STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
10611
IN ASSEMBLY
June 6, 2020
___________
Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. O'Donnell)
-- read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Operations
AN ACT to amend the civil rights law and the public officers law, in
relation to the disclosure of law enforcement disciplinary records;
and to repeal section 50-a of the civil rights law relating thereto
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 Section 50-a of the civil rights law is REPEALED.
2 § 2. Section 86 of the public officers law is amended by adding four
3 new subdivisions 6, 7, 8 and 9 to read as follows:
4 6. "Law enforcement disciplinary records" means any record created in
5 furtherance of a law enforcement disciplinary proceeding, including, but
6 not limited to:
7 (a) the complaints, allegations, and charges against an employee;
8 (b) the name of the employee complained of or charged;
9 (c) the transcript of any disciplinary trial or hearing, including any
10 exhibits introduced at such trial or hearing;
11 (d) the disposition of any disciplinary proceeding; and
12 (e) the final written opinion or memorandum supporting the disposition
13 and discipline imposed including the agency's complete factual findings
14 and its analysis of the conduct and appropriate discipline of the
15 covered employee.
16 7. "Law enforcement disciplinary proceeding" means the commencement of
17 any investigation and any subsequent hearing or disciplinary action
18 conducted by a law enforcement agency.
19 8. "Law enforcement agency" means a police agency or department of the
20 state or any political subdivision thereof, including authorities or
21 agencies maintaining police forces of individuals defined as police
22 officers in section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law, a sheriff's
23 department, the department of corrections and community supervision, a
24 local department of correction, a local probation department, a fire
25 department, or force of individuals employed as firefighters or
26 firefighter/paramedics.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD16577-06-0
A. 10611 2
1 9. "Technical infraction" means a minor rule violation by a person
2 employed by a law enforcement agency as defined in this section as a
3 police officer, peace officer, or firefighter or firefighter/paramedic,
4 solely related to the enforcement of administrative departmental rules
5 that (a) do not involve interactions with members of the public, (b) are
6 not of public concern, and (c) are not otherwise connected to such
7 person's investigative, enforcement, training, supervision, or reporting
8 responsibilities.
9 § 3. Section 87 of the public officers law is amended by adding two
10 new subdivisions 4-a and 4-b to read as follows:
11 4-a. A law enforcement agency responding to a request for law enforce-
12 ment disciplinary records as defined in section eighty-six of this arti-
13 cle shall redact any portion of such record containing the information
14 specified in subdivision two-b of section eighty-nine of this article
15 prior to disclosing such record under this article.
16 4-b. A law enforcement agency responding to a request for law enforce-
17 ment disciplinary records, as defined in section eighty-six of this
18 article, may redact any portion of such record containing the informa-
19 tion specified in subdivision two-c of section eighty-nine of this arti-
20 cle prior to disclosing such record under this article.
21 § 4. Section 89 of the public officers law is amended by adding two
22 new subdivisions 2-b and 2-c to read as follows:
23 2-b. For records that constitute law enforcement disciplinary records
24 as defined in subdivision six of section eighty-six of this article, a
25 law enforcement agency shall redact the following information from such
26 records prior to disclosing such records under this article:
27 (a) items involving the medical history of a person employed by a law
28 enforcement agency as defined in section eighty-six of this article as a
29 police officer, peace officer, or firefighter or firefighter/paramedic,
30 not including records obtained during the course of an agency's investi-
31 gation of such person's misconduct that are relevant to the disposition
32 of such investigation;
33 (b) the home addresses, personal telephone numbers, personal cell
34 phone numbers, personal e-mail addresses of a person employed by a law
35 enforcement agency as defined in section eighty-six of this article as a
36 police officer, peace officer, or firefighter or firefighter/paramedic,
37 or a family member of such a person, a complainant or any other person
38 named in a law enforcement disciplinary record, except where required
39 pursuant to article fourteen of the civil service law, or in accordance
40 with subdivision four of section two hundred eight of the civil service
41 law, or as otherwise required by law. This paragraph shall not prohibit
42 other provisions of law regarding work-related, publicly available
43 information such as title, salary, and dates of employment;
44 (c) any social security numbers; or
45 (d) disclosure of the use of an employee assistance program, mental
46 health service, or substance abuse assistance service by a person
47 employed by a law enforcement agency as defined in section eighty-six of
48 this article as a police officer, peace officer, or firefighter or
49 firefighter/paramedic, unless such use is mandated by a law enforcement
50 disciplinary proceeding that may otherwise be disclosed pursuant to this
51 article.
52 2-c. For records that constitute "law enforcement disciplinary
53 records" as defined in subdivision six of section eighty-six of this
54 article, a law enforcement agency may redact records pertaining to tech-
55 nical infractions as defined in subdivision nine of section eighty-six
56 of this article prior to disclosing such records under this article.
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1 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
