Albany, NY – Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal (D/WF-Manhattan) announced today that her legislation (A.3038-B/S.1353-B) to protect abuse victims from being held liable for coerced debts passed the Assembly and will now head to the Governor’s desk. The bill has already passed the State Senate.

“The last thing that a survivor should have to worry about after fleeing their abuser is how they will recover from the financial harm inflicted upon them,” said Assemblymember Rosenthal. “Years of research and countless survivors have shown us that abuse is rarely limited to physical violence and the impacts of economic abuse can be perilous and long lasting.”

Nationwide research has found that 99% of domestic violence survivors also experienced economic abuse. In many of these cases, such abuse included coerced debt whereby an abuser forces a person to take out debts under their name through coercive and abusive tactics. This may include forcing a person to sign loan documents, open a credit card, commit public benefits fraud or other actions. While typically associated with domestic violence and human trafficking, coerced debt also occurs within the context of older adults and their caretakers and other familiar relationships.

The bill, sponsored by Senator Cordell Cleare in the State Senate, passed the Assembly by a vote of 97-48. The legislation would establish a procedure for victims to dispute coerced debts with lending institutions. If the debt is determined to be coerced, the debtor would no longer be liable for paying the debt and their credit would no longer be impacted. Further, the bill enables lenders to bring civil cases against the abusers to collect debts that are owed.

“For too long, survivors have been left to pick up the pieces after their abuser has destroyed their credit and racked up thousands of dollars of debt in their name. That practice will soon come to an end,” said Assemblymember Rosenthal. “Survivors often stay in abusive relationships because they cannot afford to leave. This measure will provide them with some protection and ensure that those who were actually responsible for the debts are the ones left footing the bill.”

This legislation was supported by the Economic Justice Coalition, a broad set of groups representing survivors of domestic violence, human trafficking, older adults and others. Supporters of the legislation include the Urban Resource Institute, HerJustice, CAMBA, Safe Horizon, Legal Aid Society and the New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence.