S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K ________________________________________________________________________ 7022 I N S E N A T E April 16, 2014 ___________ Introduced by Sen. NOZZOLIO -- (at request of the Office for Prevention of Domestic Violence) -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes AN ACT to amend the executive law, the social services law and the crim- inal procedure law, in relation to the New York state domestic violence fatality review team access to sealed records THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM- BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: 1 Section 1. Paragraph (h) of subdivision 10 of section 575 of the exec- 2 utive law, as added by section 3 of part A of chapter 491 of the laws of 3 2012, is amended to read as follows: 4 (h) To the extent consistent with federal law, upon request the team 5 shall be provided client-identifiable information and records necessary 6 for the investigation of a domestic violence-related death or near death 7 incident, including, but not limited to: 8 (i) records maintained by a local social services district, INCLUDING 9 BUT NOT LIMITED TO, RECORDS WHICH ARE AUTHORIZED TO BE DISCLOSED PURSU- 10 ANT TO SUBPARAGRAPH (BB) OF PARAGRAPH (A) OF SUBDIVISION FOUR OF SECTION 11 FOUR HUNDRED TWENTY-TWO, SUBPARAGRAPH (VI) OF PARAGRAPH (A) OF SUBDIVI- 12 SION FIVE OF SECTION FOUR HUNDRED TWENTY-TWO AND SUBPARAGRAPH (VIII) OF 13 PARAGRAPH (D) OF SUBDIVISION FIVE OF SECTION FOUR HUNDRED TWENTY-SEVEN-A 14 OF THE SOCIAL SERVICES LAW; 15 (ii) law enforcement records, INCLUDING RECORDS SEALED PURSUANT TO 16 SECTIONS 160.50, 160.55 AND 160.58 OF THE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE LAW, except 17 where the provision of [such] LAW ENFORCEMENT records would interfere 18 with an ongoing law enforcement investigation or identify a confidential 19 source or endanger the safety or welfare of an individual; 20 (iii) court records; 21 (iv) probation and parole records; 22 (v) records from domestic violence residential or non-residential 23 programs; 24 (vi) records from any relevant service provider, program or organiza- 25 tion; and EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD13905-01-4 S. 7022 2 1 (vii) all other relevant records in the possession of state and local 2 officials or agencies provided, however, no official or agency shall be 3 required to provide information or records concerning a person charged, 4 investigated or convicted in such death or near death in violation of 5 such person's attorney-client privilege. 6 S 2. Paragraph (i) of subdivision 10 of section 575 of the executive 7 law, as added by section 3 of part A of chapter 491 of the laws of 2012, 8 is amended to read as follows: 9 (i) Any information or records otherwise confidential [and], privi- 10 leged AND SEALED in accordance with state law which are provided to the 11 team shall remain confidential, PRIVILEGED AND SEALED as otherwise 12 provided by law. All records received, meetings conducted, reports and 13 records made and maintained and all books and papers obtained by the 14 team shall be confidential and shall not be open or made available, 15 except by court order or as set forth in paragraphs (k) and (l) of this 16 subdivision. 17 S 3. Subparagraphs (z) and (aa) of paragraph (A) of subdivision 4 of 18 section 422 of the social services law, subparagraph (z) as amended and 19 subparagraph (aa) as added by chapter 440 of the laws of 2011, are 20 amended and a new subparagraph (bb) is added to read as follows: 21 (z) an entity with appropriate legal authority in another state to 22 license, certify or otherwise approve prospective foster and adoptive 23 parents where disclosure of information regarding the prospective foster 24 or adoptive parents and other persons over the age of eighteen residing 25 in the home of such prospective parents is required by paragraph twenty 26 of subdivision (a) of section six hundred seventy-one of title forty-two 27 of the United States code; [and] 28 (aa) a social services official who is investigating whether an adult 29 is in need of protective services in accordance with the provisions of 30 section four hundred seventy-three of this chapter, when such official 31 has reasonable cause to believe such adult may be in need of protective 32 services due to the conduct of an individual or individuals who had 33 access to such adult when such adult was a child and that such reports 34 and information are needed to further the present investigation[.]; AND 35 (BB) THE FATALITY REVIEW TEAM OF THE NEW YORK STATE OFFICE FOR THE 36 PREVENTION OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE RELATING TO THOSE RECORDS SUCH TEAM IS 37 AUTHORIZED TO UTILIZE PURSUANT TO SUBPARAGRAPH (I) OF PARAGRAPH (H) OF 38 SUBDIVISION TEN OF SECTION FIVE HUNDRED SEVENTY-FIVE OF THE EXECUTIVE 39 LAW, SUBJECT TO THE CONFIDENTIALITY PROVISIONS OF PARAGRAPHS (I) AND (J) 40 OF SUCH SUBDIVISION. 