NY State Senate Bill 2025-S613

Senate Bill S613

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Relates to giving prosecutors' offices access to law enforcement records for discovery purposes

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Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Codes 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

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 08, 2025	referred to codes

co-Sponsors

2025-S613 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A825
Current Committee:: Senate Codes
Law Section:: Criminal Procedure Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §245.20, CP L

2025-S613 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires police departments and agencies to provide district attorneys' offices access to such departments' and agencies' electronic record systems for discovery purposes.

2025-S613 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S613

SPONSOR: MYRIE
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to giving prose-
cutors' offices access to law enforcement records for discovery purposes

 
PURPOSE:

This legislation would grant district attorneys' offices direct access
to law enforcement records and databases related to the subject matter
of criminal cases.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 expresses the legislature's intent to promote the timely and
fair resolution of criminal cases, advancing the interests of justice
for both defendants and the public at large, by easing the administra-
tive burden on district attorneys and police departments alike through
the provision to district attorneys of direct access to law enforcement
records and databases.

Section 2 provides that each district attorney's office shall have
access to the electronic records systems of police departments operating
in its county that contain information related to the subject matter of
criminal cases. Each police department shall issue no fewer than one
login credential to the district attorney's office, and no fewer than
one additional login credentials every twenty-thousand residents of the
county.

Section 3 establishes that the act shall take effect on the ninetieth
day after it shall have become a law.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The legislature enacted reforms of the discovery process to enhance
transparency and fairness in criminal proceedings by ensuring that
defendants have timely access to the evidence against them. However, the
implementation of these reforms has placed significant burdens on both
district attorneys' offices and law enforcement agencies, which must
meet tight deadlines for the collection and disclosure of vast amounts
of records. The effects of this burden are exacerbated by the current
lack of direct access by district attorneys' offices to law enforcement
evidence systems, forcing prosecutors to rely on a manual and delayed
process for obtaining critical materials.

To address these challenges, this act seeks to improve the efficiency of
the discovery process by granting district attorneys' offices direct
access to law enforcement records and databases related to the subject
matter of criminal cases. This access will help alleviate delays, reduce
the administrative burden on both prosecutors and law enforcement, and
ensure that cases are resolved based on their merits rather than proce-
dural failures. By allowing staff in district attorneys' offices to
directly retrieve records, the act also aims to return police officers
to their core responsibilities of maintaining public safety.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New Bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be Determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become a law.

2025-S613 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    613
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 8, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  MYRIE  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes
 
 AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to giving prose-
   cutors' offices  access  to  law  enforcement  records  for  discovery
   purposes

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Legislative intent. The legislature enacted reforms of  the
 discovery  process  in  two  thousand twenty to enhance transparency and
 fairness in criminal proceedings by ensuring that defendants have timely
 access to the evidence against  them.  However,  the  implementation  of
 these reforms has placed significant burdens on both district attorneys'
 offices  and  law  enforcement agencies, which must meet tight deadlines
 for the collection and  disclosure  of  vast  amounts  of  records.  The
 effects  of  this  burden  are exacerbated by the current lack of direct
 access by  district  attorneys'  offices  to  law  enforcement  evidence
 systems, forcing prosecutors to rely on a manual and delayed process for
 obtaining critical materials.
   To  address these challenges, this act seeks to improve the efficiency
 of the discovery process by granting district attorneys' offices  direct
 access  to  law enforcement records and databases related to the subject
 matter of criminal cases. This access will help alleviate delays, reduce
 the administrative burden on both prosecutors and law  enforcement,  and
 ensure  that cases are resolved based on their merits rather than proce-
 dural failures. By allowing staff  in  district  attorneys'  offices  to
 directly  retrieve  records, the act also aims to return police officers
 to their core responsibilities of maintaining public safety.
   The legislature finds that these reforms will promote the  timely  and
 fair  resolution  of  criminal cases, advancing the interests of justice
 for both defendants and the public at large.

