Requires that an entity which pays funds which are profits from a crime, as defined by statute, to a family member, including a former spouse, of a person charged with or convicted of a crime, give notice of such payment of funds to the office of victim services.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A6730
SPONSOR: Griffin TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the executive law, in relation to notice of the profits
from a crime
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To expand the notice requirement relating to profits from crime to
include profits received by the family or former spouse of the defend-
ant.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section one of the bill amends the executive law to require companies
who contract to pay any 'profits from a crime' to the family or former
spouses of a person charged with or convicted of a crime, to notify the
Office of Victim Services about the contract when the total value of
payments to the family or former spouse exceeds ten thousand dollars.
Profits of a crime are defined in current law as "any property obtained
through or income generated from the commission of a crime of which the
defendant was convicted or any property obtained by or income generated
from the sale, conversion or exchange of proceeds of a crime".
Section two of the bill states the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Crime sells. Live TV and streaming services inundate viewers with docu-
mentaries and movies portraying infamous crimes, serial killers, and
bank robbers. Media outlets pay millions of dollars for rights to the
story of the person who has been charged or convicted of a crime and
access to their family and friends.
New York has a long history of blocking people charged with or convicted
of a crime from benefiting from their illegal acts through executive law
632-a. This section requires companies to disclose to the Office of
Victim Services (OVS) whenever they enter contracts to pay any profits
from a crime to the person charged with or convicted of a crime or their
representative more than ten thousand dollars. After notification, OVS
contacts victims or their families to notify them about the funds.
Victims and their families may choose to bring legal action to recover
money earned through the contract.
Executive law 632-a does not include the family or former spouse of a
person charged with or convicted of a crime under the notification
requirement. This results in media outlets contracting with family,
rather than the person charged with or convicted of a crime, to avoid
the notification requirements.. This loopho_s deprives victims and their
families of compensation they are entitled to under New York law. This
bill amends the executive law to include contracts with family or former
spouses of a person charged with or convicted of a crime to the notifi-
cation requirement.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A8367/S7774 of 2023-24: Referred to governmental operations/ Referred to
Crime Victims, Crime and Corrections.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None to the state.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
