Bill Text: NY S07759 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Enacts the "keep police radio public act"; ensures that, except for sensitive information, all radio communications are accessible to emergency services organizations and professional journalists.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-0)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-06-06 - referred to governmental operations [S07759 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S07759-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         7759--A

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    November 17, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by Sens. GIANARIS, FERNANDEZ, GONZALEZ, HOYLMAN-SIGAL, PARK-
          ER, SALAZAR, SEPULVEDA -- read twice and  ordered  printed,  and  when
          printed  to  be  committed to the Committee on Rules -- recommitted to
          the Committee on Finance in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec.  8  --
          committee  discharged,  bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
          recommitted to said committee

        AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation  to  enacting  the  "keep
          police radio public act"

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

     1    Section 1. This act shall be known and  may  be  cited  as  the  "keep
     2  police radio public act".
     3    §  2.  The  executive  law is amended by adding a new section 222-a to
     4  read as follows:
     5    § 222-a. Law enforcement communications public access.    1.  For  the
     6  purposes  of  this section, the following terms shall have the following
     7  meanings:
     8    (a) "emergency services organization" means a public or private  agen-
     9  cy,  voluntary  organization  or group organized and functioning for the
    10  purpose of providing fire, medical, ambulance, rescue, housing, food  or
    11  other services directed toward relieving human suffering, injury or loss
    12  of  life  or  damage  to property as a result of an emergency, including
    13  non-profit and  governmentally-supported  organizations,  but  excluding
    14  governmental agencies.
    15    (b)  "encryption"  means  the  encoding  of  voice communication on an
    16  analog or digitally modulated radio carrier, which renders the  communi-
    17  cation difficult or impossible to be monitored by commercially available
    18  radio receivers or scanners.
    19    (c)  "law  enforcement  agency"  means any agency or department of any
    20  municipality, any police district, or any  agency,  department,  commis-
    21  sion,  authority  or public benefit corporation of the state of New York

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD13622-02-4
        S. 7759--A                          2

     1  employing a police officer or police officers as that term is defined in
     2  subdivision thirty-four of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law.
     3    (d) "radio communications" means verbal communications that are broad-
     4  cast  over  a  radio  frequency  either  from a dispatch center to field
     5  personnel, from field personnel to a dispatch center, or  between  field
     6  personnel,  and are accessible to all personnel monitoring that frequen-
     7  cy. "Radio  communications"  does  not  include  private  communications
     8  between two devices, such as a cellular telephone, or the transmittal of
     9  data  to  or from a mobile data terminal, tablet, text messaging device,
    10  or similar device.
    11    (e) "sensitive information" means any portion of a radio communication
    12  that, if disclosed, would:
    13    i. deprive a person of a right to a fair trial  or  impartial  adjudi-
    14  cation;
    15    ii.  identify  a confidential source or disclose confidential informa-
    16  tion relating to a criminal investigation; and
    17    iii. reveal criminal investigative techniques  or  procedures,  except
    18  routine techniques and procedures.
    19    2.  Any  law enforcement agency in the state that encrypts any portion
    20  of its radio communications shall ensure that all radio  communications,
    21  with  the  exception  of  sensitive information, are accessible, in real
    22  time, to emergency services organizations and  professional  journalists
    23  as  defined  in  section seventy-nine-h of the civil rights law.  In the
    24  event that a law enforcement agency does  encrypt  radio  communications
    25  pursuant  to  this  subdivision,  the department of state shall, for the
    26  purpose of verifying credentials, establish and administer a process for
    27  granting real-time access to radio communications to emergency  services
    28  organizations  and  to  professional  journalists.    Such a process for
    29  granting access shall take no more than five business days to complete.
    30    3. The department of state shall  promulgate  rules,  regulations  and
    31  standards deemed necessary to implement the provisions of this section.
    32    §  3.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
    33  have become a law.