2023 New York Laws › EXC - Executive › Article 22 - Office of Victim Services › 621 - Definitions.

§ 621. Definitions. For the purposes of this article:
1. "Office" shall mean the office of victim services.
2.  "Claimant"  shall  mean the person filing a claim pursuant to this
article.
3. "Crime" shall mean * (a) an act committed in New York  state  which
would,  if  committed  by  a  mentally  competent criminally responsible
adult, who has no legal exemption or  defense,  constitute  a  crime  as
defined in and proscribed by law; or
* NB Effective until December 31, 2025
* (a)  an act committed in New York state which would, if committed by
a mentally competent criminally responsible  adult,  who  has  no  legal
exemption or defense, constitute a crime as defined in and proscribed by
law,   regardless   of   whether  any  suspect  was  arrested,  charged,
apprehended or prosecuted for the commission of the act or  whether  the
claimant  has  interacted  with  a criminal justice agency investigating
such act; or
* NB Effective December 31, 2025
(b) an act committed outside the state of New York against a  resident
of  the  state  of  New  York which would be compensable had it occurred
within the state of New York and which occurred in a  state  which  does
not  have  an eligible crime victim compensation program as such term is
defined in the federal victims of crime act of 1984; or
(c) an act of terrorism, as defined  in  section  2331  of  title  18,
United  States  Code,  committed  outside of the United States against a
resident of New York state.
4. "Family", when used with reference to a person, shall mean (a)  any
person  related  to such person within the third degree of consanguinity
or affinity, (b) any person maintaining a sexual relationship with  such
person,  or  (c)  any  person  residing  in the same household with such
person.
5. "Victim" shall mean (a) a  person  who  suffers  personal  physical
injury  as a direct result of a crime; (b) a person who is the victim of
either the crime of (1) unlawful imprisonment in  the  first  degree  as
defined in section 135.10 of the penal law, (2) kidnapping in the second
degree  as defined in section 135.20 of the penal law, (3) kidnapping in
the first degree as defined in section 135.25  of  the  penal  law,  (4)
menacing  in  the first degree as defined in section 120.13 of the penal
law, (5) criminal obstruction  of  breathing  or  blood  circulation  as
defined in section 121.11 of the penal law, (6) harassment in the second
degree  as defined in section 240.26 of the penal law, (7) harassment in
the first degree as defined in section 240.25  of  the  penal  law,  (8)
aggravated  harassment  in  the  second degree as defined in subdivision
three or five of  section  240.30  of  the  penal  law,  (9)  aggravated
harassment  in the first degree as defined in subdivision two of section
240.31 of the penal law, (10) criminal contempt in the first  degree  as
defined  in  subdivision (b) or subdivision (c) of section 215.51 of the
penal law, (11) stalking in the fourth, third, second or first degree as
defined in sections 120.45, 120.50, 120.55 and 120.60 of the penal  law,
(12)  labor  trafficking  as defined in section 135.35 of the penal law,
(13) sex trafficking as defined in section 230.34 of the penal  law;  or
(14)  sex  trafficking  of a child as defined in section 230.34-a of the
penal law; a vulnerable elderly person or an incompetent  or  physically
disabled person as defined in section 260.31 of the penal law who incurs
a loss of savings as defined in subdivision twenty-four of this section;
or a person who has had a frivolous lawsuit filed against them.
6.  "Representative"  shall  mean  one who represents or stands in the
place of another person, including but  not  limited  to  an  agent,  an
assignee,  an  attorney,  a  guardian,  a  committee,  a  conservator, a

partner, a receiver, an administrator, an executor or an heir of another
person, or a parent of a minor.
7.  "Good  samaritan"  shall  mean  a  person  who,  other  than a law
enforcement officer, acts in good faith (a) to apprehend  a  person  who
has  committed  a  crime  in his presence or who has in fact committed a
felony, (b) to prevent a crime or an attempted crime from occurring,  or
(c) to aid a law enforcement officer in effecting an arrest.
8.  "Essential  personal  property"  shall  mean  articles of personal
property necessary and essential to the health, welfare or safety of the
victim.
9. "Elderly victim" shall mean a person sixty years of  age  or  older
who suffers loss, or damage as a direct result of a crime.
10. "Disabled victim" shall mean a person who has (a) physical, mental
or  medical  impairment  from  anatomical, physiological or neurological
conditions which prevents the exercise of a normal bodily function or is
demonstrable by medically accepted  clinical  or  laboratory  diagnostic
techniques  or  (b)  a  record  of such an impairment or (c) a condition
regarded by others as such an impairment.
11. For purposes of this article "child victim" shall  mean  a  person
less  than  eighteen  years  of  age  who  suffers  physical,  mental or
emotional injury, or loss or damage, as a direct result of  a  crime  or
any  violation  listed  in  subdivision  twelve  of  section six hundred
thirty-one of this article, or as a result of witnessing a crime or  any
violation listed in subdivision twelve of section six hundred thirty-one
of this article.
12. "Frivolous lawsuit" shall mean a lawsuit brought by the individual
who  committed  a  crime  against  the  victim of the crime, found to be
frivolous, meritless and commenced to harass, intimidate or  menace  the
victim  by a court and costs were imposed upon the plaintiff pursuant to
section eighty-three hundred three-a  of  the  civil  practice  law  and
rules.
13. "Crime scene cleanup" shall mean removing, or attempting to remove
from  the  crime  scene,  blood,  dirt,  stains, debris, odors, or other
impurities caused by the crime or the processing of the crime scene  and
the  repair  or  replacement  of permanent fixtures and floor coverings,
soiled, damaged, or rendered unusable or uncleanable by the  crime,  the
processing of the crime scene, or by being taken into evidence.