41 S 4. Subparagraphs (iv) and (v) of paragraph (a) of subdivision 5 of 42 section 422 of the social services law, as amended by chapter 555 of the 43 laws of 2000, are amended and a new subparagraph (vi) is added to read 44 as follows: 45 (iv) to the subject of the report; [and] 46 (v) to a district attorney, an assistant district attorney, an inves- 47 tigator employed in the office of a district attorney, or to a sworn 48 officer of the division of state police, of a city, county, town or 49 village police department or of a county sheriff's office when such 50 official verifies that the report is necessary to conduct an active 51 investigation or prosecution of a violation of subdivision three of 52 section 240.55 of the penal law[.]; AND 53 (VI) TO THE FATALITY REVIEW TEAM OF THE NEW YORK STATE OFFICE FOR THE 54 PREVENTION OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE RELATING TO THOSE RECORDS SUCH TEAM IS 55 AUTHORIZED TO UTILIZE PURSUANT TO SUBPARAGRAPH (I) OF PARAGRAPH (H) OF 56 SUBDIVISION TEN OF SECTION FIVE HUNDRED SEVENTY-FIVE OF THE EXECUTIVE S. 7022 3 1 LAW, SUBJECT TO THE CONFIDENTIALITY PROVISIONS OF PARAGRAPHS (I) AND (J) 2 OF SUCH SUBDIVISION. 3 S 5. Subparagraphs (vi) and (vii) of paragraph (d) of subdivision 5 of 4 section 427-a of the social services law, as amended by chapter 377 of 5 the laws of 2011, are amended and a new subparagraph (viii) is added to 6 read as follows: 7 (vi) a court, but only while the family is receiving services provided 8 under the family assessment and services track and only pursuant to a 9 court order or judicial subpoena, issued after notice and an opportunity 10 for the subject of the report and all parties to the present proceeding 11 to be heard, based on a judicial finding that such reports, records, and 12 any information concerning such reports and records, are necessary for 13 the determination of an issue before the court. Such reports, records 14 and information to be disclosed pursuant to a judicial subpoena shall be 15 submitted to the court for inspection and for such directions as may be 16 necessary to protect confidentiality, including but not limited to 17 redaction of portions of the reports, records, and information and to 18 determine any further limits on redisclosure in addition to the limita- 19 tions provided for in this title. A court shall not have access to the 20 sealed family assessment and services reports, records, and any informa- 21 tion concerning such reports and records, after the conclusion of 22 services provided under the family assessment and services track; [and] 23 (vii) the subject of the report included in the records of the family 24 assessment and services track[.]; AND 25 (VIII) THE FATALITY REVIEW TEAM OF THE NEW YORK STATE OFFICE FOR THE 26 PREVENTION OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE RELATING TO THOSE RECORDS SUCH TEAM IS 27 AUTHORIZED TO UTILIZE PURSUANT TO SUBPARAGRAPH (I) OF PARAGRAPH (H) OF 28 SUBDIVISION TEN OF SECTION FIVE HUNDRED SEVENTY-FIVE OF THE EXECUTIVE 29 LAW, SUBJECT TO THE CONFIDENTIALITY PROVISIONS OF PARAGRAPHS (I) AND (J) 30 OF SUCH SUBDIVISION. 31 S 6. Paragraph (d) of subdivision 1 of section 160.50 of the criminal 32 procedure law, as amended by section 73 of subpart B of part C of chap- 33 ter 62 of the laws of 2011, is amended to read as follows: 34 (d) such records shall be made available to the person accused or to 35 such person's designated agent, and shall be made available to (i) a 36 prosecutor in any proceeding in which the accused has moved for an order 37 pursuant to section 170.56 or 210.46 of this chapter, or (ii) a law 38 enforcement agency upon ex parte motion in any superior court, if such 39 agency demonstrates to the satisfaction of the court that justice 40 requires that such records be made available to it, or (iii) any state 41 or local officer or agency with responsibility for the issuance of 42 licenses to possess guns, when the accused has made application for such 43 a license, or (iv) the New York state department of corrections and 44 community supervision when the accused is on parole supervision as a 45 result of conditional release or a parole release granted by the New 46 York state board of parole, and the arrest which is the subject of the 47 inquiry is one which occurred while the accused was under such super- 48 vision or (v) any prospective employer of a police officer or peace 49 officer as those terms are defined in subdivisions thirty-three and 50 thirty-four of section 1.20 of this chapter, in relation to an applica- 51 tion for employment as a police officer or peace officer; provided, 52 however, that every person who is an applicant for the position of 53 police officer or peace officer shall be furnished with a copy of all 54 records obtained under this paragraph and afforded an