NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A7563
SPONSOR: McDonald TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to the removal
of actions to certain courts in an adjoining county
PURPOSE:
To enable cases to be transferred to mental health courts in adjoining
counties from counties that do not have mental health courts.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one amends section 230.21 of the criminal procedure law to allow
criminal cases to be transferred to a mental health court in an adjoin-
ing county.
Section two establishes the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Twenty-six counties in New York state have at least one mental health
court. This bill seeks to allow cases to be transferred with the consent
of the district attorneys of both counties to an adjoining county with a
mental health court when county where the case is brought does not have
a mental health court within the county.
The intent is to increase access to mental health treatment similar to
the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program in Albany County.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Unknown
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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7563
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
April 1, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. McDONALD -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to the removal
of actions to certain courts in an adjoining county
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 230.21 of the criminal procedure law, as added by
2 chapter 91 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
3 § 230.21 Removal of action to certain courts in an adjoining county.
4 1. In any county outside a city having a population of one million or
5 more, the court may, upon motion of the defendant and with consent of
6 the district attorney and the district attorney of the adjoining county
7 that has a superior court designated a human trafficking court [or],
8 veterans treatment court, or mental health court by the chief adminis-
9 trator of the courts, order that the indictment and action be removed
10 from the court in which the matter is pending to such human trafficking
11 court [or], veterans treatment court, or mental health court, whereupon
12 such court may then conduct such action to judgment or other final
13 disposition; provided, however, that no court may order removal to a
14 veterans treatment court of a family offense charge described in subdi-
15 vision one of section 530.11 of this chapter pursuant to this section
16 where the accused and the person alleged to be the victim of such
17 offense charged are members of the same family or household as defined
18 in such subdivision one of section 530.11; and provided further that an
19 order of removal issued under this subdivision shall not take effect
20 until five days after the date the order is issued unless, prior to such
21 effective date, the human trafficking court [or], veterans treatment
22 court, or mental health court notifies the court that issued the order
23 that:
24 (a) it will not accept the action, in which event the order shall not
25 take effect, or
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11230-01-5
A. 7563 2
1 (b) it will accept the action on a date prior to such effective date,
2 in which event the order shall take effect upon such prior date.
3 2. Upon providing notification pursuant to paragraph (a) or (b) of
4 subdivision one of this section, the human trafficking court [or],
5 veterans treatment court, or mental health court shall promptly give
6 notice to the defendant, [his or her] the defendant's counsel and the
7 district attorney of both counties.
8 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
