Bill Text: NY A10865 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes the Community Violence Intervention and Prevention Act; provides findings for evidence-based and evidence-informed health programs from hospital-based and community-based programs; makes an appropriation therefor.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-07-24 - referred to health [A10865 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-A10865-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 10865 IN ASSEMBLY July 24, 2020 ___________ Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Richardson) -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health AN ACT to amend the public health law and the state finance law, in relation to the community violence intervention and prevention act; to repeal certain provisions of the public health law relating thereto; and making an appropriation therefor The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "community violence intervention and prevention act". 3 § 2. Title 3 of article 25 of the public health law is REPEALED and a 4 new title 3 is added to read as follows: 5 TITLE III 6 COMMUNITY VIOLENCE INTERVENTION AND PREVENTION ACT 7 Section 2560. Legislative findings. 8 2561. Definitions. 9 2562. Community violence intervention and prevention grants. 10 § 2560. Legislative findings. The legislature hereby finds and 11 declares that gun violence and other forms of violence constitute a 12 crisis that poses a serious threat to the health and quality of life of 13 all residents of the state of New York. An epidemic of violence is tear- 14 ing at the fabric of life in many urban areas. The legislature further 15 finds that funds from the Victims of Crime Act should be used to support 16 hospital based violence intervention programs and community based 17 violence intervention programs. 18 § 2561. Definitions. For the purposes of this title, the following 19 terms shall have the following meanings: 20 1. "Evidence-based health program" means a program or an initiative 21 that: 22 (a) is developed and evaluated through scientific research and data 23 collection; 24 (b) uses public health principles that demonstrate measurable positive 25 outcomes in preventing gun violence; and 26 (c) is implemented by a nonprofit organization or public agency. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD15721-01-0A. 10865 2 1 2. "Evidence-informed health program" means a program, an approach, or 2 an initiative that is: 3 (a) based on public health principles; 4 (b) capable of being studied and evaluated through research and data 5 collection; 6 (c) for the purpose of reducing gun violence; 7 (d) directed to influence factors determined to affect gun violence; 8 and 9 (e) implemented by a nonprofit organization or public agency. 10 3. "Hospital-based violence intervention program" means a violence 11 intervention program that: 12 (a) is operated by: 13 (i) a hospital; or 14 (ii) an individual or entity in collaboration with a hospital; and 15 (b) provides intensive counseling, case management, and social 16 services to individuals who are recovering from injuries resulting from 17 violence or who have committed acts of violence or who were witnesses to 18 acts of violence. 19 4. "Community-based violence intervention program" means a violence 20 intervention program that is operated by: 21 (a) a nonprofit organization; and 22 (b) provides intensive counseling, case management, and social 23 services to individuals who are recovering from injuries resulting from 24 violence or who have committed acts of violence or who were witnesses to 25 acts of violence. 26 5. "Director" shall mean the head of the office of victim services as 27 set forth by section six hundred twenty-two of the executive law. 28 6. "Crime" shall mean: 29 (a) an act committed in New York state which would, if committed by a 30 mentally competent criminally responsible adult, who has no legal 31 exemption or defense, constitute a crime as defined in and proscribed by 32 law; or 33 (b) an act committed outside the state of New York against a resident 34 of the state of New York which would be compensable had it occurred 35 within the state of New York and which occurred in a state which does 36 not have an eligible crime victim compensation program as such term is 37 defined in the federal Victims of Crime Act of 1984; or 38 (c) an act of terrorism, as defined in section 2331 of title 18, 39 United States Code, committed outside of the United States against a 40 resident of New York state. 41 7. "Elderly victim" shall mean a person sixty years of age or older 42 who suffers loss or damage as a direct result of a crime. 43 § 2562. Community violence intervention and prevention grants. 1. The 44 victim and witness assistance unit (grants unit) of the office of victim 45 services, through the director, shall make grants to provide funds for 46 hospital-based violence intervention programs and community-based 47 violence intervention programs, from the violence intervention and 48 prevention fund established by section ninety-seven-bbbbb of the state 49 finance law, to provide services to crime victims, perpetrators of 50 crimes of violence and witnesses. 51 2. Such violence intervention programs shall be operated by hospitals 52 and at the community level by not-for-profit organizations. 53 3. The director shall promulgate regulations, relating to these 54 grants, including guidelines for its determinations. 55 (a) These regulations shall be designed to promote:A. 10865 3 1 (i) alternative funding sources other than the state, including local 2 government and private sources as well as funding from the federal 3 Victims of Crime Act of 1984; 4 (ii) coordination of public and private efforts to aid individuals who 5 are recovering from injuries resulting from violence or who have commit- 6 ted acts of violence or who were witnesses to acts of violence; and 7 (iii) long range development of services to victims of violent crimes 8 in the community, to perpetrators of violent crimes and to witnesses of 9 violent crimes involved in criminal prosecutions. 10 (b) These regulations shall also provide for: 11 (i) clearly defined and measurable objectives; 12 (ii) evidence that the proposed evidence-based health programs or 13 evidence-informed health programs would likely reduce gun violence; 14 (iii) a description of how the local government or nonprofit organiza- 15 tion proposes to use the funding to reduce rates of gun violence by: 16 (A) establishing or enhancing evidence-based health programs or 17 evidence-informed health programs; 18 (B) enhancing coordination of existing violence intervention and 19 prevention programs, if any, to minimize duplication of services; and 20 (C) a plan for the collection of relevant data; and 21 (iv) outreach to the community and education and training of law 22 enforcement and other criminal justice officials to the needs of victims 23 of violent crimes in the community, to perpetrators of violent crimes 24 and to witnesses of violent crimes involved in criminal prosecutions. 25 § 3. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 97-bbbbb 26 to read as follows: 27 § 97-bbbbb. Violence intervention and prevention fund. 1. There is 28 hereby established in the custody of the director of the office of 29 victim services a fund to be known as the "violence intervention and 30 prevention fund". 31 2. Such fund shall consist of all monies appropriated, credited, or 32 transferred thereto from any other fund or source pursuant to law. 33 3. Monies of the fund shall be expended only: 34 (a) pursuant to title three of article twenty-five of the public 35 health law; 36 (b) to support effective violence reduction strategies by providing 37 grants to local governments and nonprofit organizations to fund 38 evidence-based health programs or evidence-informed health programs; 39 (c) for the evaluation of the efficacy of evidence-based health 40 programs or evidence-informed health programs awarded grants through the 41 fund; and 42 (d) for administrative costs associated with: 43 (i) oversight of the fund; 44 (ii) public outreach and education about the fund; and 45 (iii) technical assistance and best practice education for grantees. 46 4. Monies shall be payable from the fund on the audit and warrant of 47 the comptroller on vouchers approved and certified by the director of 48 the office of victim services. 49 § 4. The sum of ten million dollars ($10,000,000) or ten percent of 50 the monies from grants under the federal Victims of Crime Act of 1984, 51 whichever is greater, is hereby annually appropriated to the violence 52 intervention and prevention fund as established by section 97-bbbbb of 53 the state finance law out of any monies in the state treasury in the 54 general fund to the credit of the state purposes account, not otherwise 55 appropriated, and made immediately available, for the purpose of carry- 56 ing out the provisions of this act. Such monies shall be payable on theA. 10865 4 1 audit and warrant of the comptroller on vouchers certified or approved 2 by the director of the office of victim services in the manner 3 prescribed by law. 4 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
