Bill Text: NY S04595 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requires redaction of unfounded and unsubstantiated allegations in law enforcement disciplinary records.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 6-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS [S04595 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S04595-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          4595

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    February 10, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced by Sens. PALUMBO, GALLIVAN, MATTERA, OBERACKER, STEC, WEIK --
          read  twice  and  ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to
          the Committee on Investigations and Government Operations

        AN ACT to amend the public officers law, in relation to prohibiting  the
          public  disclosure of unsubstantiated or unfounded complaints, allega-
          tions and charges made against law enforcement officers

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1. Section 86 of the public officers law is amended by adding
     2  two new subdivisions 12 and 13 to read as follows:
     3    12.  "Unsubstantiated  complaint,  allegation  or  charge"  means  any
     4  complaint,  allegation  or  charge  against  a  person employed by a law
     5  enforcement agency as defined in this section as a police officer, peace
     6  officer, or firefighter or firefighter/paramedic where the  evidence  is
     7  insufficient  to determine whether the person employed by a law enforce-
     8  ment agency did or did not commit misconduct.
     9    13. "Unfounded complaint, allegation or charge" means  any  complaint,
    10  allegation  or  charge  against  a  person employed by a law enforcement
    11  agency as defined in this section as a police officer, peace officer, or
    12  firefighter or firefighter/paramedic where there is sufficient  credible
    13  evidence to believe that the subject employed by a law enforcement agen-
    14  cy did not commit the alleged act.
    15    §  2.  Subdivision  4-b  of  section 87 of the public officers law, as
    16  added by chapter 96 of the laws of 2020, is amended to read as follows:
    17    4-b. A law enforcement agency responding to a request for law enforce-
    18  ment disciplinary records, as defined  in  section  eighty-six  of  this
    19  article,  [may]  shall  redact any portion of such record containing the
    20  information specified in subdivision two-c  of  section  eighty-nine  of
    21  this article prior to disclosing such record under this article.
    22    §  3.  Subdivision  2-c  of  section 89 of the public officers law, as
    23  added by chapter 96 of the laws of 2020, is amended to read as follows:

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD09211-01-3
        S. 4595                             2

     1    2-c.  For  records  that  constitute  "law  enforcement   disciplinary
     2  records"  as  defined  in  subdivision six of section eighty-six of this
     3  article, a law enforcement agency [may] shall redact records  pertaining
     4  to  technical  infractions  as  defined  in  subdivision nine of section
     5  eighty-six of this article and records pertaining to complaints, allega-
     6  tions  and charges against a person employed by a law enforcement agency
     7  that are unsubstantiated or unfounded as defined by subdivisions  twelve
     8  and  thirteen  of section eighty-six of this article prior to disclosing
     9  such records under this article.
    10    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.