Bill Text: NY S06286 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requires redaction of unfounded and unsubstantiated allegations in law enforcement disciplinary records.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 8-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - REFERRED TO INVESTIGATIONS AND GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS [S06286 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-S06286-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          6286

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                     April 20, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sens. SERINO, GALLIVAN, JORDAN -- read twice and ordered
          printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Investi-
          gations and Government Operations

        AN ACT to amend the public officers law, in relation to prohibiting  the
          public  disclosure of unsubstantiated or unfounded complaints, allega-
          tions and charges made against law enforcement officers

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

     1    Section  1. Section 86 of the public officers law is amended by adding
     2  two new subdivisions 10 and 11 to read as follows:
     3    10.  "Unsubstantiated  complaint,  allegation  or  charge"  means  any
     4  complaint,  allegation  or  charge  against  a  person employed by a law
     5  enforcement agency as defined in this section as a police officer, peace
     6  officer, or firefighter or firefighter/paramedic where the  evidence  is
     7  insufficient  to determine whether the person employed by a law enforce-
     8  ment agency did or did not commit misconduct.
     9    11. "Unfounded complaint, allegation or charge" means  any  complaint,
    10  allegation  or  charge  against  a  person employed by a law enforcement
    11  agency as defined in this section as a police officer, peace officer, or
    12  firefighter or firefighter/paramedic where there is sufficient  credible
    13  evidence to believe that the subject employed by a law enforcement agen-
    14  cy did not commit the alleged act.
    15    §  2.  Subdivision  4-b  of  section 87 of the public officers law, as
    16  added by chapter 96 of the laws of 2020, is amended to read as follows:
    17    4-b. A law enforcement agency responding to a request for law enforce-
    18  ment disciplinary records, as defined  in  section  eighty-six  of  this
    19  article,  [may]  shall  redact any portion of such record containing the
    20  information specified in subdivision two-c  of  section  eighty-nine  of
    21  this article prior to disclosing such record under this article.
    22    §  3.  Subdivision  2-c  of  section 89 of the public officers law, as
    23  added by chapter 96 of the laws of 2020, is amended to read as follows:

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD08034-01-1
        S. 6286                             2

     1    2-c.  For  records  that  constitute  "law  enforcement   disciplinary
     2  records"  as  defined  in  subdivision six of section eighty-six of this
     3  article, a law enforcement agency [may] shall redact records  pertaining
     4  to  technical  infractions  as  defined  in  subdivision nine of section
     5  eighty-six of this article and records pertaining to complaints, allega-
     6  tions  and charges against a person employed by a law enforcement agency
     7  that are unsubstantiated or unfounded as defined by subdivisions ten and
     8  eleven of section eighty-six of this article prior  to  disclosing  such
     9  records under this article.
    10    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.