Senate Bill S4661

2017-2018 Legislative Session

Provides that a police officer in the county of Westchester can be suspended without pay for not more than 30 days pending a trial of disciplinary charges

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Rules 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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Actions

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Date of Action	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jun 20, 2018	committed to rules
Jan 30, 2018	advanced to third reading
Jan 29, 2018	2nd report cal.
Jan 23, 2018	1st report cal.271
Jan 03, 2018	referred to local government
Feb 23, 2017	referred to local government

Votes

- Jan 23, 2018 - Local Government Committee Vote
  S4661
  
  Aye
  
  8
  
  Nay
  
  0
  
  Aye with Reservations
  
  1
  
  Absent
  
  0
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  
  0
  - - Local Government Committee Vote: Jan 23, 2018
      
      aye (8)
      
      Boyle
      
      Carlucci
      
      Kaminsky
      
      Marchione
      
      Murphy
      
      Ortt
      
      Ritchie
      
      Serrano
      
      aye wr (1)
      
      Brooks

2017-S4661 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Rules
Law Section:: Westchester County
Laws Affected:: Amd §7, Chap 104 of 1936; amd §18, Chap 891 of 1972

2017-S4661 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Provides that a police officer in the county of Westchester can be suspended without pay for not more than 30 days pending a trial of disciplinary charges.

2017-S4661 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S4661

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend chapter 104 of the laws of 1936
relating to providing for the establishment, organization and
operation of police departments in the towns of Westchester county and
chapter 891 of the laws of 1972 relating to continuing special
provisions relating to police departments of certain villages, in
relation to suspension of an officer pending a trial of disciplinary
charges

 PURPOSE :

Provides that a police officer in the county of Westchester can be
suspended without pay for not more than 30 days pending a trial of
disciplinary charges.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section one amends section 7 of chapter 104 of the laws of 1936 to
read that a town board or board of police commissioners shall have the
power to suspend, without pay, pending the trial of charges, any
member of such police department for a period not exceeding thirty
days.

Section two amends subdivision 9 of section 18 of chapter 891 of the
laws of 1972 is amended to read that a board of trustees or municipal

board shall have the power to suspend, without pay, pending the trial
of charges, any member of such police department for a period not
exceeding thirty days.

Section three establishes the effective date.

 JUSTIFICATION :

This legislation is designed to comport the Westchester Police Act
with New York State Civil Service Law, specifically sections 75 and
76, which govern procedures for disciplining public employees,
including police officers.

Currently, establishment of and disciplinary proceedings for police
departments created in the towns and villages of Westchester County
are governed by the Westchester Police Act, which sets special
provisions applicable only to the county's police departments. This
eighty-five year old law creates a great disparity in the way
disciplinary measures are enforced against police officers in
departments in the county verses the those in the rest of the state.
Section 75 of the Civil Service law includes similar language to the
Westchester Police Act; however, it provides that the employee may be
suspended without pay "for a period not exceeding thirty days," a key
provision absent in the Westchester Police Act. Court decisions have
interpreted the absence of this language to read as though the
municipalities in Westchester may indefinitely suspend, without pay, a
police officer pending a trial of disciplinary charges.

Disciplinary procedures for police officers in Westchester County
should comport with those held across other areas of the state. The
current state of this outdated law has resulted in lengthy suspensions
which is often more costly to the municipality than if the matter was
adjudicated timely, as required under the Civil Service law. The
impact of omitting the language, "for a period not exceeding thirty
days," could not be foreseen when the law was crafted in 1936 as it
predates the protections established under subdivision 3 of section 75
of the Civil Service law, which established this language, and was
amended as recently as 1984. This bill will conform the provisions
governing the police departments within Westchester County to those
enumerated in the Civil Service law.
 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

New bill.

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect immediately.

2017-S4661 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4661
 
                        2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 23, 2017
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  MURPHY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Local Government
 
 AN ACT to amend chapter 104 of the laws of 1936  relating  to  providing
   for  the  establishment,  organization and operation of police depart-
   ments in the towns of Westchester county and chapter 891 of  the  laws
   of  1972  relating to continuing special provisions relating to police
   departments of certain villages, in relation to suspension of an offi-
   cer pending a trial of disciplinary charges
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Section  7 of chapter 104 of the laws of 1936 relating to
 providing for the establishment, organization and  operation  of  police
 departments  in  the  towns of Westchester county, as amended by chapter
 812 of the laws of 1941, is amended to read as follows:
   § 7. Discipline and charges. Except as otherwise provided  by  law,  a
 member  of  such  police  department  shall  continue  in  office unless
 suspended or dismissed. The town board or board of police  commissioners
 shall  have  power  and  is authorized to adopt and make rules and regu-
 lations for the examination, hearing, investigation and determination of
 charges, made or preferred against any member or members of such  police
 department,  but no member or members of such police department shall be
 fined, reprimanded, removed or dismissed  until  written  charges  shall
 have  been  investigated,  examined,  heard  and determined by such town
 board or board of police commissioners in such manner, procedure,  prac-
 tice, examination and investigation as such board may, by such rules and
 regulations  from  time to time prescribe, except that the trial of such
 charges shall not be delegated and must be heard before  the  full  town
 board or full board of police commissioners or a majority of the members
 of either of such boards, and the affirmative vote of a majority of such
 members  shall  be  necessary for a conviction on any such charges. Such
 charges shall not be brought more than ninety days after the  time  when
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD09947-01-7

