STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3452 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 27, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. HELMING -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to the removal of a criminal action to a veterans treatment court The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Legislative findings. The legislature finds and declares 2 that New York, along with the rest of the country, owes an enduring debt 3 to the brave people who have served in our nation's armed forces. Their 4 service in defense of our country and its ideals must never be forgot- 5 ten. We also must not fail to recognize that when veterans return from 6 foreign conflicts their transition to civilian life is not always an 7 easy one and can be marked by depression, other forms of mental illness 8 and substance abuse. Studies have shown that the trauma a soldier 9 suffers while deployed is a major contributing factor to low level, but 10 often persistent, criminal activity. 11 New York stands in the vanguard for treating veterans whose criminal 12 conduct is linked to their military service. In 2008, the nation's first 13 veterans treatment court was started in the Buffalo city court. By 14 recognizing the root causes of many veterans' contacts with the criminal 15 justice system and applying proven resources, including counseling, 16 treatment for drug or alcohol addiction, hands-on assistance with hous- 17 ing needs and job training and placement, we have led the way in reduc- 18 ing recidivism among returning veterans. Starting with that single court 19 in Buffalo, the veterans treatment court has become the model for many 20 other states. While New York now has twenty veterans treatment courts 21 and at least two additional courts in the planning stage, not all of New 22 York's veterans live in a jurisdiction that currently has such a court. 23 We can do better. 24 In order to broaden the availability of veterans treatment courts to 25 qualified veterans, this act would authorize the transfer of a criminal EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD07211-01-5
S. 3452 2 1 case against a qualified veteran whose charges are pending in a local 2 criminal court that is not a veterans treatment court to another local 3 criminal court within the same county that is a veterans treatment 4 court. Following the successful "drug hub court" model, the case could 5 only be transferred on the application of the defendant, and with the 6 consent of the court and district attorney. Recognizing that resource 7 constraints and the need for extensive planning and coordination among 8 the judiciary and local, state and federal agencies have limited the 9 availability of veterans treatment courts in certain jurisdictions in 10 the state, this measure also would permit a qualified veteran to apply 11 to have their criminal case transferred to a veterans treatment court 12 located in an adjoining county. This will ensure the broadest possible 13 reach of every existing veterans treatment court, and send a signal that 14 New York and its courts are committed to acknowledging and serving the 15 special needs of the greatest number of qualified veterans. In practical 16 terms, the act would immediately more than double the number of counties 17 where veterans charged with criminal offenses would have access to the 18 proven benefits of a veterans treatment court. 19 § 2. Subdivision 3 of section 180.20 of the criminal procedure law, as 20 amended by chapter 67 of the laws of 2000, is amended to read as 21 follows: 22 3. Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, in 23 any county outside a city having a population of one million or more, 24 upon or after arraignment of a defendant on a felony complaint pending 25 in a local criminal court having preliminary jurisdiction thereof, such 26 court may, upon motion of the defendant and with the consent of the 27 district attorney, order that the action be removed from the court in 28 which the matter is pending to another local criminal court in the same 29 county which has been designated a drug court by the chief administrator 30 of the courts, or to another court in the same county or an adjoining 31 county that has been designated a veterans treatment court by the chief 32 administrator of the courts, and such drug court or veterans treatment 33 court may then dispose of such felony complaint pursuant to this arti- 34 cle; provided, however, that an order of removal issued under this 35 subdivision shall not take effect until five days after the date the 36 order is issued unless, prior to such effective date, the drug court or 37 veterans treatment court notifies the court that issued the order that: 38 (a) it will not accept the action, in which event the order shall not 39 take effect, or 40 (b) it will accept the action on a date prior to such effective date, 41 in which event the order shall take effect upon such prior date. 42 Upon providing notification pursuant to paragraph (a) or (b) of this 43 subdivision, the drug court or veterans treatment court shall promptly 44 give notice to the defendant, [his or her] such defendant's counsel and 45 the district attorney. 46 § 3. To the extent practicable, the chief administrator of the courts 47 shall establish such number of veterans treatment courts as may be 48 necessary to fulfill the purposes of this act. 49 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.