Add §214-j, Exec L; add §208-i, amd §204-d, Gen Muni L; add §155-a, Town L; add §22-c, Cor L; amd §3002, Pub
Health L
Requires the inclusion of cultural competency training in the basic training and pre-employment course curricula for state police officers and municipal police officers and sheriffs, members of fire departments and companies, corrections officers, first responders, emergency medical technicians and advanced emergency medical technicians.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
518--C
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE(Prefiled)
January 8, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sens. PERSAUD, BROUK, CLEARE, FERNANDEZ, SEPULVEDA, WEBB
-- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to
the Committee on Finance -- reported favorably from said committee,
ordered to first and second report, ordered to a third reading, passed
by Senate and delivered to the Assembly, recalled, vote reconsidered,
restored to third reading, amended and ordered reprinted, retaining
its place in the order of third reading -- recommitted to the Commit-
tee on Finance in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee
discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
to said committee -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the executive law, the general municipal law, the town
law, the correction law and the public health law, in relation to
requiring the inclusion of cultural competency training in the basic
training and pre-employment course curricula for police, firefighters,
correction officers and first responders
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 214-j
2 to read as follows:
3 § 214-j. Training. 1. The superintendent shall establish policies and
4 procedures requiring that state police basic training and pre-employment
5 course curricula include training in the areas of cultural competency,
6 including training pertaining to appropriate sensitivity to issues of
7 race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, age and disabili-
8 ties. Such training shall comprise not less than five percent of the
9 basic training and pre-employment course training curricula. Cultural
10 competency training shall be provided by an accredited educator and/or
11 accreditation body.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02186-06-6
S. 518--C 2
1 2. The accreditation body shall provide information pertaining to such
2 policies and procedures to municipal law enforcement agencies and
3 departments, fire departments, the department of corrections and commu-
4 nity supervision and the department of health for implementation of such
5 curricula by such agencies and departments.
6 3. The superintendent of the state police shall promulgate rules and
7 regulations necessary to effectuate the provisions of this section.
8 4. For the purposes of this section, the term "cultural competency"
9 means knowledge and skills that enable a person to appreciate, under-
10 stand and interact with members of diverse populations within the local
11 community.
12 § 2. The general municipal law is amended by adding a new section
13 208-i to read as follows:
14 § 208-i. Mandatory police officer cultural competency training. The
15 chief officer of every police department and sheriff's office in the
16 state shall establish and implement basic training and pre-employment
17 course curricula for all members of such office or department and for
18 all current and new officer employees in accordance with the cultural
19 competency policies and procedures established pursuant to section two
20 hundred fourteen-j of the executive law.
21 § 3. Section 204-d of the general municipal law, as amended by section
22 44 of part B of chapter 56 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as
23 follows:
24 § 204-d. Duties of the fire chief. 1. The fire chief of any fire
25 department or company shall, in addition to any other duties assigned to
26 [him] such fire chief by law or contract, to the extent reasonably
27 possible determine or cause to be determined the cause of each fire or
28 explosion which the fire department or company has been called to
29 suppress. [He] Such fire chief shall file with the office of fire
30 prevention and control a report containing such determination and any
31 additional information required by such office regarding the fire or
32 explosion. The report shall be in the form designated by such office.
33 [He] Such fire chief shall contact or cause to be contacted the appro-
34 priate investigatory authority if [he] such fire chief has reason to
35 believe the fire or explosion is of incendiary or suspicious origin. For
36 all fires that are suspected to have been ignited by a cigarette, within
37 fourteen days after completing the investigation into such fire, the
38 fire chief shall forward to the office of fire prevention and control
39 information detailing, to the extent possible: (a) the specific brand
40 and style of the cigarette suspected of having ignited such fire; (b)
41 whether the cigarette package was marked as required by subdivision six
42 of section one hundred fifty-six-c of the executive law; and (c) the
43 location and manner in which such cigarette was purchased.
44 2. The fire chief of any fire department or company in the state shall
45 establish and implement basic training and pre-employment course curric-
46 ula for all members of such fire department or company and for all
47 current and new employees in accordance with the cultural competency
48 policies and procedures established pursuant to section two hundred
49 fourteen-j of the executive law.
50 § 4. The town law is amended by adding a new section 155-a to read as
51 follows:
52 § 155-a. Mandatory police officer cultural competency training. The
53 chief officer of every police department in the state shall establish
54 and implement basic training and pre-employment course curricula for all
55 members of such office and for all current and new officer employees in
S. 518--C 3
1 accordance with the cultural competency policies and procedures estab-
2 lished pursuant to section two hundred fourteen-j of the executive law.
3 § 5. The correction law is amended by adding a new section 22-c to
4 read as follows:
5 § 22-c. Mandatory correction officer cultural competency training. The
6 commissioner shall establish and implement basic training and pre-em-
7 ployment course curricula for all members of the department and for all
8 current and new officer employees in accordance with the cultural compe-
9 tency policies and procedures established pursuant to section two
10 hundred fourteen-j of the executive law.
11 § 6. Section 3002 of the public health law is amended by adding a new
12 subdivision 2-c to read as follows:
13 2-c. The commissioner, in consultation with the state emergency
14 medical services council, shall establish and implement basic training
15 and pre-employment course curricula for all current career first respon-
16 ders, emergency medical technicians and advanced emergency medical tech-
17 nicians and for all new first responders, emergency medical technicians
18 and advanced emergency medical technicians in accordance with the
19 cultural competency policies and procedures established pursuant to
20 section two hundred fourteen-j of the executive law.
21 § 7. This act shall take effect immediately.
