Relates to verification of a name change.

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S528A-2011 Actions

• May 2, 2012: referred to judiciary
• May 1, 2012: DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY
• May 1, 2012: PASSED SENATE
• Apr 25, 2012: ADVANCED TO THIRD READING
• Apr 19, 2012: 2ND REPORT CAL.
• Apr 18, 2012: 1ST REPORT CAL.511
• Mar 20, 2012: REPORTED AND COMMITTED TO FINANCE
• Mar 14, 2012: PRINT NUMBER 528A
• Mar 14, 2012: AMEND AND RECOMMIT TO CODES
• Jan 4, 2012: REFERRED TO CODES
• Jan 4, 2012: returned to senate
• Jan 4, 2012: died in assembly
• Jun 21, 2011: referred to judiciary
• Jun 21, 2011: DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY
• Jun 21, 2011: PASSED SENATE
• Jun 14, 2011: ADVANCED TO THIRD READING
• Jun 13, 2011: 2ND REPORT CAL.
• Jun 7, 2011: 1ST REPORT CAL.1088
• May 17, 2011: REPORTED AND COMMITTED TO FINANCE
• Jan 5, 2011: REFERRED TO CODES

S528A-2011 Meetings

Codes: Mar 20, 2012, Finance: Apr 18, 2012

S528A-2011 Calendars

Active List: May 1, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Apr 19, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Apr 25, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Apr 26, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Apr 30, 2012 , Floor Calendar: May 1, 2012

S528A-2011 Votes

S528A-2011 Memo

BILL NUMBER:S528A          REVISED 04/20/12

TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend the civil rights law, in relation to verification of a name
change

PURPOSE:
To assure that individuals are not able to legally change
their names in order to evade legal process or obligation as well as
to assure that convicted violent felons and sex offenders disclose
their convictions on the name change petitions and that such persons
alert the prosecuting agency and sentencing court of their intent to
change their names.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one provides that prior to the
granting of any petition for name change, the court which the
petition is before shall take all reasonable steps necessary to
verify the information provided by the petitioner. Additionally, it
provides that the Office of Court Administration (OCA) shall
promulgate rules and regulations to give effect to the verification
requirement. Finally, OCA is authorized to create a fee schedule to
recover the cost of verification.

Section two amends Section 61 of the Civil Rights Law to assure that
even after the period of incarceration, parole or probation ends for
a violent felon or sex offender, such individual would be required to
disclose their conviction for purpose of a name change petition.

Section three amends Section 62 of the Civil Rights Law to assure that
even after the period of incarceration, parole or probation ends for
a violent felon or sex offender, such individual would be required to
provide notice of their intent to change their name to the district
attorney's office that prosecuted them as well as to the court which
sentenced them.

JUSTIFICATION:
The amount of change of name petitions in many courts
around the state is voluminous.
And in many courts, a change of name petition is viewed as a
perfunctory matter, most times granted without any effort to verify
the information provided by the petitioner. There are however myriad
circumstances under which a change of name petition is used as a
vehicle to escape legal process or obligation. The change of name,
while ultimately traceable through a paper trail, creates an
additional step for law enforcement in discovering an -individual's
original identity and legal obligation. This additional step often
times allow such individual to escape detection in ordinary
verification circumstances such as traffic stops.

Recognizing both the need to verify the identity of an individual
seeking a name change and the volume and general character of such
petitions, this bill direct the courts to take all reasonable steps
in verification and authorizes OCA to promulgate such rules and
regulations as are necessary to achieve the twin objectives of


preventing name change in undue circumstances and utilizing the
resources of the courts in an economical manner.

Additionally, this bill amends Sections 61 and 62 of the Civil Rights
Law to require that convicted violent felons and sex offenders
disclose their convictions on a name change petition and that they
provide notice to the DA's office that prosecuted them and to the
court that sentenced them of their intent to change their name. It
would further require that such individuals publish notice of their
name change, if granted, in not only the county of petition, but the
county of conviction. Under current law, these requirements only
exist when the violent felon or sex offender is incarcerated, on
parole or on probation. By extending the notice requirements to any
violent felon or sex offender, this bill recognizes the seriousness
of such a conviction, and assures that a change of name petition
includes all relevant information in order that due consideration
may be given by the petitioned court. Further, by extending the
publication requirement, it assures that communities are given due
notice of such a name change, if granted.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2011: Passed Senate (S.528/A.954A)

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the state. The cost of any verification
will be borne by the petitioner through a fee schedule created by OCA.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
180 days after it shall become law.