 S. 4661                             2
 
 the facts upon which such charges are based are known to such town board
 or  board of police commissioners.  Any member of such police department
 at the time of the hearing or trial of such  charges  before  such  town
 board  or board of police commissioners shall have the right to a public
 hearing and trial and to be represented by counsel at any  such  hearing
 or  trial  and  any  person who shall have preferred such charges or any
 part of the same shall not sit as a member of such town board  or  board
 of  police  commissioners  upon  such  hearing  or trial and any and all
 witnesses produced upon the trial shall testify under oath.
   Any member of such department found guilty  upon  charges  after  five
 days'  written  notice and an opportunity to be heard in his defense, of
 neglect or dereliction in the performance of official duty, or violation
 of rules or regulations or  disobedience,  or  incompetency  to  perform
 official  duty, or an act of delinquency seriously affecting his general
 character or fitness for office, may be punished by such town  board  or
 board  of  police  commissioners before which such charges are tried, by
 reprimand, forfeiture and the withholding of salary or compensation  for
 a  specified time not exceeding twenty days, by suspension from duty for
 a specified time not exceeding twenty days and the withholding of salary
 or compensation during such suspension, or by dismissal from the depart-
 ment. Such town board or board of police commissioners  shall  have  the
 power  to suspend, without pay, pending the trial of charges, any member
 of such police department FOR A PERIOD NOT EXCEEDING THIRTY  DAYS.    If
 any member of such police department so suspended shall not be convicted
 by  such  board  of  the  charges  so  preferred,  or  if  on review his
 conviction shall be reversed, then,  notwithstanding  such  charges  and
 suspension, he shall be entitled to full pay from the date of suspension
 to  the  date  of reinstatement less the amount of compensation, if any,
 received by him from any other employment or occupation during the peri-
 od beginning with such date of suspension  to  the  date  of  his  rein-
 statement and he shall be entitled to [an] A COURT order [as provided in
 article  seventy-eight  of  the  civil  practice  act]  to  enforce such
 payment.
   § 2.  Subdivision 9 of section 18 of chapter 891 of the laws  of  1972
 relating to continuing special provisions relating to police departments
 of certain villages is amended to read as follows:
   9.  Discipline  and  charges.  Except  as otherwise provided by law, a
 member of such police force shall continue in office unless suspended or
 dismissed. The board of trustees or municipal board shall have power and
 is authorized to adopt and make rules and regulations for  the  examina-
 tion,  hearing,  investigation  and  determination  of  charges, made or
 preferred against any member or members of such  police  force,  but  no
 member  or  members  of  such  police force shall be fined, reprimanded,
 removed or dismissed until written charges  shall  have  been  made  and
 preferred against him or them, nor until such charges have been investi-
 gated,  examined,  heard  and  determined  by  such board of trustees or
 municipal board in such manner,  procedure,  practice,  examination  and
 investigation  as such board may by such rules and regulations from time
 to time prescribe, except that the trial of such charges  shall  not  be
 delegated  and  must  be heard before the full board of trustees or full
 municipal board, or a majority of the members of either of such  boards,
 and  the  affirmative vote of a majority of such members shall be neces-
 sary to a conviction on any such charges.  Such  charges  shall  not  be
 brought  more  than ninety days after the time when the facts upon which
 such charges are based are known to such board of trustees or  municipal
 board.  Any  member  of  such police force at the time of the hearing or

 S. 4661                             3
 
 trial of such charges before such board of trustees or  municipal  board
 shall have the right to a public hearing and trial and to be represented
 by  counsel  at any such hearing or trial, and any person who shall have
 preferred such charges or any part of the same shall not sit as a member
 of such board of trustees or municipal board upon such hearing or trial.
 Any  and all witnesses produced upon the trial shall testify under oath.
 Any member of such force found guilty upon  charges,  after  five  days'
 written notice and an opportunity to be heard in his defense, of neglect
 or  dereliction  in  the  performance  of official duty, or violation of
 rules and regulations, or disobedience, or incompetency to perform offi-
 cial duty, or an act of  delinquency  seriously  affecting  his  general
 character  or fitness for office, may be punished by such board of trus-
 tees or municipal board before which such charges are tried,  by  repri-
 mand,  forfeiture  and  the  withholding of salary or compensation for a
 specified time not exceeding twenty days and the withholding  of  salary
 or compensation during such suspension, or by dismissal from the depart-
 ment.  Such board of trustees or municipal board shall have the power to
 suspend without pay, pending the trial of charges, any  member  of  such
 police  force  FOR A PERIOD NOT TO EXCEED THIRTY DAYS.  If any member of
 such police force so suspended shall not be convicted by such  board  of
 the  charges  so  preferred,  or  if  on  review his conviction shall be
 reversed, then, notwithstanding such charges and suspension, he shall be
 entitled to receive full pay from the date of suspension to the date  of
 reimbursement  less  the amount of compensation, if any, received by him
 from any other employment or occupation during the period beginning with
 such date of suspension to the date of his reinstatement and he shall be
 entitled to [an] A COURT order [as provided in article seventy-eight  of
 the civil practice act] to enforce the payment thereof.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

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Senate Bill S4661

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Rules Committee

Actions

Votes

Jan 23, 2018 - Local Government Committee Vote

Local Government Committee Vote: Jan 23, 2018

2017-S4661 (ACTIVE) - Details

2017-S4661 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2017-S4661 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2017-S4661 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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Sponsored By

Terrence Murphy

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Rules Committee

Actions

Votes

2017-S4661 (ACTIVE) - Details

2017-S4661 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2017-S4661 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2017-S4661 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments