Relates to the disclosure of the records of court proceedings in certain mental hygiene proceedings

Showing the cosponsors who are on Agora, A to Z. The official record may list more.

• Democratic36
• Republican12

This bill has cosponsors from more than one party.

Shown in neutral colors by design; Agora is non-partisan.

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Samra Brouk says this is needed

Currently, court records of Article 81 Guardianship proceedings are available for public inspection and contain significant amounts of personal information which may be used to gain access to and control of an incapacitated person's financial assets. With the ever-increasing risk and reports of identity theft, it is necessary to limit access to the very information used to perpetrate such crimes will go a long way to protecting those who are unable to protect themselves. The rise of identity theft poses a serious threat to all of us. Some, however, are at greater risk and are unable to readily protect them- selves. Individuals who are disabled mentally and who are unable to manage their affairs are among the most vulnerable to this epidemic. These individuals are also often the subject of court proceedings insti- tuted for the purpose of appointing someone to manage their personal needs and property. It is the intent of this legislation to impose greater safeguards on personal information in these cases by limiting access to court records in Article 81 Guardianship proceedings. Various statutes are already in place to prevent the disclosure of social security numbers. In addition, the Chief Administrative Judge of the New York State Courts has recently promulgated Uniform Rule Section 202.5(e)(2) allows the Courts, on their own, to seal "confiden- tial personal information," which includes social security numbers, dates of birth and account numbers, among others. The directive of Public Officers Law Section 96-a, which prohibits the County and Court Clerks from the intentional disclosure of social security numbers, plac- es an onerous burden on those clerks to safeguard this information. Under this legislation, access to the court records in an Article 81 proceeding would be in a manner similar to the records in matrimonial actions. In this case, the records would not be available to anyone other than a party, the attorney or counsel of a party, the guardian, the court evaluator or the court examiners except by order of the court. It also seals all records prior to and after the effective date of this amendment. County Clerks will be the officials tasked with complying with this change in the law. Identification of records, whose access is limited by this amendment, can be a burden on those officials where past and pres- ent proceedings have not been separately identified as one held under Article 81. To ameliorate the burden that will be placed on County Clerks, their obligation to limit the access to these records should be limited only to the extent that a County Clerk can identify these records. In furtherance of the goals of this legislation to limit access to any and all proceedings past, present and future held under Article 81, a court may also limit access to the records of those proceedings in accordance with this act. Any such action by a court shall not abridge the court's general authority to further restrict access for good cause shown under any other law or rule. This amendment to the Mental Hygiene Law will go a long way in protect- ing the most vulnerable of our populace and brings greater consistency in the treatment of such sensitive information. This proposal is supported by the New York State Association of County Clerks. LEGISATIVE HISTORY: 2018: S7720 Committed to Rules. 2020: S4835 Passed Senate. 2022: S7044 Referred to Mental Health. 2024: S9017 Passed Senate.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.