S528A-2011 Text

                      S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
  ________________________________________________________________________

                                   528--A

                         2011-2012 Regular Sessions

                              I N  SENATE

                                 (PREFILED)

                               January 5, 2011
                                 ___________

  Introduced  by  Sens.  FUSCHILLO, DeFRANCISCO, JOHNSON, LARKIN, LAVALLE,
    NOZZOLIO, RANZENHOFER -- read twice  and  ordered  printed,  and  when
    printed  to  be  committed to the Committee on Codes -- recommitted to
    the Committee on Codes in accordance with Senate Rule  6,  sec.  8  --
    committee  discharged,  bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
    recommitted to said committee

  AN ACT to amend the civil rights law, in relation to verification  of  a
    name change

    THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
  BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


    Section 1. The civil rights law is amended by  adding  a  new  section
  61-a to read as follows:

    S 61-A. VERIFICATION. 1. PRIOR TO THE ISSUANCE OF ANY ORDER GRANTING A
  CHANGE  OF  NAME,  THE  COURT IN WHICH THE PETITION HAS BEEN FILED SHALL
  TAKE ALL REASONABLE STEPS TO VERIFY  THE  INFORMATION  PROVIDED  BY  THE
  PETITIONER PURSUANT TO SECTION SIXTY-ONE OF THIS ARTICLE.
    2.  THE  OFFICE  OF  COURT ADMINISTRATION SHALL PROMULGATE SUCH RULES,
  REGULATIONS AND FEE SCHEDULE AS ARE NECESSARY TO IMPLEMENT THIS SECTION.
  IN PROMULGATING SUCH RULES AND REGULATIONS, THE OFFICE SHALL  TAKE  INTO
  ACCOUNT  THE  LEGISLATURE'S  INTENT  THAT THE PROCESS OF VERIFICATION AS
  DESCRIBED IN SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS SECTION SHALL BE MEANT  TO  PREVENT
  THE  PETITIONER  FROM  USING NAME CHANGE TO EVADE LEGAL PROCESS OR OBLI-
  GATION.
    S 2. Subdivision 2 of section 61 of the civil rights law,  as  amended
  by  section 54 of subpart B of part C of chapter 62 of the laws of 2011,
  is amended to read as follows:

    2. If the petitioner stands convicted of a violent felony  offense  as
  defined in section 70.02 of the penal law or a felony defined in article
  one  hundred  twenty-five of such law or any of the following provisions
  of such law sections 130.25, 130.30,  130.40,  130.45,  255.25,  255.26,

   EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                        [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                             LBD00089-02-1

 S. 528--A                           2

  255.27,  article  two  hundred  sixty-three,  SECTIONS  135.10,  135.25,
  230.05, 230.06, subdivision two of section  230.30  or  SECTION  230.32,
  [and  is currently confined as an inmate in any correctional facility or
  currently  under  the  supervision  of the department of corrections and
  community supervision or a county probation department as  a  result  of
  such  conviction,]  the  petition shall for each such conviction specify
  such felony conviction, the date of such conviction or convictions,  and
  the court in which such conviction or convictions were entered.
    S  3.  Subdivision 2 of section 62 of the civil rights law, as amended
  by section 55 of subpart B of part C of chapter 62 of the laws of  2011,
  is amended to read as follows:

    2.  If  the  petition  be  to  change  the name of a person [currently
  confined as an inmate in any correctional facility  or  currently  under
  the  supervision  of  the department of corrections and community super-
  vision or a county probation department as a result of a conviction for]
  WHO STANDS CONVICTED OF a violent felony offense as defined  in  section
  70.02  of the penal law or a felony defined in article one hundred twen-
  ty-five of such law or any of  the  following  provisions  of  such  law
  sections 130.25, 130.30, 130.40, 130.45, 255.25, 255.26, 255.27, article
  two hundred sixty-three, SECTIONS 135.10, 135.25, 230.05, 230.06, subdi-
  vision  two  of section 230.30 or SECTION 230.32, notice of the time and
  place when and where the petition will be presented shall be served,  in
  like  manner as a notice of a motion upon an attorney in an action, upon
  the district attorney of every county in  which  such  person  has  been
  convicted  of  such  felony  and  upon  the court or courts in which the
  sentence for such felony was entered. Unless a shorter period of time is
  ordered by the court,  said  notice  shall  be  served  upon  each  such
  district  attorney and court or courts not less than sixty days prior to
  the date on which such petition is noticed to be heard.
    S 4. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
  it shall have become a law.