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A06026 Summary:

BILL NOA06026
 
SAME ASSAME AS S06288
 
SPONSORCunningham
 
COSPNSRBeephan, Dickens, Zebrowski, Taylor, Gunther, Burdick, Conrad, Clark, Sillitti, Sayegh, Anderson, Vanel, Wallace, Fall, Ardila, McMahon, Santabarbara, Eachus, Shimsky, Tapia, Hevesi, Simon, Aubry, Buttenschon, Alvarez, De Los Santos, Gibbs, Lucas, Jacobson, Meeks, Barrett, Raga, Novakhov, Bendett, Durso, Gandolfo, McDonough, Tague, Slater, Morinello, DiPietro, Simpson, Brown E, Mikulin, Gray, McGowan, Maher, Flood, Miller, Hawley, Angelino, Blumencranz, Brabenec, DeStefano, Chang, Simone, Weprin, Kelles, Dinowitz, Levenberg, Tannousis, McDonald
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Amd §812, Fam Ct Act; amd §530.11, CP L
 
Enacts "Melanie's law"; relates to orders of protection; allows courts to issue orders of protection for immediate family members or household members of the named victims, regardless of age.
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A06026 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A6026
 
SPONSOR: Cunningham
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the family court act and the criminal procedure law, in relation to orders of protection   PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: To enact "Melanie's law"; to allow courts to issue orders of protection for immediate family members or household members of the named victims, regardless of age.   SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: Section 1 provides for the short title of this act, which shall be known and may be cited as "Melanie's Law." Section 2 amends the family court act to expand the definition of "members of the same family or household" to include persons who are related by consanguinity or affinity to parties who are or have been in an intimate relationship. Section 3 amends the criminal procedure law to expand the definition of "members of the same family or household" to include persons who are related by consanguinity or affinity to parties who are or have been in an intimate relationship. Section 4 provides for an immediate effective date.   DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION (IF APPLICABLE): N/A   JUSTIFICATION: Melanie Chianese, a resident of Wappinger, NY, was a loving mother to her son, and was working toward her degree in alcohol and substance abuse counseling when her life was tragically taken by her mother's ex-boyfriend while he was under supervised release pending sentence alter pleading guilty to a domestic violence felony. The perpetrator had a record of domestic violence allegations and an order of protection was issued for Melanie's mother and her own son. However, as Melanie was not an immediate family member and did not have an intimate relationship with the perpetrator, and because she was not a minor, the order of protection that was requested for Melanie had been denied by the court. This oversight in the law prevents close family members of those receiv- ing a protective order from being protected themselves. It is imperative that such loopholes do not continue to prevent others from getting the protection they need; and this legislation would address that by expand- ing the definition of "members of the same family or household" in the Family Court Act and Criminal Procedure Law, to include persons who are related by consanguinity or affinity to parties who are or have been in an intimate relationship. The risks posed by offenders do not strictly follow statutory definitions, nor do they disappear when a potential victim turns 18. By providing a more comprehensive scope of who may be covered by an order of protection, this legislation can help prevent Melanie's tragedy from being repeated. This act is named after Melanie to honor her passion for helping others during her life in hopes that her story can inspire needed change and save lives.   PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 2021-22: 59545 - Referred to Rules   FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS: None.   EFFECTIVE DATE: Immediately.
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A06026 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          6026
 
                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                     March 30, 2023
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by M. of A. CUNNINGHAM, BEEPHAN -- read once and referred to
          the Committee on Judiciary
 
        AN ACT to amend the family court act and the criminal procedure law,  in
          relation to orders of protection
 
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. This act shall be known and  may  be  cited  as  "Melanie's
     2  law".
     3    §  2. Subdivision 1 of section 812 of the family court act, as amended
     4  by chapter 326 of the laws of 2008, the opening paragraph as amended  by
     5  chapter 109 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
     6    1.  Jurisdiction.  The family court and the criminal courts shall have
     7  concurrent jurisdiction over any proceeding concerning acts which  would
     8  constitute  disorderly conduct, unlawful dissemination or publication of
     9  an intimate image, harassment in the first  degree,  harassment  in  the
    10  second  degree,  aggravated  harassment  in  the  second  degree, sexual
    11  misconduct, forcible touching, sexual abuse in the third degree,  sexual
    12  abuse  in  the  second degree as set forth in subdivision one of section
    13  130.60 of the penal law, stalking in the first degree, stalking  in  the
    14  second  degree,  stalking  in  the  third degree, stalking in the fourth
    15  degree, criminal mischief, menacing in the second  degree,  menacing  in
    16  the third degree, reckless endangerment, criminal obstruction of breath-
    17  ing or blood circulation, strangulation in the second degree, strangula-
    18  tion  in  the first degree, assault in the second degree, assault in the
    19  third degree, an attempted assault, identity theft in the first  degree,
    20  identity theft in the second degree, identity theft in the third degree,
    21  grand  larceny  in the fourth degree, grand larceny in the third degree,
    22  coercion in the second degree or coercion in the  third  degree  as  set
    23  forth  in subdivisions one, two and three of section 135.60 of the penal
    24  law between spouses or former spouses, or between parent  and  child  or
    25  between  members  of  the  same  family  or household except that if the

