Bill Text: NY S04336 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended


Bill Title: Establishes a process for neutral arbitrators to review certain disciplinary decisions and penalties imposed on members of the New York city police department.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-02-27 - REPORTED AND COMMITTED TO FINANCE [S04336 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S04336-Amended.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         4336--A

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    February 7, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced by Sen. SEPULVEDA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed  to  be  committed  to  the  Committee on Cities 1 -- reported
          favorably from said  committee  and  committed  to  the  Committee  on
          Finance  --  committee  discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
          amended and recommitted to said committee

        AN ACT to amend the New York city charter, in relation to establishing a
          process for neutral arbitrators to review certain  disciplinary  deci-
          sions  and  penalties  imposed  on members of the New York city police
          department

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  Paragraph  3 of subdivision (d) of section 440 of the New
     2  York city charter, as amended by section 4 of question 2  of  local  law
     3  number 215 of the city of New York for the year 2019, is amended to read
     4  as follows:
     5    3. The police commissioner shall report to the board in writing on any
     6  action taken, including the level of discipline and any penalty imposed,
     7  in all cases in which the board submitted a finding or recommendation to
     8  the police commissioner with respect to a matter within its jurisdiction
     9  pursuant  to  this  section.  In  any case substantiated by the board in
    10  which the police commissioner intends to impose or has imposed a differ-
    11  ent penalty or level of discipline than that recommended by the board or
    12  by the deputy commissioner responsible for making disciplinary recommen-
    13  dations, the police commissioner shall provide such written report, with
    14  notice to the subject officer, no later than 45 days after  the  imposi-
    15  tion of such discipline or in such shorter time frame as may be required
    16  pursuant  to an agreement between the police commissioner and the board.
    17  Such report shall include a detailed  explanation  of  the  reasons  for
    18  deviating  from  the board's recommendation or the recommendation of the
    19  deputy commissioner responsible for making disciplinary  recommendations
    20  [and,  in].  In cases in which the police commissioner intends to impose

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD08793-02-3

        S. 4336--A                          2

     1  [or has imposed] a penalty or level of discipline  that  is  lower  than
     2  that  recommended  by  the board or such deputy commissioner, the police
     3  commissioner shall also include an explanation of how [the  final]  such
     4  disciplinary  outcome  was  determined, including each factor the police
     5  commissioner considered in making his or her  [decision]  determination,
     6  and  such  disciplinary  matter  shall then be immediately referred to a
     7  neutral arbitrator assigned from a panel  of  five  neutral  arbitrators
     8  appointed  by  the  public  advocate  for  a hearing and decision.   The
     9  arbitrator's decision shall be final but disciplinary arbitrators  shall
    10  confine  themselves  to  determinations  of  guilt  or innocence and the
    11  appropriateness of the proposed penalties, and may not exceed the penal-
    12  ty recommended by the board.
    13    § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
    14  it shall have become a law.
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