New York A 6863: Establishes an alternative resolution program for service members and veterans accused of certain felonies

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A06863 Summary:

BILL NOA06863 

&nbsp

SAME ASSAME AS S01192

&nbsp

SPONSORCook

&nbsp

COSPNSR

&nbsp

MLTSPNSR

&nbsp

Add Title I Art 217 §§217.00 - 217.10, amd §390.30, CP L

&nbsp

Establishes an alternative resolution program for service members and veterans accused of certain felonies.

Go to top A06863 Actions:

BILL NOA06863 

&nbsp

03/14/2025referred to codes

01/07/2026referred to codes

Go to topA06863 Committee&nbspVotes:

Go to topA06863 Floor&nbspVotes:

There are no Assembly votes for this bill in this legislative session.

Go to topA06863 Text:

 STATE OF NEW YORK
 ________________________________________________________________________

 6863

 2025-2026 Regular Sessions

 IN ASSEMBLY

 March 14, 2025
 ___________

 Introduced by M. of A. COOK -- read once and referred to the Committee
 on Codes

 AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to establishing
 an alternative resolution program for service members and veterans
 accused of certain felonies

 The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
 bly, do enact as follows:

 1 Section 1. Title I of the criminal procedure law is amended by adding
 2 a new article 217 to read as follows:
 3 ARTICLE 217
 4 JUSTICE FOR OUR VETERANS ACT
 5 Section 217.00 Legislative findings and declarations.
 6 217.05 Definitions.
 7 217.10 Alternative resolution program; court procedures.
 8 § 217.00 Legislative findings and declarations.
 9 The legislature finds that an increasing number of New York state
 10 veterans and service members suffer from serious trauma as a result of
 11 their military service, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, traumat-
 12 ic brain injury and other mental or physical impairments or illnesses.
 13 Studies have found that many are not receiving treatment. The devastat-
 14 ing consequences of war are harming the mental and physical health of a
 15 growing number of service members, returning veterans and their fami-
 16 lies.
 17 A national study, Invisible Wounds of War, by RAND Corporation in 2008
 18 found one in five veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan reported
 19 symptoms of PTSD or major depression. Researchers also found serious
 20 treatment gaps with only 53% of veterans with symptoms of mental health
 21 conditions seeking help, and of those who sought care, roughly half
 22 received minimally adequate treatment. In New York state, A Needs
 23 Assessment of New York State Veterans 2011 study by RAND Corporation and
 24 the New York State Health Foundation found an estimated 85,000 veterans

 EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD02976-01-5

 A. 6863 2

 1 returning home since 2001 have an unusually high rate of mental health
 2 problems. This study found nearly one in four New York state veterans
 3 had a probable diagnosis of PTSD and/or major depression. A follow up
 4 2011 report by the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, New York's
 5 Newest Veterans: Key Findings and Policy Implications of the RAND Corpo-
 6 ration's Needs Assessment of New York State Veterans recommended a poli-
 7 cy "to successfully execute an alternative sentencing program for veter-
 8 ans whose crimes stem from service-related injuries."
 9 The individuals who served and sacrificed for our country frequently
 10 come home to a new frontline of indifference when suffering from a
 11 mental or physical illness or injury. Untreated veterans who then commit
 12 a crime are lost in the criminal justice system. There is no statewide
 13 mechanism to identify veterans, and many are sentenced by courts unaware
 14 of their status, let alone if they have an untreated mental or physical
 15 health condition that caused or contributed to their criminal act. The
 16 individuals who put their lives on the line for America's freedom
 17 deserve any needed support upon returning home. Accordingly, the legis-
 18 lature finds that our laws must be strengthened to ensure untreated
 19 service members and veterans with mental or physical health ailments,
 20 the most vulnerable of our returning warriors, receive treatment and an
 21 alternative resolution process in the criminal justice system. The
 22 legislature hereby declares that a just and humanitarian criminal
 23 justice