NY State Senate Bill 2021-S8428

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Investigations And Government Operations Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

Please enter your contact information

First Name

Last Name

Email Address

A valid email address is required.

Home address is used to determine the senate district in which you reside. Your support or opposition to this bill is then shared immediately with the senator who represents you.

Optional services from the NY State Senate:

Create an account. An account allows you to officially support or oppose key legislation, sign petitions with a single click, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Include a custom message for your Senator? (Optional)

Enter a message to your senator. Many New Yorkers use this to share the reasoning behind their support or opposition to the bill. Others might share a personal anecdote about how the bill would affect them or people they care about.

Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Feb 28, 2022	referred to investigations and government operations

2021-S8428 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A9050
Current Committee:: Senate Investigations And Government Operations
Law Section:: Public Officers Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§87 & 89, Pub Off L
Versions Introduced in 2023-2024 Legislative Session:: S2322, A2442

2021-S8428 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires the disclosure of certain information when an agency responds to a request for law enforcement disciplinary records, including information a victim alleges regarding sexual misconduct.

2021-S8428 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S8428

SPONSOR: BAILEY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public officers law, in relation to the disclosure
of law enforcement officer's disciplinary records

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

The purpose of this legislation is to clarify the full scope of § 50-a's
repeal.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends section 87 of the public officers' law by adding a new
subdivision, 4-c, which further clarifies situations in which a request
for records cannot be denied.

Section 2 amends section 89 subdivision 2-b of the public officers' law
to add safeguards for survivors of police sexual harassment and miscon-
duct.

Section 3 is the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

In June 2020, while New Yorkers joined nationwide protests following the
police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and too many others,
the New York Legislature responded by advancing a major legislative
package to increase police transparency and accountability. Central to
that package was a bill to repeal New York Civil Rights Law Section
50-a. For years, § 50-a had rendered secret all records concerning
police misconduct complaints, investigations, and disciplinary outcomes.
Section 50-a stood in direct contrast to the public policy goals of the
Freedom of Information Law, which are to make government agencies and
their employees accountable to the public, and the law made it impossi-
ble to determine whether police departments were doing all they could to
thoroughly investigate and respond to potential abuses.

The legislation to repeal § 50-a was clear; it defined a new category of
law enforcement disciplinary records that were now available for public
view. The amendments to FOIL provided clearly defined, narrow exceptions
for the types of information that could still be withheld, but the plain
text of the legislation and the extensive floor debate made clear that
the measure was intended to make the overwhelming majority of such
records accessible.

Unfortunately, many law enforcement agencies are continuing to withhold
vast amounts of disciplinary records. Many police departments are refus-
ing to disclose records related to "unsubstantiated" misconduct
complaints, claiming that they remain confidential. Others are refusing
to disclose records that were created prior to June 2020 or are claiming
that other, irrelevant FOIL exemptions apply. There has already been
extensive litigation concerning these refusals, resulting in a patchwork
of conflicting rulings, including some that have incorrectly held that
the legislature intended for many of these records to remain secret.


The fact that the legislature intended to make unsubstantiated records
available and to sharply curtail the permissible exemptions for law
enforcement disciplinary records was discussed at length. It was cited
by both supporters of the bill and opponents, who while disagreeing on
the merits of the proposal, agreed on its intended outcome to open up
these very records to public scrutiny.

This bill reaffirms and clarifies the full scope of § 50-a's repeal.  It
explicitly states that law enforcement agencies cannot continue to with-
hold these records beyond the narrow categories defined in the earlier
repeal legislation, and it will provide courts with an unambiguous
declaration of the legislature's intent with respect to such records.

Finally, this bill adds safeguards for survivors of police sexual
harassment and misconduct. Current law does not provide sufficient guar-
antees to protect the identities of these survivors, and there is a real
concern that survivors could face retaliation or be reluctant to come
forward with complaints in the first place if they fear that their iden-
tities will be exposed in subsequent FOIL productions. This bill will
ensure that police sexual misconduct survivors' identities remain confi-
dential, while still allowing for release of the underlying misconduct
and disciplinary information that the public has a strong interest in
reviewing.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2021-S8428 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8428
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 28, 2022
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  BAILEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Govern-
   ment Operations
 
