New York A 3558: Enacts the "child survivor privacy act"

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A03558 Summary:

BILL NOA03558 

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SAME ASSAME AS S00022

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SPONSORSantabarbara

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COSPNSRSchiavoni

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MLTSPNSR

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Add Art 66 §66.00, amd §65.00, CP L; amd §642-a, Exec L

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Enacts the "child survivor privacy act"; provides protections for child victims and child witnesses; restricts information to the public regarding a child witness or child victim's identity or proceeding; defines child witness; provides that whenever practical, the same prosecutor, advocate, and/or social worker shall handle all aspects of a case involving an alleged child victim.

Go to top A03558 Actions:

BILL NOA03558 

&nbsp

01/28/2025referred to codes

01/07/2026referred to codes

Go to topA03558 Committee&nbspVotes:

Go to topA03558 Floor&nbspVotes:

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

Go to topA03558 Text:

 STATE OF NEW YORK
 ________________________________________________________________________

 3558

 2025-2026 Regular Sessions

 IN ASSEMBLY

 January 28, 2025
 ___________

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

 AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law and the executive law, in
 relation to enacting the "child survivor privacy act"

 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 the "child
 2 survivor privacy act".
 3 § 2. The criminal procedure law is amended by adding a new article 66
 4 to read as follows:
 5 ARTICLE 66
 6 PROTECTIONS FOR CHILD VICTIMS AND CHILD WITNESSES

 7 Section 66.00 Protections for child victims and child witnesses.
 8 § 66.00 Protections for child victims and child witnesses.
 9 1. The records of any proceeding in the criminal court involving a
 10 child victim and/or child witness shall not be open to indiscriminate
 11 public inspection. Provided, however, the court in its discretion in any
 12 case may permit the inspection of any papers or records. Any duly
 13 authorized agency, association, society or institution to which a child
 14 is committed may cause an inspection of the record of investigation to
 15 be had and may in the discretion of the court obtain a copy of the whole
 16 or part of such record.
 17 2. Any criminal proceeding where the victim is a child shall be a
 18 closed proceeding upon request made by the child victim and/or such
 19 child victim's parent, guardian, or advocate. For purposes of this
 20 section, "closed proceeding" means that court records may not be
 21 perused, examined, disclosed, taken or copied by any other person than a
 22 party, the attorney or counsel of a party, the guardian, the court eval-
 23 uator or the court examiner except by order of the court.

 EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD00175-01-5

 A. 3558 2

 1 3. The identity of the child victim shall be made anonymous throughout
 2 the proceeding unless a request is made to identify the child victim.
 3 Such request may be made by the child victim, and/or such child victim's
 4 parent, guardian, or advocate.
 5 4. No audio-visual coverage shall be permitted in a criminal proceed-
 6 ing in which there is a child victim of a crime, or the child victim is
 7 a child witness as such term is defined in section 65.00 of this title,
 8 or vulnerable as such term is defined in section 65.10 of the this
 9 title.
 10 § 3. Subdivision 1 of section 65.00 of the criminal procedure law, as
 11 amended by chapter 320 of the laws of 2006, is amended to read as
 12 follows:
 13 1. "Child witness" means a person fourteen years old or less who is or
 14 will be called to testify in a criminal proceeding, other than a grand
 15 jury proceeding, concerning an offense defined in article one hundred
 16 thirty of the penal law or section 255.25, 255.26 or 255.27 of such law
 17 which is the subject of such criminal proceeding, or a person eighteen
 18 years of age or less who is the victim of any crime and who is or will
 19 be called to testify in a criminal proceeding.
 20 § 4. Section 642-a of the executive law, as added by chapter 263 of
 21 the laws of 1986, the section heading and subdivision 1 as amended by
 22 chapter 574 of the laws of 2008, is amended