What's happening
This bill allows courts to direct certain fines or penalties to the Office of Victim Services to support victim assistance programs.
Why it matters
Empowers courts to direct fines and penalties from certain business-related crimes to the Office of Victim Services. , potentially increasing funding for victim assistance without requiring new taxes or fees.
Creates a new, flexible funding stream for victim services programs. , allowing resources to be allocated based on actual criminal case outcomes rather than fixed budget appropriations.
Strengthens the link between criminal accountability and victim support. , ensuring that penalties paid by offenders can directly benefit those harmed by crime, which may enhance perceptions of justice and restitution.
May incentivize greater attention to victim needs in sentencing and court proceedings. , as courts are given explicit authority to support victim-focused initiatives through their penalty decisions.
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Who cares
Office of Victim Services
The bill would allow the office, with the governor’s approval, to accept court-directed antitrust fines and penalties and spend them for purposes authorized by Article 22 of the Executive Law.
Courts handling antitrust cases
Judges would gain discretion to direct all or part of qualifying criminal fines or civil penalties to the Office of Victim Services.
Crime victims and victim advocates
The bill would create a potential funding source for the Office of Victim Services’ authorized work.
Businesses facing antitrust fines or penalties
The bill would allow courts to make all or part of their payments payable to the Office of Victim Services.
Headline styles
Let Courts Send Fines to Victims
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Signed chap.291
- Delivered to governor
- Returned to senate
- Passed assembly
- Ordered to third reading cal.113
- Substituted for A4054
- Referred to codes
- Delivered to assembly
- Passed senateVote 55–5
- Ordered to third reading cal.328
- Committee discharged and committed to rules
- Referred to consumer protection
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.
Antitrust Fines Aid Victims
Assembly Floor Calendar · Sponsor Steven Englebright
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
41
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE (Prefiled)
January 9, 2019
Introduced by Sen. HOYLMAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Consumer Protection
AN ACT to amend the general business law and the executive law, in relation to the disposition of certain fines
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new section 347-a to read as follows:
§ 347-a. Fines payable to the office of victim services. Following sentencing for a crime pursuant to section three hundred forty-one of this article or upon a judgment pursuant to section three hundred forty-two-a of this article, the court in its discretion may determine that any fine or penalty or any portion thereof shall be paid to the office of victim services to be expended for any purpose of article twenty-two of the executive law as provided by subdivision nineteen of section six hundred twenty-three of such law.
§ 2. Subdivision 19 of section 623 of the executive law, as amended by section 8 of part A-1 of chapter 56 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows:
19. To accept, with the approval of the governor, as agent of the state, any grant including federal grants, any fines or penalties imposed pursuant to section three hundred forty-one or three hundred forty-two-a of the general business law and made payable to the office pursuant to section three hundred forty-seven-a of such law, or any gift for the purposes of this article. Any monies so received may be expended by the office to effectuate any purpose of this article, subject to the applicable provisions of the state finance law.
§ 3. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall have become a law and shall apply to any judgment entered or fine or penalty imposed on or after such date.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03426-01-9
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the general business law and the exec- utive law, in relation to the disposition of certain fines
Purpose or general idea of the bill
This bill would grant a court discretion to designate that part or all of any fine or penalty paid by an adjudicated violator of the State's Antitrust Law be paid to the Office of Victim Services.
Summary of specific provisions
This bill would add a new subsection 347-a to the Donnelly Act, the State's Antitrust Law (General Business Law, SS 240-347) to provide a sentencing court with discretion to direct that part or all of any crim- inal fine or civil penalty paid by an adjudicated violator of the Anti- trust Law deposited with the Office of Victim Services to be expanded pursuant to Executive Law, Article 22, Executive Law S 623 (19) is amended to facilitate this expenditure.
Justification
Antitrust crime by its very nature is economic crime against the pecuni- ary interest of broad segments of the populace. In these cases it is appropriate for courts to be given discretion to direct that part or all of the monies paid as criminal fines or civil penalties be paid to the Office of Victim Services, an agency with a broad public purpose. In 1982, Justice O'Donoghue of the Supreme Court, Kings County expressed the desire to direct that fines be paid by four convicted defendants in the milk price fixing case be paid to the Victims Services Agency of Queens County. He sought the Attorney General's opinion and was advised that the court had no such discretion under current law. This bill would grant the court such discretion.
Prior legislative history
S.0058 of 2017-2018 (Hoylman): Died in Consumer Protection A.3555 of 2017-2018 (Englebright): Passed the Assembly S.306 of 2015-2016 (Espaillat): Died in Consumer Protection A.2661 of 2015-2016 (Englebright): Passed Assembly S.7577 of 2014 (Espaillat): Died in Consumer Protection A.5386 of 2013-2014 (Englebright): Passed Assembly A.9028 of 2012 (Englebright): Passed Assembly A.2942-A of 2011 (Destito): Passed Assembly A.1046 of 2009-2010 (Destito): Passed Assembly A.931 of 2007-2008 (Destito): Passed Assembly A.257 of 2005-2006 (Destito): Passed Assembly A.9622 of 2004 (Destito): Passed Assembly A.2215 of 2001-2002 (John): Passed Assembly A.199 of 1999-2000 (John): Passed Assembly S.941 of 1997-1998 (Abate): Died in Consumer Protection A.710 of 1997-1998 (John): Passed Assembly S.6392 of 1996 (Abate): Died in Consumer Protection A.2636 of 1995-1996 (John): Died in Ways & Means (1995)/Died in Codes (1996) A.5910-A of 1994
Fiscal implications
This bill would generate revenues in an undetermined amount by providing a new source of funding for the Office of Victim Services.
Effective date
Sixtieth day following enactment: applicable to any judgment entered or fine or penalty levied on or after such date.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.