S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                  5956

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                              June 13, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  GALLIVAN  --  (at request of the Governor) -- read
  twice and ordered printed, and when printed to  be  committed  to  the
  Committee on Rules

AN  ACT  to amend the executive law in relation to counseling for grand-
  children of homicide victims

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

  Section  1.  Paragraph b of subdivision 1 of section 624 of the execu-
tive law, as amended by chapter 233 of the laws of 2012, is  amended  to
read as follows:
  (b)  a  surviving  spouse,  grandparent, parent, stepparent, guardian,
brother, sister,  stepbrother,  stepsister,  child,  [or]  stepchild  OR
GRANDCHILD  of  a  victim of a crime who died as a direct result of such
crime;
  S 2. Subdivision 1 of section 626 of the executive law, as amended  by
section  17 of part A-1 of chapter 56 of the laws of 2010, is amended to
read as follows:
  1. Out-of-pocket  loss  shall  mean  unreimbursed  and  unreimbursable
expenses  or  indebtedness reasonably incurred for medical care or other
services necessary as a result of the injury upon which  such  claim  is
based,  including such expenses incurred as a result of the exacerbation
of a pre-existing disability or condition directly  resulting  from  the
crime  or  causally  related to the crime. Such expenses or indebtedness
shall include the cost of counseling for the eligible spouse,  grandpar-
ents,  parents, stepparents, guardians, brothers, sisters, stepbrothers,
stepsisters, children, [or] stepchildren OR GRANDCHILDREN of a  homicide
victim,  and crime victims who have sustained a personal physical injury
as the direct result of a crime and the spouse, children or stepchildren
of such physically injured victim. For the purposes of this subdivision,
the victim of a sex offense as defined in article one hundred thirty  of
the  penal  law is presumed to have suffered physical injury. Such coun-

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD12021-01-5
              

S. 5956                             2

seling may be provided by local victim service  programs,  where  avail-
able.  It  shall  also  include  the  cost  of  residing at or utilizing
services provided by shelters for battered spouses and children who  are
eligible  pursuant to subdivision two of section six hundred twenty-four
of this article, and the cost of reasonable attorneys' fees  for  repre-
sentation  before  the  office and/or before the appellate division upon
judicial review not to exceed one thousand dollars.
  S 2. This act shall take effect immediately, and apply to  all  claims
filed on or after the date it shall have become a law.