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD00487-02-5
 S. 613                              2
 
   § 2. Section 245.20 of the criminal procedure law is amended by adding
 a new subdivision 8 to read as follows:
   8.  PROSECUTOR  ACCESS TO LAW ENFORCEMENT MATERIALS. (A) EACH DISTRICT
 ATTORNEY'S OFFICE SHALL HAVE ACCESS TO  ALL  ELECTRONIC  RECORD  SYSTEMS
 INCLUDING  BUT  NOT  LIMITED TO DOCUMENTS, AUDIO FILES, AND VIDEO FILES,
 CONTAINING INFORMATION RELATED TO THE SUBJECT MATTER OF A CRIMINAL CASE,
 OR INFORMATION THAT A COURT HAS ORDERED THE PROSECUTOR  TO  DISCLOSE  TO
 THE  DEFENSE,  OF EVERY POLICE DEPARTMENT OR AGENCY CERTIFIED IN ACCORD-
 ANCE WITH PARAGRAPH (D) OF SUBDIVISION  ONE  OF  SECTION  EIGHT  HUNDRED
 FORTY-SIX-H OF THE EXECUTIVE LAW THAT OPERATES WITHIN THE COUNTY OF SUCH
 DISTRICT ATTORNEY.
   (B)  EVERY  POLICE  DEPARTMENT OR AGENCY SHALL ISSUE NO FEWER THAN ONE
 LOGIN CREDENTIAL TO EACH DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE WITH ACCESS TO  SUCH
 DEPARTMENT'S  OR  AGENCY'S  COMPUTER SYSTEM PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH (A) OF
 THIS SUBDIVISION AND SHALL ISSUE NO  FEWER  THAN  ONE  ADDITIONAL  LOGIN
 CREDENTIAL  FOR  EVERY TWENTY THOUSAND RESIDENTS OF THE COUNTY AS DETER-
 MINED BY THE MOST RECENT FEDERAL  CENSUS.  THE  CREDENTIALS  ISSUED  MAY
 RESTRICT THE USER TO VIEWING, PRINTING, DOWNLOADING, OR OTHERWISE SAVING
 THE  MATERIALS ACCESSED WITH NO ABILITY TO GENERATE, EDIT, OR DELETE ANY
 DOCUMENTS, AND MAY RESTRICT A DISTRICT  ATTORNEY'S  OFFICE'S  ACCESS  TO
 MATERIALS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT MATTER OF AN ACTUAL CASE.
   (C)  THE  LOGIN  CREDENTIALS  ISSUED PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH (B) OF THIS
 SUBDIVISION SHALL GRANT ACCESS TO ALL ELECTRONIC FILES MAINTAINED IN THE
 DEPARTMENT'S OR AGENCY'S COMPUTER SYSTEMS FOR EVERY CASE BROUGHT TO  THE
 DISTRICT  ATTORNEY'S OFFICE TO INCLUDE, BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO, ALL DOCU-
 MENTS REQUIRED FOR FULL COMPLIANCE WITH THIS ARTICLE.
   (D) ALL DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES WITH ONE  HUNDRED  THOUSAND  OR  MORE
 INDIVIDUALS  LIVING IN THE AREA OVER WHICH SUCH DEPARTMENT OR AGENCY HAS
 JURISDICTION SHALL PROVIDE THE RELEVANT DISTRICT  ATTORNEY'S  OFFICE  OR
 OFFICES  WITH  ACCESS  TO  SUCH  COMPUTER  SYSTEMS  WITHIN  THE PHYSICAL
 LOCATION OF SUCH DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE OR OFFICES. ALL  DEPARTMENTS
 AND  AGENCIES WITH FEWER THAN ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND INDIVIDUALS LIVING IN
 THE AREA OVER WHICH SUCH DEPARTMENT OR  AGENCY  HAS  JURISDICTION  SHALL
 PROVIDE  THE  RELEVANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE OR OFFICES WITH ACCESS
 TO SUCH COMPUTER SYSTEMS IN AN EASILY ACCESSIBLE POLICE PRECINCT.
   § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
 have become a law.

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Senate Bill S613

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Sponsored By

Zellnor Myrie

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Codes Committee

co-Sponsors

Cordell Cleare

Patricia Fahy

Robert Jackson

Brian Kavanagh

2025-S613 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S613 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S613 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S613 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments