Bill Text: NY S04490 | 2013-2014 | General Assembly | Introduced

New York Senate Bill 4490 (Prior Session Legislation)

Introduced

Bill Title: Permits the audio and/or televising, broadcasting or taking of motion pictures of certain court proceedings; authorizes the chief administrator of the courts to promulgate rules and regulations permitting audio-visual coverage of civil and criminal court proceedings.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-01-08 - REFERRED TO CODES [S04490 Detail]

Download: New_York-2013-S04490-Introduced.html

                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         4490
                              2013-2014 Regular Sessions
                                   I N  S E N A T E
                                     April 3, 2013
                                      ___________
       Introduced by Sen. NOZZOLIO -- (at request of the Office of Court Admin-
         istration)  --  read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be
         committed to the Committee on Codes
       AN ACT to amend the civil rights law and the judiciary law, in  relation
         to broadcast of judicial proceedings; and to repeal section 218 of the
         judiciary   law   relating   to   audio-visual  coverage  of  judicial
         proceedings
         THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section  1.  Section 52 of the civil rights law, as amended by chapter
    2  352 of the laws of 1976, is amended to read as follows:
    3    S 52. Televising, broadcasting or taking motion  pictures  of  certain
    4  proceedings  prohibited.  No  person,  firm,  association or corporation
    5  shall televise, broadcast, take motion pictures or arrange for the tele-
    6  vising, broadcasting, or taking of motion pictures within this state  of
    7  proceedings,  in  which  the testimony of witnesses by subpoena or other
    8  compulsory process is or may be taken, conducted by a court, commission,
    9  committee, administrative agency or other tribunal in this state; except
   10  that the prohibition contained in this section shall not  apply  to  THE
   11  AUDIO  BROADCAST OF ANY PROCEEDING CONDUCTED BY A COURT, TO ANY TELEVIS-
   12  ING, BROADCASTING OR TAKING OF MOTION PICTURES  OF  THAT  PORTION  OF  A
   13  COURT  PROCEEDING  AT WHICH NO WITNESS WILL TESTIFY, AND TO ANY TELEVIS-
   14  ING, BROADCASTING OR TAKING OF MOTION PICTURES  OF  THAT  PORTION  OF  A
   15  COURT  PROCEEDINGS  AT WHICH A WITNESS WILL TESTIFY WHERE ALL PARTIES TO
   16  SUCH PROCEEDING AND THE WITNESS CONSENT IN ADVANCE TO  SUCH  TELEVISING,
   17  BROADCASTING OR TAKING OF MOTION PICTURES OF HIS OR HER TESTIMONY OR, IF
   18  SUCH CONSENT IS NOT GIVEN, WHERE THE IMAGE OF THE WITNESS WHILE TESTIFY-
   19  ING  IS  VISUALLY OBSCURED OR TO public hearings conducted by the public
   20  service commission with regard to rates  charged  by  utilities,  or  to
   21  proceedings  by  either  house  of the state legislature or committee or
   22  joint committee of the legislature or by a  temporary  state  commission
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD08972-01-3
       S. 4490                             2
    1  which  includes  members of the legislature, so long as any testimony of
    2  witnesses which is taken is taken without resort to  subpoena  or  other
    3  compulsory process, if (1) the consent of the temporary president of the
    4  senate  or  the  speaker  of the assembly, in the case of the respective
    5  houses of the state legislature, or the [chairman] CHAIR, in the case of
    6  such a committee or commission, and a majority of  the  members  thereof
    7  present  at  such proceedings, shall have been first obtained, provided,
    8  however, that in the case of the public  rate  hearings  of  the  public
    9  service  commission, it shall be sufficient to obtain the consent of the
   10  presiding officer, (2) the written consent of the witness testifying  at
   11  the  time  shall  have  been  obtained,  prior to the time of his OR HER
   12  testifying, and (3) it has been determined by such presiding officer  or
   13  [chairman]  CHAIR  and  such  majority  of the members that it is in the
   14  public interest to permit the  televising,  broadcasting  or  taking  of
   15  motion pictures.
   16    Any violation of this section shall be a misdemeanor.
   17    S  2.  Subdivision 1 of section 212 of the judiciary law is amended by
   18  adding a new paragraph (w) to read as follows:
   19    (W) PROMULGATE RULES AND REGULATIONS PERMITTING AUDIO-VISUAL  COVERAGE
   20  OF  CIVIL  AND  CRIMINAL  COURT  PROCEEDINGS,  INCLUDING  TRIALS, IN THE
   21  DISCRETION OF THE COURT; PROVIDED THAT  THE  CHIEF  ADMINISTRATOR  SHALL
   22  AFFORD  ALL INTERESTED PERSONS, AGENCIES AND INSTITUTIONS AN OPPORTUNITY
   23  TO REVIEW AND COMMENT UPON SUCH RULES AND  REGULATIONS  PRIOR  TO  THEIR
   24  PROMULGATION,  AND  PROVIDED  THAT  SUCH  RULES AND REGULATIONS SHALL BE
   25  CONSISTENT WITH PROVISIONS OF SECTION FIFTY-TWO OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS  LAW
   26  AND  SHALL  INCLUDE  PROVISIONS  TO ENSURE THAT AUDIO-VISUAL COVERAGE OF
   27  COURT PROCEEDINGS SHALL NOT INTERFERE WITH THE DECORUM  AND  DIGNITY  OF
   28  COURTROOMS AND COURT FACILITIES.
   29    S 3. Section 218 of the judiciary law is REPEALED.
   30    S  4. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
   31  ing the date on which it shall have become a law.