Bichotte, Buchwald, Kim, Dilan, Benedetto, Blake, Sepulveda
MLTSPNSR
Amd §§50-a, Civ Rts L; amd §87, Pub Off L
Excludes video camera recordings from cameras worn or used by police from being included as personnel records and provides for the release of such recordings pursuant to the freedom of information law.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A8368B
SPONSOR: Quart TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the civil rights law and the public officers law, in
relation to excluding video camera recordings from cameras worn or used
by police from being included as personnel records, and providing for
the release of such recordings pursuant to the freedom of information
law
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The purpose of this bill is to clarify that recordings made by body
cameras worn by law enforcement police officers, among other recordings
made by public safety officials, are not considered personnel records
pursuant to section 50-a of the Civil Rights Law, and are subject to the
Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) disclosure.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends section 50-a of the civil rights law to provide that
video recordings, and records of such, of or by individuals captured by
section 50-a are not confidential personnel records.
Section 2 amends FOIL to provide specific guidelines for the disclosure
of such video recordings.
Section 3 provides fro the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Police body cameras, as well as other recording devices used by on-duty
public safety officials, provide protection for officers and citizens
alike. As the implementation of such recording devices continues, it is
important that current law keep pace with such technology. Section 50-a
of the Civil Rights Law effectively excludes personnel records from FOIL
requests. According to the Committee on Open Government, a broad inter-
pretation of the term personnel records could include body camera
footage, therefore preventing public disclosure of such recordings.
This bill clarifies that body camera recordings, among other recordings
made by public safety officials, are not considered personnel records
under section 50-a. Thus, this legislation ensures that body camera
recordings, as well as the metadata from such recordings, should be
subject to FOIL. By placing body camera recordings within the FOIL proc-
ess while also protecting personal privacy when appropriate, this bill
balances the need for greater transparency in the everyday encounters
between police officers and members of the public with a necessary
commitment to privacy protections.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
This is a new bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after it
shall have become a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8368--B
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
August 24, 2015
___________
Introduced by M. of A. QUART, BICHOTTE, BUCHWALD, KIM, DILAN, BENEDETTO,
BLAKE, SEPULVEDA -- read once and referred to the Committee on Govern-
mental Operations -- recommitted to the Committee on Governmental
Operations in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee
discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
to said committee -- again reported from said committee with amend-
ments, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the civil rights law and the public officers law, in
relation to excluding video camera recordings from cameras worn or
used by police from being included as personnel records, and providing
for the release of such recordings pursuant to the freedom of informa-
tion law
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 50-a of the civil rights law is amended by adding
2 two new subdivisions 5 and 6 to read as follows:
3 5. a. The provisions of this section shall not apply to recordings,
4 and records of recordings, made by or of any individual referred to in
5 subdivision one of this section in the course of duty, including
6 recordings made by body cameras worn by such individuals, dashboard
7 cameras placed on any part of a motor vehicle, truck, bicycle or other
8 vehicle, cameras mounted on a taser or other weapon, or any other such
9 government recording device associated with such individuals, or the
10 metadata from those recordings.
11 b. Any recording, as specified in paragraph a of this subdivision
12 shall be governed by article six of the public officers law.
13 c. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit or abridge any
14 otherwise available right of access at law or in equity to access such
15 recordings or metadata.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09301-14-6
A. 8368--B 2
1 d. Nothing in this section shall be construed to disallow recordings
2 or metadata from being used for disciplinary, hiring or other personnel
3 decisions.
4 6. The term "recording", as used in this section, shall mean an
5 original photographic record, disc, tape, audio or video cassette, wire,
6 film, hard drive, flash drive, memory card or other data storage device
7 or any other medium on which such sounds, images, or both sounds and
8 images are or can be recorded or otherwise stored, or a copy or reprod-
9 uction that duplicates in whole or in part the original.
10 § 2. Section 87 of the public officers law is amended by adding a new
11 subdivision 6 to read as follows:
12 6. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision two of this section
13 and paragraph b of subdivision five of section fifty-a of the civil
14 rights law, each agency that maintains records, of the type described in
15 paragraph a of subdivision five of section fifty-a of the civil rights
16 law, shall make such records available for public inspection and copy-
17 ing, except that:
18 (a) when requested while a civil action, civil proceeding, criminal
19 prosecution or preliminary criminal proceeding to which such records may
20 be relevant is pending in a court of this state, such agency may deny
21 access to such records or portions thereof pursuant to paragraph (e) or
22 (f) of subdivision two of this section, if the judge or justice presid-
23 ing in such action or proceeding determines, at the instance of such
24 agency, after reasonable notice to the requester and an opportunity to
25 be heard, by clear and convincing evidence, that an exception to disclo-
26 sure specific to the situation or to a specific individual or individ-
27 uals exists pursuant to paragraph (e) or (f) of subdivision two of this
28 section and that such exception warrants a denial of disclosure, and the
29 court's order sets forth in detail the reasons for the court's determi-
30 nation;
31 (b) when requested while an action, proceeding, prosecution or prelim-
32 inary criminal proceeding to which such records may be relevant is not
33 pending in a court of this state, such agency may deny access to such
34 records or portions thereof pursuant to paragraph (e) or (f) of subdivi-
35 sion two of this section if, after reasonable notice to the requester
36 and an opportunity to be heard, such agency determines, by clear and
37 convincing evidence, that an exception to disclosure specific to the
38 situation or to a specific individual or individuals exists pursuant to
39 paragraph (e) or (f) of subdivision two of this section and that such
40 exception warrants a denial of disclosure, and the agency's determi-
41 nation provided to the requester sets forth in detail the reasons for
42 the agency's determination; and
43 (c) when such agency is considering an exception to disclosure pursu-
44 ant to paragraph (b) of subdivision two of this section, such agency
45 shall release such records, but shall electronically or otherwise visu-
46 ally obscure the facial features, voice, and other personal information
47 of any person, other than an individual referred to in subdivision one
48 of section fifty-a of the civil rights law, with respect to whom such
49 agency determines, for specific reasons applicable to such individual,
50 by clear and convincing evidence, that (i) such recording occurred at a
51 place where such person had a reasonable expectation of privacy; and
52 (ii) disclosure would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal
53 privacy. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed as limiting the
54 authority of an agency to apply such exception and visually obscure the
55 entire image, voice, and other personal information of an individual
56 referred to in subdivision one of section fifty-a of the civil rights
A. 8368--B 3
1 law when such individual, at the time of the recording, was serving in a
2 covert or undercover capacity.
3 § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
4 it shall have become a law.
