Allows the reimbursement of funds expended for the purchase of a soft body stab-resistant vest or a soft body ballistic armor vest by a state agency, municipal corporation, public authority or public benefit corporation to include for eligible correction officers.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3489
2009-2010 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 27, 2009
___________
Introduced by M. of A. AUBRY -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Governmental Operations
AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to soft body stab-resis-
tant or ballistic armor vests for police or correction officers
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The section heading and subdivisions 1 and 2 of section
2 837-d of the executive law, as added by chapter 84 of the laws of 1984,
3 are amended to read as follows:
4 Soft body stab-resistant or ballistic armor vests for police or
5 correction officers. 1. As used in this section, the following terms
6 have the following meanings:
7 (a) "Eligible police or correction officer" means a police officer as
8 defined in subdivision thirty-four of section 1.20 of the criminal
9 procedure law, or a correction officer, whose regular duties are such as
10 the commissioner determines may expose the officer to serious physical
11 injury which may result in death or disability;
12 (b) "Vest" means a soft body stab-resistant vest or a soft body
13 ballistic armor vest;
14 (c) "Municipal corporation" means a county, city, town, village or
15 police district;
16 (d) "Public authority" means an independent autonomous public corpo-
17 ration created by special act of the legislature;
18 (e) "Public benefit corporation" means a corporation organized to
19 construct or operate a public improvement wholly within the state;
20 (f) "State agency" means a department, board, bureau, commission,
21 agency or other division of state government;
22 (g) "Applicant" means a state agency, municipal corporation, public
23 authority, public benefit corporation, or the highest official thereof.
24 2. An applicant which is authorized to and employs police or
25 correction officers may apply to the commissioner for reimbursement of
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04217-01-9
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1 funds expended for the purchase of vests for eligible police or
2 correction officers.
3 § 2. Subdivision 4-a of section 837-d of the executive law, as added
4 by chapter 555 of the laws of 1988, is amended to read as follows:
5 4-a. An applicant for reimbursement pursuant to this section shall
6 report the name of each eligible police or correction officer for whom
7 reimbursement is sought. The applicant shall report whether such eligi-
8 ble police or correction officer or officers have, at any time during
9 the ten years immediately preceding the application for reimbursement,
10 been provided with any other vest for which reimbursement pursuant to
11 this section was provided, the date of any such prior reimbursement and
12 any other information that the commissioner may require for accurate
13 record-keeping and accountability and for evaluation of performance,
14 wear and officer use of vests.
15 § 3. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 6 of section 837-d of the executive
16 law, as amended by chapter 555 of the laws of 1988, is amended to read
17 as follows:
18 (b) the [ballistic] threat specifications which the vest or any part
19 thereof must be capable of defeating which shall include, but not be
20 limited to, the ballistic specifications of any firearms considered to
21 be standard issue to eligible police or correction officers;
22 § 4. Subdivision 6-a of section 837-d of the executive law, as added
23 by chapter 555 of the laws of 1988, is amended to read as follows:
24 6-a. In the evaluation of an application for reimbursement, the
25 commissioner shall, at the request of the applicant, give consideration
26 to the ballistic specifications of any firearm or firearms considered by
27 the applicant to be standard issue to its police or correction officers.
28 § 5. Subdivisions 8 and 9 of section 837-d of the executive law, as
29 added by chapter 84 of the laws of 1984, are amended to read as follows:
30 8. Neither the state nor the applicant or any employee thereof shall
31 be liable to a police or correction officer or officer's heirs, execu-
32 tors, administrators or assigns, for the death of or injury to the offi-
33 cer resulting from any defect or deficiency in a vest for which
34 reimbursement is made pursuant to this section.
35 9. A police or correction officer who suffers an injury or death as a
36 result of the officer's failure to wear a vest for which reimbursement
37 is made pursuant to this section, and officer's heirs, executors, admin-
38 istrators or assigns shall not suffer any loss or be denied any benefit
39 or right to which they are otherwise entitled; provided, however, that
40 nothing contained herein shall prevent the officer from being subject to
41 a disciplinary proceeding for failure to obey a lawful order of a supe-
42 rior officer requiring the officer to wear a vest.
43 § 6. Subdivision 12 of section 837-d of the executive law, as added by
44 chapter 555 of the laws of 1988, is amended to read as follows:
45 12. The commissioner shall establish and maintain a record containing
46 the name of each eligible police or correction officer who receives a
47 vest for which reimbursement has been provided pursuant to this section,
48 the applicant to whom reimbursement for such vest is provided, the date
49 on which such reimbursement was provided and any other information that
50 the commissioner may require for accurate record-keeping and account-
51 ability and for evaluation of performance, wear and officer use of
52 vests.
53 § 7. Subdivision 13 of section 837-d of the executive law, as added by
54 chapter 84 of the laws of 1984, is amended to read as follows:
55 13. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to supersede the
56 provisions of section three of chapter eight hundred seventy-six of the
A. 3489 3
1 laws of nineteen hundred eighty applicable to members of the division of
2 state police or to alter a valid labor-management agreement covering
3 employees of the state serving in police or correction officer positions
4 in the security services negotiating unit established pursuant to arti-
5 cle fourteen of the civil service law which is in effect on the effec-
6 tive date of this section.
7 § 8. This act shall take effect immediately, provided, however, that
8 rules and regulations required by this act to be adopted by the commis-
9 sioner of the division of criminal justice services shall be adopted no
10 later than the first day of January next succeeding the date on which it
11 shall have become a law.