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04914-01-3

        A. 6026                             2
 
     1  respondent would not be criminally responsible by reason of age pursuant
     2  to section 30.00 of the penal law, then  the  family  court  shall  have
     3  exclusive   jurisdiction   over   such   proceeding.  Notwithstanding  a
     4  complainant's  election  to  proceed in family court, the criminal court
     5  shall not be divested of jurisdiction to hear a family offense  proceed-
     6  ing  pursuant  to this section. In any proceeding pursuant to this arti-
     7  cle, a court shall not deny an order of protection, or dismiss  a  peti-
     8  tion,  solely  on  the  basis  that  the  acts or events alleged are not
     9  relatively contemporaneous with the date of the petition, the conclusion
    10  of the fact-finding or the conclusion of the dispositional hearing.  For
    11  purposes  of  this  article,  "disorderly  conduct"  includes disorderly
    12  conduct not in a public place. For purposes of this article, "members of
    13  the same family or household" shall mean the following:
    14    (a) persons related by consanguinity or affinity;
    15    (b) persons legally married to one another;
    16    (c) persons formerly married to one another regardless of whether they
    17  still reside in the same household;
    18    (d) persons who have a child in  common  regardless  of  whether  such
    19  persons have been married or have lived together at any time; [and]
    20    (e)  persons  who are not related by consanguinity or affinity and who
    21  are or have been in an intimate relationship regardless of whether  such
    22  persons  have lived together at any time. Factors the court may consider
    23  in determining whether a  relationship  is  an  "intimate  relationship"
    24  include  but  are  not  limited  to: the nature or type of relationship,
    25  regardless of whether the relationship is sexual in nature; the frequen-
    26  cy of interaction between the persons; and the duration of the relation-
    27  ship. Neither a casual acquaintance nor ordinary fraternization  between
    28  two  individuals  in  business  or  social  contexts  shall be deemed to
    29  constitute an "intimate relationship"; and
    30    (f) persons who are related by consanguinity or  affinity  to  parties
    31  who are or have been in an intimate relationship as defined in paragraph
    32  (e) of this subdivision.
    33    § 3. Subdivision 1 of section 530.11 of the criminal procedure law, as
    34  amended  by  chapter  326  of the laws of 2008, the opening paragraph as
    35  amended by chapter 109 of the laws  of  2019,  is  amended  to  read  as
    36  follows:
    37    1.  Jurisdiction.  The family court and the criminal courts shall have
    38  concurrent jurisdiction over any proceeding concerning acts which  would
    39  constitute  disorderly conduct, unlawful dissemination or publication of
    40  an intimate image, harassment in the first  degree,  harassment  in  the
    41  second  degree,  aggravated  harassment  in  the  second  degree, sexual
    42  misconduct, forcible touching, sexual abuse in the third degree,  sexual
    43  abuse  in  the  second degree as set forth in subdivision one of section
    44  130.60 of the penal law, stalking in the first degree, stalking  in  the
    45  second  degree,  stalking  in  the  third degree, stalking in the fourth
    46  degree, criminal mischief, menacing in the second  degree,  menacing  in
    47  the  third  degree,  reckless  endangerment,  strangulation in the first
    48  degree, strangulation in the  second  degree,  criminal  obstruction  of
    49  breathing or blood circulation, assault in the second degree, assault in
    50  the  third  degree,  an  attempted  assault, identity theft in the first
    51  degree, identity theft in the second degree, identity theft in the third
    52  degree, grand larceny in the fourth degree, grand larceny in  the  third
    53  degree, coercion in the second degree or coercion in the third degree as
    54  set  forth  in  subdivisions one, two and three of section 135.60 of the
    55  penal law between spouses or former spouses, or between parent and child
    56  or between members of the same family or household except  that  if  the

        A. 6026                             3
 
     1  respondent would not be criminally responsible by reason of age pursuant
     2  to  section  30.00  of  the  penal law, then the family court shall have
     3  exclusive  jurisdiction  over   such   proceeding.   Notwithstanding   a
     4  complainant's  election  to  proceed in family court, the criminal court
     5  shall not be divested of jurisdiction to hear a family offense  proceed-
     6  ing  pursuant to this section. For purposes of this section, "disorderly
     7  conduct" includes disorderly  conduct  not  in  a  public  place.    For
     8  purposes of this section, "members of the same family or household" with
     9  respect to a proceeding in the criminal courts shall mean the following:
    10    (a) persons related by consanguinity or affinity;
    11    (b) persons legally married to one another;
    12    (c) persons formerly married to one another regardless of whether they
    13  still reside in the same household;
    14    (d)  persons  who  have  a child in common, regardless of whether such
    15  persons have been married or have lived together at any time; [and]
    16    (e) persons who are not related by consanguinity or affinity  and  who
    17  are  or have been in an intimate relationship regardless of whether such
    18  persons have lived together at any time. Factors the court may  consider
    19  in  determining  whether  a  relationship  is an "intimate relationship"
    20  include but are not limited to: the  nature  or  type  of  relationship,
    21  regardless of whether the relationship is sexual in nature; the frequen-
    22  cy of interaction between the persons; and the duration of the relation-
    23  ship.  Neither a casual acquaintance nor ordinary fraternization between
    24  two individuals in business  or  social  contexts  shall  be  deemed  to
    25  constitute an "intimate relationship"; and
    26    (f)  persons  who  are related by consanguinity or affinity to parties
    27  who are or have been in an intimate relationship as defined in paragraph
    28  (e) of this subdivision.
    29    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
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