opportunity to 55 make an explanation thereto, or (vi) the probation department responsi- 56 ble for supervision of the accused when the arrest which is the subject S. 7022 4 1 of the inquiry is one which occurred while the accused was under such 2 supervision, OR (VII) THE FATALITY REVIEW TEAM OF THE NEW YORK STATE 3 OFFICE FOR THE PREVENTION OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE RELATING TO THOSE RECORDS 4 SUCH TEAM IS AUTHORIZED TO UTILIZE PURSUANT TO SUBPARAGRAPH (II) OF 5 PARAGRAPH (H) OF SUBDIVISION TEN OF SECTION FIVE HUNDRED SEVENTY-FIVE OF 6 THE EXECUTIVE LAW, SUBJECT TO THE CONFIDENTIALITY PROVISIONS OF PARA- 7 GRAPHS (I) AND (J) OF SUCH SUBDIVISION; and 8 S 7. Paragraph (d) of subdivision 1 of section 160.55 of the criminal 9 procedure law, as amended by section 74 of subpart B of part C of chap- 10 ter 62 of the laws of 2011, is amended to read as follows: 11 (d) the records referred to in paragraph (c) of this subdivision shall 12 be made available to the person accused or to such person's designated 13 agent, and shall be made available to (i) a prosecutor in any proceeding 14 in which the accused has moved for an order pursuant to section 170.56 15 or 210.46 of this chapter, or (ii) a law enforcement agency upon ex 16 parte motion in any superior court, if such agency demonstrates to the 17 satisfaction of the court that justice requires that such records be 18 made available to it, or (iii) any state or local officer or agency with 19 responsibility for the issuance of licenses to possess guns, when the 20 accused has made application for such a license, or (iv) the New York 21 state department of corrections and community supervision when the 22 accused is under parole supervision as a result of conditional release 23 or parole release granted by the New York state board of parole and the 24 arrest which is the subject of the inquiry is one which occurred while 25 the accused was under such supervision, or (v) the probation department 26 responsible for supervision of the accused when the arrest which is the 27 subject of the inquiry is one which occurred while the accused was under 28 such supervision, or (vi) a police agency, probation department, sher- 29 iff's office, district attorney's office, department of correction of 30 any municipality and parole department, for law enforcement purposes, 31 upon arrest in instances in which the individual stands convicted of 32 harassment in the second degree, as defined in section 240.26 of the 33 penal law, committed against a member of the same family or household as 34 the defendant, as defined in subdivision one of section 530.11 of this 35 chapter, and determined pursuant to subdivision eight-a of section 36 170.10 of this title, OR (VII) THE FATALITY REVIEW TEAM OF THE NEW YORK 37 STATE OFFICE FOR THE PREVENTION OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE RELATING TO THOSE 38 RECORDS SUCH TEAM IS AUTHORIZED TO UTILIZE PURSUANT TO SUBPARAGRAPH (II) 39 OF PARAGRAPH (H) OF SUBDIVISION TEN OF SECTION FIVE HUNDRED SEVENTY-FIVE 40 OF THE EXECUTIVE LAW, SUBJECT TO THE CONFIDENTIALITY PROVISIONS OF PARA- 41 GRAPHS (I) AND (J) OF SUCH SUBDIVISION; and 42 S 8. Subdivision 6 of section 160.58 of the criminal procedure law, as 43 added by section 3 of part AAA of chapter 56 of the laws of 2009, is 44 amended to read as follows: 45 6. Records sealed pursuant to this subdivision shall be made available 46 to: 47 (a) the defendant or the defendant's designated agent; 48 (b) qualified agencies, as defined in subdivision nine of section 49 eight hundred thirty-five of the executive law, and federal and state 50 law enforcement agencies, when acting within the scope of their law 51 enforcement duties; or 52 (c) any state or local officer or agency with responsibility for the 53 issuance of licenses to possess guns, when the person has made applica- 54 tion for such a license; or 55 (d) any prospective employer of a police officer or peace officer as 56 those terms are defined in subdivisions thirty-three and thirty-four of S. 7022 5 1 section 1.20 of this chapter, in relation to an application for employ- 2 ment as a police officer or peace officer; provided, however, that every 3 person who is an applicant for the position of police officer or peace 4 officer shall be furnished with a copy of all records obtained under 5 this paragraph and afforded an opportunity to make an explanation there- 6 to[.]; OR 7 (E) THE FATALITY REVIEW TEAM OF THE NEW YORK STATE OFFICE FOR THE 8 PREVENTION OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE RELATING TO THOSE RECORDS SUCH TEAM IS 9 AUTHORIZED TO UTILIZE PURSUANT TO SUBPARAGRAPH (II) OF PARAGRAPH (H) OF 10 SUBDIVISION TEN OF SECTION FIVE HUNDRED SEVENTY-FIVE OF THE EXECUTIVE 11 LAW, SUBJECT TO THE CONFIDENTIALITY PROVISIONS OF PARAGRAPHS (I) AND (J) 12 OF SUCH SUBDIVISION. 13 S 9. This act shall take effect immediately.