BILL NUMBER: S3359

SPONSOR: BAILEY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the family court act and the penal law, in relation to
prohibiting public officials from unsealing juvenile police records

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To prevent the unsealing and release of information contained in juve-
nile offender records by public officials and/or employees by making the
offense punishable under the penal law.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

This bill amends section 1 of the Family Court Act by adding ,a new
section 381.4 to provide that, unless authorized by a court of competent
jurisdiction, the release by a public official and/or an employee of
juvenile offender records, and other court records that have been, and
are sealed, shall be specifically prohibited by law.
              

Section 195.00 of the Penal Law is also amended to provide that, unless
authorized by a court of competent jurisdiction, the release by an
appointed or elected public official and/or a public employee of juve-
nile offender records and other court records that have been, and are
sealed pursuant to law, shall be an act of official misconduct.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Under current law, juvenile offender records, inclusive of the records
and entire documents, are sealed after adjudication to protect the
privacy of the entire proceeding. State laws specifically and directly
restrict the access to and disclosure, of the information and the
record. But, while the law clearly makes the release of the record
unlawful, there is no specific penalty attached for violation of the
law. The people most likely to have access to these records, and there-
fore most likely to be the conduit for release and disclosure are public
employees, and appointed and elected officials.  Because no specific
penalty or consequence is prescribed by current law, the only real
deterrent is moral or ethical obligation. Recent behavior by high rank-
ing officials in N.Y.C. has demonstrated that in the absence of
moral/ethical obligations, the law without teeth does not always work.
This bill, if enacted, would put teeth in the law by providing for
penalties appropriate for such misconduct by public officials and
employees who dishonor their oath of office.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2017-18: (S3347) Referred to Children and Families
2019-20: (S2194) Referred to Children and Families

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

No fiscal implications to the state.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeeding the
date on which it shall have become a law.