Allows access to sealed records and certain confidential records by the New York city civilian complaint review board in furtherance of the board's duties and functions.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
292
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 8, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. CRUZ, GIBBS, GONZALEZ-ROJAS, WALKER, DAVILA,
SIMONE, CUNNINGHAM -- read once and referred to the Committee on
Cities
AN ACT to amend the New York city charter, in relation to allowing
access to sealed records and certain confidential records by the New
York city civilian complaint review board in furtherance of the
board's duties and functions
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The New York city charter is amended by adding a new
2 section 442 to read as follows:
3 § 442. Access to sealed records. a. Notwithstanding any provision of
4 any general, special or local law to the contrary, the board shall be
5 granted access to and may receive from any public agency of the state of
6 New York or any political subdivision thereof any record that is other-
7 wise sealed in accordance with applicable law in furtherance of the
8 board's duties and functions pursuant to this chapter, or a copy of such
9 record, which shall be deemed to be a "sealed record" for purposes of
10 this section, subject to the requirements set forth in this section.
11 b. Access to records received by the board pursuant to this section
12 shall be restricted to members and employees of the board who have
13 direct involvement in a matter requiring use of such records, provided
14 that the board may disclose any record obtained pursuant to this section
15 to a public agency for the purpose of a referral for prosecution or
16 investigation, or in furtherance of a disciplinary proceeding, in
17 accordance with applicable law. In addition, such record may be shared
18 with the employee of the police department who is the subject of a
19 disciplinary proceeding or such employee's representative, subject to
20 the requirements of this section, any applicable provisions of the
21 protocols described in paragraph two of subdivision e of this section,
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00172-01-5
A. 292 2
1 and any other appropriate conditions that may be imposed by an adminis-
2 trative law judge, hearing officer, court or other adjudicative body to
3 ensure the continued confidentiality of such record.
4 c. Upon receiving a sealed record from a public agency, sharing or
5 transferring a sealed record to a public agency, employee of the police
6 department who is the subject of a disciplinary proceeding or such
7 employee's representative, or destroying or returning all copies of such
8 record pursuant to this section, the board shall as soon as practicable
9 notify, by first-class mail the person who is the subject of the action
10 or proceeding for which the record was sealed, and the representative
11 that represented such person at the time of the termination of such
12 action or proceeding, at the addresses provided by such person and such
13 person's representative during such action or proceeding, or at any
14 other current addresses that can reasonably be ascertained by the board.
15 d. When the board has no further need in furtherance of its duties and
16 functions pursuant to this chapter to maintain a sealed record obtained
17 from a public agency pursuant to this section, all copies of such record
18 shall be destroyed or, at such public agency's direction, be returned to
19 such agency in a manner preserving the confidentiality of the record.
20 e. 1. Records obtained by the board pursuant to this section shall not
21 be disclosed by the board except as authorized by this section. Sealed
22 records maintained by the board shall at all times be clearly marked as
23 sealed and confidential.
24 2. Before obtaining records pursuant to this section, the board shall
25 establish protocols, in addition to those set forth in this section and
26 in consultation with the chief privacy officer designated pursuant to
27 subdivision h of section eight of this charter, to govern the proper
28 acquisition, use, storage, and other handling and disposition of, and
29 access to, records obtained pursuant to this section. Such protocols may
30 include procedures for the appropriate handling of records transferred
31 to or shared by the board with other public agencies, or with an employ-
32 ee of the police department who is the subject of a disciplinary
33 proceeding or such employee's representative.
34 f. 1. Access to records received from the board by any public agency
35 pursuant to this section shall be restricted to members of the board of
36 the receiving agency, or employees of such agency, who have direct
37 involvement in the matter requiring use of such records. Access to
38 records received from the board by an employee of the police department
39 who is the subject of a disciplinary proceeding, or by such employee's
40 representative, shall be restricted to such employee and such employee's
41 representative, or as otherwise specified by the applicable administra-
42 tive law judge, hearing officer, court or other adjudicative body in
43 furtherance of the purposes of this section.
44 2. When a public agency, employee of the police department who is the
45 subject of a disciplinary proceeding or such employee's representative
46 that receives a sealed record from the board pursuant to this section
47 has no further need to maintain such record, all copies of such record
48 shall be destroyed, or returned to the board or at the board's direc-
49 tion, to the public agency from which the board received such record in
50 a manner preserving the confidentiality of the record.
51 3. Sealed records obtained from the board by a public agency or by any
52 other person or entity pursuant to this section shall not be disclosed
53 by such public agency, person or entity except as authorized by this
54 section or as otherwise specifically authorized by law or order of a
55 court of competent jurisdiction. Such records shall at all times be
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1 clearly marked by such public agency, person or entity that has received
2 such records as sealed and confidential.
3 4. The board shall inform each agency, employee of the police depart-
4 ment who is the subject of a disciplinary proceeding or such employee's
5 representative to which it transfers or shares a sealed record about the
6 requirements of this section applicable to such agency, employee or
7 employee's representative.
8 g. For purposes of this section, a record that is confidential or not
9 available for public inspection pursuant to section fifty-b of the civil
10 rights law shall be deemed to be a sealed record that the board may
11 obtain pursuant to this section. In addition, the victim to which such
12 record pertains, or other person legally responsible for the care of
13 such victim, shall be the person who is required to be notified when the
14 board receives, destroys or returns such record pursuant to subdivision
15 c of this section.
16 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
