Bill > S06881

This bill amends several laws to expand the role and authority of the Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs. Key provisions include: - Authorizing the Justice Center's "special prosecutor" to investigate and, with the consent of a district attorney, prosecute cases of abuse or neglect against vulnerable persons. This does not diminish the ability of district attorneys to independently receive complaints and prosecute such cases. - Allowing district attorneys to appoint the special prosecutor and their assistants as special assistant district attorneys for investigations and prosecutions involving abuse or neglect of vulnerable persons. - Defining sworn investigators employed by the Justice Center as "police officers" under the Criminal Procedure Law, giving them certain law enforcement powers. - Providing for the expiration of a section related to the certification of the Justice Center's investigators as police officers. The overall intent of the bill is to strengthen the Justice Center's ability to investigate and prosecute cases of abuse and neglect against vulnerable populations in New York.