14.  "Securing  a  crime scene" shall mean taking immediate, emergency
steps to return the residence where the crime occurred to the  level  of
safety  present prior to the crime. It shall include, but not be limited
to, the repair or replacement of doors, windows, screens  and  locks  or
other points of entry damaged or rendered unusable by the crime.
15.  "Livery"  shall  mean  a  for-hire  vehicle  duly licensed by the
appropriate local licensing authority, designed to carry  no  more  than
five  passengers  for direct cash payment by such passenger and which is
affiliated with a livery car base. The term "livery" shall not include a
vehicle driven by a "black car operator",  as  defined  in  section  one
hundred sixty-cc of this chapter.
16. "Livery car base" shall mean a central facility, wherever located,
that  dispatches  the  livery  operator  to  both  pick-up and discharge
passengers in the state.
17. "Livery operator" shall mean the registered owner of a livery,  or
a  driver  designated by such registered owner to operate the registered
owner's livery as the  registered  owner's  authorized  designee,  whose
status  as  a  livery  operator victim arose out of and in the course of
providing services while affiliated with a livery  car  base.  The  term
"livery  operator"  shall not include a "black car operator", as defined
in section one hundred sixty-cc of this chapter.
18. "Livery operator victim" shall mean  a  livery  operator  homicide
victim or a livery operator assault victim.
19.  "Livery operator assault victim" shall mean a livery operator who
is the victim of a violent felony offense, as defined in subdivision one
of section 70.02 of the penal law, which offense directly results  in  a
serious  physical injury, as defined in subdivision ten of section 10.00
of the penal law.
20. "Livery operator homicide victim" shall mean a livery operator who
is the  victim  of  a  homicide,  as  defined  in  article  one  hundred
twenty-five of the penal law.
21.  "Local licensing authority" shall mean the governmental agency in
the state, if any, that is authorized  to  license  a  livery  and/or  a
livery car base.
22.  "Financial counselling" shall mean financial services provided by
an experienced financial counsellor or adviser which  may  include,  but
are  not  limited to: analysis of a victim's financial situation such as
income producing  capacity  and  crime  related  financial  obligations,
assistance  with  restructuring budget and debt, assistance in accessing
insurance,  public  assistance  and  other   benefits,   assistance   in
completing  the  financial  aspects  of  victim  impact  statements, and
assistance in settling estates and handling guardianship matters.
23. "Relocation expenses" shall mean the cost of  relocating  a  crime
victim,  when  relocation  is  necessary for the health or safety of the
victim. An award for relocation expenses of a victim shall  include  the
reasonable  cost  of  moving  and  transportation  expenses  for (a) the
victim, which may include the relocation expenses of  their  spouse  and
any  other  person  dependent  for his or her principal support upon the
victim or spouse who lives in the same residence as the victim,  or  (b)
if  the  victim is a child victim eligible for such an award pursuant to
this article,  the  child  victim,  which  may  include  the  relocation
expenses  of  their  parent,  stepparent,  guardian and any other person
dependent for his or her principal support upon such parent, stepparent,
and guardian who lives in the same residence as the child victim.
24. "Loss of savings" shall mean the result of any act  or  series  of
acts  of  larceny  as  defined  in article one hundred fifty-five of the
penal law,  indicated  by  a  criminal  justice  agency  as  defined  in
subdivision  one  of  section six hundred thirty-one of this article, in
which cash is stolen from a vulnerable elderly person or an  incompetent
or  physically disabled person as defined in section 260.31 of the penal
law.
* 25. "Domestic partner" shall mean a  person  who,  with  respect  to
another person:
(a)  is  formally  a  party  in  a  domestic  partnership  or  similar
relationship with the other person, entered into pursuant to the laws of
the United States or of any state, local  or  foreign  jurisdiction,  or
registered as the domestic partner of the other person with any registry
maintained  by  the employer of either party or any state, municipality,
or foreign jurisdiction; or
(b) is formally recognized as a beneficiary or  covered  person  under
the other person's employment benefits or health insurance; or
(c)  is  dependent  or mutually interdependent on the other person for
support, as evidenced by the totality of the circumstances indicating  a
mutual  intent  to  be  a domestic partner including but not limited to:
common ownership or joint leasing of real or personal  property;  common
householding,  shared  income  or  shared  expenses; children in common;
signs of intent to marry or become a domestic  partner  under  paragraph
(a)  or  (b)  of  this  subdivision;  or  the  length  of  the  personal
relationship of the persons.
Each party to a domestic partnership shall be  considered  to  be  the
domestic  partner  of  the  other  party.  "Domestic  partner" shall not
include a person who is related to the other person by blood in a manner
that would bar marriage to the other person in New York state. "Domestic
partner"  also  shall  not  include any person who is less than eighteen
years of age or who is the adopted child of the other person or  who  is
related  by  blood in a manner that would bar marriage in New York state
to a person who is the lawful spouse of the other person.
* NB There are 2 sb 25's
* 25. "Employment-related  transportation  expenses"  shall  mean  the
costs  in  excess  of  those normally expended by a victim to get to and
from their places of employment, due to the personal  physical  injuries
sustained as a direct result of the crime upon which the claim is based.
If  required  by law, such places of employment shall be reported to the
appropriate taxing authority. Such costs shall not include the purchase,
lease or rental of a vehicle.
* NB There are 2 sb 25's