Bill Text: NY S08088 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to an employer's ability to suspend a police officer without pay pending disciplinary charges regardless of chapters 104 and 524 of 1936.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-03-17 - REFERRED TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT [S08088 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S08088-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          8088

                    IN SENATE

                                     March 17, 2020
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  MAYER  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Local Government

        AN ACT to amend the village law, in relation to an employer's ability to
          suspend a police officer without pay pending disciplinary charges

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

     1    Section  1.  Subdivision  1  of  section  8-804 of the village law, as
     2  amended by chapter 523 of the laws  of  1976,  is  amended  to  read  as
     3  follows:
     4    1.  Except as otherwise provided by law, a member of such police force
     5  or department shall continue in office unless  suspended  or  dismissed.
     6  The board of trustees or municipal board shall have power and is author-
     7  ized  to adopt and make rules and regulations for the examination, hear-
     8  ing, investigation and  determination  of  charges,  made  or  preferred
     9  against any member or members of such police force or department. Except
    10  as  otherwise  provided,  no  member  or members of such police force or
    11  department shall be fined, reprimanded, suspended, removed or  dismissed
    12  until  written  charges shall have been examined, heard and investigated
    13  in such manner or procedure, practice, examination and investigation  as
    14  the  board may by rules and regulations from time to time prescribe. Any
    15  member of such police force or department at the time of the hearing  or
    16  trial of such charges shall have the right to a public hearing and trial
    17  and  to  be represented by counsel at any such hearing or trial, and any
    18  person who shall have preferred such charges or any  part  of  the  same
    19  shall not sit as judge upon such hearing or trial. Any and all witnesses
    20  produced in such support of all or any part of such charges shall testi-
    21  fy  thereto under oath. Any member of such force or department who shall
    22  have been so dismissed shall not be reinstated as a member of such force
    23  or department unless he shall within twelve months of his dismissal file
    24  with such board a written application for a  rehearing  of  the  charges
    25  upon  which he was dismissed.  Such board shall have the power to rehear
    26  such charges and, in its discretion, reinstate a member of the force  or
    27  department  after  he  has  filed such written application therefor. Any
    28  member of such force or department found guilty upon charges, after five

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15866-01-0
        S. 8088                             2

     1  days' notice and an opportunity to be heard in his defense,  of  neglect
     2  or  dereliction  in  the  performance  of official duty, or violation of
     3  rules and regulations, or  disobedience,  or  incompetency,  to  perform
     4  official  duty, or an act of delinquency seriously affecting his general
     5  character or fitness for office, may be punished by the board  of  trus-
     6  tees or other municipal board having jurisdiction, by reprimand, forfei-
     7  ture  and the withholding of salary or compensation for a specified time
     8  not exceeding twenty days, suspension from duty for a specified time not
     9  exceeding twenty days and the  withholding  of  salary  or  compensation
    10  during  such  suspension,  or  by  dismissal from the department. [Such]
    11  Notwithstanding chapters one hundred four and five  hundred  twenty-four
    12  of  the  laws  of nineteen hundred thirty-six, such board shall have the
    13  power to suspend, without pay for a period not to  exceed  thirty  days,
    14  pending the trial of charges, any member of such police force or depart-
    15  ment.    If  any  member of such police force or department so suspended
    16  shall not be convicted by such board of the  charges  so  preferred,  he
    17  shall be entitled to full pay from the date of suspension, notwithstand-
    18  ing such charges and suspension.
    19    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.