Enacts the "keep police radio public act"; provides that all law enforcement agencies in the state using encryption in radio communications shall adopt a written radio encryption policy; ensures such policy shall provide that, except for sensitive information, all radio communications are accessible to duly authorized media representatives and the general public.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A9728
SPONSOR: Reyes TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the executive law, in relation to enacting the "keep
police radio public act"
PURPOSE:
This bill ensures that duly authorized members of the press, and the
public, maintain access to law enforcement radio communications.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one is the title.
Section two amends the executive law by adding a new section 222-a
which defines relevant terms, and states that any law enforcement agency
in the state which chooses to encrypt its radio communications must
establish a written policy which allows duly authorized members of the
press and emergency services organizations real-time access to the
communications, and no more than a ten-minute delay for members of the
public.
Section three sets the effective date.
EXISTING LAW:
Click here
JUSTIFICATION:
Across the nation, law enforcement agencies have slowly begun encrypting
their radio transmissions. This move not only prevents the public from
having access to important information about police activity, but
dangerously inhibits news organizations from tracking and reporting on
police actions. The public and its media sources have a right to trans-
parency of its law enforcement agencies. Though agencies may need to at
times protect sensitive information that may be conveyed over the course
of these communications, a balance can be struck. This bill responds to
the recent uptick in police radio encryptions by requiring law enforce-
ment agencies that encrypt any part of their radio communications to
establish a policy which, aside from cases containing sensitive informa-
tion, allows instant access to members of the press and emergency
services organizations, and no more than a 10-minute lag in streaming
for the public. Similar initiatives to keep police radio transmissions
public have been proposed in California and enacted in Colorado.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
TBD.
LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
TBD.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9728
IN ASSEMBLY
April 3, 2024
___________
Introduced by M. of A. REYES -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Governmental Operations
AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to enacting the "keep
police radio public act"
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "keep
2 police radio public act".
3 § 2. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 222-a to
4 read as follows:
5 § 222-a. Law enforcement communications public access. 1. For the
6 purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the following
7 meanings:
8 (a) "duly authorized media representative or organization" means a
9 duly authorized representative or organization of any print, digital, or
10 broadcast news service.
11 (b) "emergency services organization" means a public or private agen-
12 cy, voluntary organization or group organized and functioning for the
13 purpose of providing fire, medical, ambulance, rescue, housing, food or
14 other services directed toward relieving human suffering, injury or loss
15 of life or damage to property as a result of an emergency, including
16 non-profit and governmentally-supported organizations, but excluding
17 governmental agencies.
18 (c) "encryption" means the encoding of voice communication on an
19 analog or digitally modulated radio carrier, which renders the communi-
20 cation difficult or impossible to be monitored by commercially available
21 radio receivers or scanners.
22 (d) "law enforcement agency" means any agency or department of any
23 municipality, any police district, or any agency, department, commis-
24 sion, authority or public benefit corporation of the state of New York
25 employing a police officer or police officers as that term is defined in
26 subdivision thirty-four of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law.
27 (e) "radio communications" means verbal communications that are broad-
28 cast over a radio frequency either from a dispatch center to field
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13622-01-3
A. 9728 2
1 personnel, from field personnel to a dispatch center, or between field
2 personnel, and are accessible to all personnel monitoring that frequen-
3 cy. "Radio communications" does not include private communications
4 between two devices, such as a cellular telephone, or the transmittal of
5 data to or from a mobile data terminal, tablet, text messaging device,
6 or similar device.
7 (f) "sensitive information" means any portion of a radio communication
8 that, if disclosed, would:
9 i. deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or impartial adjudi-
10 cation;
11 ii. identify a confidential source or disclose confidential informa-
12 tion relating to a criminal investigation; and
13 iii. reveal criminal investigative techniques or procedures, except
14 routine techniques and procedures.
15 2. Any law enforcement agency in the state that encrypts any portion
16 of its radio communications shall adopt a written radio encryption poli-
17 cy that meets the requirements of paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subdi-
18 vision:
19 (a) The law enforcement agency shall ensure that all radio communi-
20 cations, with the exception of sensitive information, are accessible, in
21 real time, to duly authorized media representatives or organizations and
22 to emergency services organizations. In the event that a law enforcement
23 agency does encrypt radio communications pursuant to this subdivision,
24 the department of state shall, for the purpose of verifying credentials,
25 establish and administer a process for granting real-time access to
26 radio communications to duly authorized media representatives or organ-
27 izations and to emergency services organizations. Such a process for
28 granting access shall take no more than five business days to complete.
29 (b) The law enforcement agency shall ensure that all radio communi-
30 cations, with the exception of sensitive information, are accessible to
31 the general public up to, but no greater than, ten minutes after such
32 communications took place.
33 § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
34 have become a law.