 AN ACT to amend the public officers law, in relation to  the  disclosure
   of law enforcement officer's disciplinary records
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 87 of the public officers law is amended by  adding
 a new subdivision 4-c to read as follows:
   4-C.  AN  AGENCY RESPONDING TO A REQUEST FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT DISCIPLI-
 NARY RECORDS AS DEFINED IN SECTION EIGHTY-SIX OF THIS ARTICLE SHALL  NOT
 DENY ACCESS TO SUCH RECORDS OR PORTIONS THEREOF ON THE GROUNDS THAT SUCH
 RECORDS:
   (A)   CONSTITUTE  AN  UNWARRANTED  INVASION  OF  PERSONAL  PRIVACY  AS
 DESCRIBED IN PARAGRAPH (B) OF SUBDIVISION TWO OF  THIS  SECTION  BECAUSE
 SUCH  RECORDS  CONCERN COMPLAINTS, ALLEGATIONS, OR CHARGES THAT HAVE NOT
 YET BEEN DETERMINED, DID NOT RESULT IN DISCIPLINARY ACTION, OR  RESULTED
 IN A DISPOSITION OR FINDING OTHER THAN SUBSTANTIATED OR GUILTY;
   (B)  ARE  COMPILED  FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT PURPOSES AS DESCRIBED IN PARA-
 GRAPH (E) OF SUBDIVISION TWO OF THIS SECTION;
   (C) ARE INTER-AGENCY OR INTRA-AGENCY MATERIALS AS DESCRIBED  IN  PARA-
 GRAPH (G) OF SUBDIVISION TWO OF THIS SECTION;
   (D)  ARE  OR  WERE  DESIGNATED  AS  CONFIDENTIAL, SECRET, OR OTHERWISE
 PRIVATE BY A PRIVATE AGREEMENT, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO  A  SETTLE-
 MENT, STIPULATION, CONTRACT, OR COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT; OR
   (E) WERE CREATED PRIOR TO THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SUBDIVISION.
   §  2.   Paragraphs (c) and (d) of subdivision 2-b of section 89 of the
 public officers law, as added by chapter 96 of the  laws  of  2020,  are
 amended and a new paragraph (e) is added to read as follows:
   (c) any social security numbers; [or]
   (d)  disclosure  of  the use of an employee assistance program, mental
 health service, or  substance  abuse  assistance  service  by  a  person
 employed by a law enforcement agency as defined in section eighty-six of
 this  article  as  a  police  officer,  peace officer, or firefighter or
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD14312-01-2
 S. 8428                             2
 
 firefighter/paramedic, unless such use is mandated by a law  enforcement
 disciplinary proceeding that may otherwise be disclosed pursuant to this
 article[.]; OR
   (E)  THE  NAME  OR  OTHER PERSONAL IDENTIFYING INFORMATION OF A PERSON
 INCLUDED IN A LAW ENFORCEMENT DISCIPLINARY RECORD, WHERE THAT PERSON  IS
 ALLEGED  TO  HAVE BEEN THE VICTIM OF SEXUAL MISCONDUCT. FOR THE PURPOSES
 OF THIS SECTION, THE TERM "SEXUAL MISCONDUCT" ENCOMPASSES MISCONDUCT  OF
 A  SEXUAL NATURE OR MOTIVATED IN WHOLE OR IN PART BY THE PERSON'S ACTUAL
 OR PERCEIVED GENDER OR GENDER PRESENTATION ALLEGED BY A PERSON AGAINST A
 MEMBER OF A LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY. SEXUAL MISCONDUCT INCLUDES,  BUT  IS
 NOT  LIMITED  TO, THE FOLLOWING EXAMPLES OF MISCONDUCT: VERBAL, DIGITAL,
 AND WRITTEN SEXUAL HARASSMENT; SEXUAL HARASSMENT USING PHYSICAL GESTURES
 AND EXPRESSIONS; SEXUAL HUMILIATION; SEXUAL INTIMIDATION  AND  COERCION;
 TAKING  UNWARRANTED PHOTOGRAPHS OR VIDEOS OR VOYEURISTIC ACTIONS; USE OF
 PERSONAL INFORMATION, INCLUDING TELEPHONE NUMBERS, OBTAINED  FROM  INDI-
 VIDUALS  IN THE COURSE OF DUTY FOR OTHER THAN LEGITIMATE PURPOSES; SEXU-
 ALLY MOTIVATED POLICE ACTIONS SUCH AS  STOPS,  SUMMONSES,  SEARCHES,  OR
 ARRESTS;  SEXUAL  OR  ROMANTIC  PROPOSITIONS; AND ANY INTENTIONAL BODILY
 CONTACT OF A SEXUAL NATURE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, GROPING, SEXU-
 AL ASSAULT, RAPE, AND ENGAGING IN SEXUAL ACTIVITY WHILE ON DUTY.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

Comments

Open Legislation is a forum for New York State legislation. All comments are subject to review and community moderation is encouraged.

Comments deemed off-topic, commercial, campaign-related, self-promotional; or that contain profanity, hate or toxic speech; or that link to sites outside of the nysenate.gov domain are not permitted, and will not be published. Attempts to intimidate and silence contributors or deliberately deceive the public, including excessive or extraneous posting/posts, or coordinated activity, are prohibited and may result in the temporary or permanent banning of the user. Comment moderation is generally performed Monday through Friday. By contributing or voting you agree to the Terms of Participation and verify you are over 13.

Create an account. An account allows you to sign petitions with a single click, officially support or oppose key legislation, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Senate Bill S8428

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Investigations And Government Operations Committee

2021-S8428 (ACTIVE) - Details

2021-S8428 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2021-S8428 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2021-S8428 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S8428

Share this bill

Sponsored By

Jamaal T. Bailey

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Investigations And Government Operations Committee

2021-S8428 (ACTIVE) - Details

2021-S8428 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2021-S8428 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2021-S8428 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments