Bill > S4961

Introduced Session

This bill concerns the "Sexual Violence Restorative Justice Pilot Program." Under current law, the Attorney General is required to establish a three-year "Sexual Violence Restorative Justice Pilot Program" to implement a restorative justice program for survivors of sexual violence. This bill requires the Attorney General to establish a three-year pilot program or of any other duration for which funding is available. In addition, current law requires the Attorney General to implement this pilot program by entering into an agreement with an organization to design the program and provide technical assistance and a separate organization to conduct the program. The organizations are required to be compensated. Under the provisions of this bill, the Attorney General is to utilize the Division of Violence and Victim Assistance to design the program and is to enter into an agreement to conduct the program with an organization meeting certain criteria as set forth under current law. The organization is to be selected under the request for proposal process, in accordance with current law. The bill removes the requirement that the organizations be compensated. Further, current law requires that the pilot program be established in one northern, one central, and one southern county in this State, as determined by the Attorney General. This bill requires the pilot program to provide program services to victims located throughout the State. The bill also provides that any written or oral communication, submission, or action undertaken during or in preparation for a sexual violence restorative justice program interaction or as a follow-up to that interaction, or the fact that the interaction has been planned or convened is confidential and privileged and is not accessible to the public pursuant to the "Open Public Records Act." The communication, submission, or action is not to be referred to, used, or admitted in any civil, criminal, family court, or administrative proceeding, unless the privilege is waived during the proceeding or in writing by the party protected by the privilege. The bill provides that privileged information is not subject to discovery or disclosure in any judicial or extrajudicial proceeding. Further, under the bill, any waiver of the privilege, in accordance with the bill's provisions, is limited to the participation and communication of the party who waived the privilege. The bill also provides that if, in any civil, criminal, family court, or administrative proceeding, there is a challenge to a claim that a sexual violence restorative justice program interaction is privileged pursuant to the bill's provisions, the judge is to conduct a hearing in camera to determine whether the interaction is privileged. During the hearing, the judge may consider information that would otherwise be privileged to the extent that the information is probative of the issue. Finally, the bill provides that the privilege set forth under the bill's provisions does not apply if: 1) disclosure is necessary to prevent death, serious bodily injury, or the commission of a crime; 2) disclosure is necessary to comply with another law; or 3) a judicial, quasi-judicial, or administrative body requires a report on a restorative justice program interaction. However, the report is to be limited to the fact that an interaction has taken place, an opinion regarding the success of the interaction, and whether further restorative justice program interactions are expected.

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Linda Greenstein (D)*, 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Law and Public Safety Committee (on 12/08/2025)

Official Document