Bill Text: NY A10378 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Allows police officers to request, and police departments to be reimbursed for, ballistic armor vests classified as level III or higher; prohibits the commissioner from denying an application for reimbursement because a vest classified as level III or higher was requested by a police officer.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-05-21 - referred to codes [A10378 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A10378-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          10378

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                      May 21, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Buttenschon)
          -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes

        AN  ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to allowing police offi-
          cers to request, and reimbursing  police  departments  for,  ballistic
          armor vests classified as level III or higher

          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  3,  6  and  6-a  of
     2  section  837-d  of  the  executive  law, the section heading as added by
     3  chapter 84 of the laws of 1984, subdivision 3 as amended by chapter  503
     4  of the laws of 1991, and subdivision 6 as amended and subdivision 6-a as
     5  added by chapter 555 of the laws of 1988, are amended and a new subdivi-
     6  sion 6-b is added to read as follows:
     7    Soft and hard body ballistic armor vests for police officers.
     8    3.  Reimbursement  shall  be  made only for vests which at the time of
     9  purchase meet or exceed the  minimum  standards  and  specifications  in
    10  effect  on  that date as prescribed by rules and regulations promulgated
    11  pursuant to subdivisions six [and], six-a, and six-b  of  this  section,
    12  and  shall be limited to the total amount appropriated for such purpose.
    13  Reimbursement for any vest shall not exceed an amount which in the judg-
    14  ment of the commissioner would be the cost of a vest conforming to mini-
    15  mum standards and specifications in effect at  the  time  the  vest  was
    16  purchased. Selection of vests shall be a determination to be made by the
    17  applicant  in  accordance  with rules and regulations promulgated by the
    18  commissioner. Such rules and regulations shall provide that, subject  to
    19  the  provisions  of  subdivisions  six  [and],  six-a, and six-b of this
    20  section, the applicant may select from a range of vests including  those
    21  [commonly  known  or]  classified  as [type] level I, [type] level II-A,
    22  [type] level II [or type], level III-A [in such standard  classification
    23  systems  as  the  national  institute of justice standards for ballistic
    24  resistance of police body armor], or level III or higher.
    25    6. The commissioner shall promulgate regulations prescribing standards
    26  and specifications for vests and procedures for vest  selection  by  and

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15391-01-4
        A. 10378                            2

     1  reimbursement  to  applicants.  In  promulgating  such  regulations, the
     2  commissioner shall give due consideration to:
     3    (a)  the  maximum  total  weight  of  a  vest  which provides adequate
     4  protection against ballistic penetration and trauma, and  which  may  be
     5  worn in comfort throughout an eight hour tour of duty;
     6    (b)  the  ballistic  specifications which the vest or any part thereof
     7  must be capable of defeating which shall include, but not be limited to,
     8  the ballistic specifications of any firearms considered to  be  standard
     9  issue to eligible police officers;
    10    (c)  the  provisions  of  subdivision  six-b  of this section allowing
    11  police officers to choose a vest classified as level III or higher;
    12    (d) the testing procedures appropriate to determining  the  effective-
    13  ness of such vests;
    14    [(d)]  (e) the labeling requirements for the vests and component parts
    15  thereof; and
    16    [(e)] (f) the commercial availability of conforming vests.
    17    6-a. In the  evaluation  of  an  application  for  reimbursement,  the
    18  commissioner  shall, at the request of the applicant, give consideration
    19  to the ballistic specifications of any firearm or firearms considered by
    20  the applicant to be standard issue to its police officers,  and  to  any
    21  requests  by  such police officers for a vest classified as level III or
    22  higher.  The commissioner shall not deny any application for  reimburse-
    23  ment  because  a vest classified as level III or higher was requested by
    24  any police officer.
    25    6-b. Police departments shall give each police officer the  option  to
    26  choose  a  vest  classified as level III or higher when purchasing vests
    27  for eligible police officers.
    28    § 2. Paragraphs (b) and (g) of subdivision 1 of section 837-d  of  the
    29  executive  law,  as added by chapter 84 of the laws of 1984, are amended
    30  and a new paragraph (h) is added to read as follows:
    31    (b) "Vest" means a soft or hard body ballistic armor vest;
    32    (g) "Applicant" means a state agency,  municipal  corporation,  public
    33  authority,  public  benefit  corporation, or the highest official there-
    34  of[.]; and
    35    (h) "Level" means the classification of a vest as such level  or  type
    36  by  such  standard  classification  system  as the national institute of
    37  justice standards for ballistic resistance of police body armor.
    38    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.