;
(9) One criminal court judge, appointed by the chief judge of the court of appeals;
(10) One representative from a public defender agency, appointed by the governor;
(11) One district attorney, appointed by the governor;
(12) The president of the New York city housing authority, or his or her designee; and
(13) The attorney general, or his or her designee.
b. The governor shall designate the chairperson of the council in consultation with the speaker of the assembly, the minority leader of the assembly, the majority leader of the senate, and the minority leader of the senate.
3. Powers and duties. The council shall:
a. have the power to hold public hearings;
b. hold at least one hearing each year in the counties of New York, Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Albany, and Erie;
c. submit to the governor, the speaker of the assembly, and the majority leader of the senate, and publish on its website, an annual report on the needs and strengths of local governments in each county of the state relating to juvenile delinquency, gang activity, and gang violence prevention and intervention, provided such report shall be published no later than the first of April in each year;
d. award grants to local government agencies and not-for-profit corporations pursuant to subdivision four of this section;
e. publish guidelines for local governments to implement evidencebased practices to prevent gang activity and prevent youth from joining gangs, including but not limited to:
(1) early childhood development services;
(2) family stabilization programs;
(3) youth and adolescent development services, including job training and apprenticeship programs;
(4) health and mental health services for at risk youth;
(5) substance abuse and prevention services;
(6) programs to help youth cease engaging in criminal street gang activity, such as tattoo removal services, outreach programs, and peacemaking activities;
(7) pre-release, post-release, and reentry services for incarcerated youth; and
(8) other such practices, methods, and services the council may find appropriate.
f. hire staff as the chairperson of the council may deem appropriate and subject to appropriation; and
g. inspect data relating to criminal gang activity and youth gang members from the office of children and family services, the state police, local police departments, the state education department, local school districts, and local child service agencies, or any other relevant state or local agency.
S. 2538 3
4. Gang prevention coordination grants. a. A county, city, town, village, school board, local police department, other local government agency, or not-for-profit corporation may submit to the council an application for the implementation of evidence-based practices in a particular municipality to prevent gang activity and prevent youth from joining gangs, pursuant to guidelines published by the council, by the first of January each year.
b. The council shall award grants to applicants, subject to appropriation, pursuant to an award schedule endorsed by a majority vote of the council by the first of March each year, provided:
(1) no grant shall be awarded for more than a three-year period;
(2) no individual grant shall be in excess of ten million dollars; and
(3) the council shall distribute grants in an equitable manner based on merit and the needs and strengths of each municipality.
5. Implementation. The comptroller shall have the power to audit grants awarded by the council, and shall submit to the governor, the speaker of the assembly, and the majority leader of the senate, and shall post on the comptroller's website, a report on the effectiveness of the grants in reducing the level of gang activity and preventing youth from joining gangs.
6. Audits. The commissioner of children and family services shall promulgate rules and regulations for the implementation of this section within ninety days of the effective date of this section.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the executive law, in relation to establishing a gang prevention coordination council
Purpose
To enhance statewide coordination and funding of gang violence prevention efforts through an interagency council.
Summary of provisions
Section 1 adds a new section 413 to the executive law creating an inter- agency "gang prevention coordination council" with the power and duty to hold public hearings, set guidelines, and distribute grants to local governments and not-for-profit corporations to implement evidence-based gang violence prevention and intervention practices.
Section 2 establishes the effective date.
Justification
Despite record low levels of crime in our major cities, gang violence continues to be a persistent problem throughout the state. The horrific gang activity in Queens and Long Island perpetrated by MS-13 has brought renewed attention to this vexing issue. Families should not have to live in fear of random acts of violence committed by ruthless gang members.
While increased law enforcement presence and funding are a key aspect of the strategy necessary to defeat gangs in our neighborhoods once and for all, law enforcement alone cannot fix the systemic issues that lead youth to join gangs and participate in violent gang activity. A holis- tic, multi-agency, and cross-discipline approach is needed.
This legislation will establish a statewide Gang Prevention Coordination Council, which will help coordinate efforts to fight gangs throughout the state, establish guidelines and best practices for local governments in dealing with the gang issue, and distribute grants in an equitable, merit-based manner to local governments and not-for-profit corporations to implement evidence-based practices that help prevent youth from join- ing gangs.
The Council will be an interagency body, with representatives from the Office of Children and Family Services, the State Education Department, the Department of Health, the Office of Mental Health, the Division of Homes and Community Renewal, the State Police, the Court of Appeals, the Family Court, criminal courts, public defenders, the New York City Hous- ing Authority, and the Attorney General.
The Council will hold hearings throughout the state to study the gang problem in depth and examine best practices for dealing with gangs, and it will develop a report on the strengths and needs of local governments throughout the state. It will also publish guidelines on the best prac- tices for preventing gang activity and preventing youth from joining gangs, such as:
*early childhood development services *family stabilization programs *youth and adolescent development services, including job training and apprenticeship programs
*health and mental health services for at risk youth *substance abuse and prevention services
*programs to help youth from continuing to engage in gang activity, such as tattoo removal services, outreach programs, and peacemaking activ- ities
*pre-release, post-release, and reentry services for incarcerated youth
Subject to future legislative appropriation, the Council will also award grants to local government agencies and not-for-profit corporations to implement evidence-based practices according to the Council's guide- lines. The Council is directed to distribute the grants in an equitable manner based on merit and the needs and strengths of each municipality.
In order to ensure Council grants are being awarded wisely and to evalu- ate the effectiveness of the grants and practices in reducing gang violence, the Comptroller will be given explicit authority to monitor and audit the Council's grant-making.
Legislative history
S6327 COMRIE No Same as
Fiscal implications
To be determined. The Gang Prevention Coordination Council will distrib- ute grants subject to appropriation.
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.