NY State Senate Bill S7527

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Civil Service And Pensions Committee

Introduced
In Committee
On Floor Calendar
- Passed Senate
- Passed Assembly
Delivered to Governor
Signed/Vetoed by Governor

Your Voice

Please enter your contact information

First Name *

Last Name *

Email Address *

A valid email address is required.

Home address search or enter your address manually *

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.

Leave this field blank

Actions

view actions (1)

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 23, 2020	referred to civil service and pensions

Co-Sponsors

view additional co-sponsors

S7527 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A10560
Current Committee:: Senate Civil Service And Pensions
Law Section:: Policemen
Laws Affected:: Rpld Chap 834 of 1940
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2021-2022: S268, A5528
2023-2024: S2401

S7527 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to the removal of certain policemen.

S7527 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

 
BILL NUMBER: S7527

SPONSOR: MYRIE
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to repeal chapter 834 of the laws of 1940, relating to the
removal of certain policemen

 
PURPOSE:

To repeal chapter 834 of the laws of 1940, which limits the ability of
localities across the state to provide independent oversight of police.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 repeals chapter 834 of the laws of 1940. Section 2 provides
for the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Chapter 834 of the laws of 1940 limits the degree to which localities
across the state can provide for independent oversight of police offi-
cers. Unlike other public employees, whose disciplinary and removal
proceedings are governed by section 75 of the Civil Service Law, chapter
834 imposes unique restrictions on removal procedures for police offi-
cers. While Civil Service Law § 75 allows agency heads to designate a
"deputy or other person" responsible for holding disciplinary
proceedings, chapter 834 provides that the authority to conduct removal
hearings for police officers can only be designated to a "deputy or
other employee" of the police agency head.  Courts have interpreted this
difference in terminology to mean that police disciplinary proceedings
must take place entirely within police department structures. In 2001,
the New York Police Department (NYPD) attempted to move certain officer
disciplinary hearings outside the Department's own trial room and into
the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH), an independent
and impartial administrative law court whose administrative judges
preside over disciplinary cases involving hundreds of thousands of New
York City civil servants, including firefighters and correction offi-
cers. This move was blocked in court because OATH judges are not
"employees" of the NYPD Commissioner, and therefore cannot preside over
NYPD disciplinary hearings under chapter 834.

Public trust and confidence in law enforcement requires independent,
effective, and accessible mechanisms for holding police officers
accountable for misconduct. When police disciplinary proceedings are
governed by and held entirely within a police department's trial room,
public trust is undermined. Access to information is more restricted, as
unlike the hearing transcripts and recommended decisions produced by
agencies like OATH, documents generated from police department trial
room proceedings are confidential under state law. Even physical access
to the hearing rooms themselves can be more restricted when they occur
in police department spaces, as was reported during the 2019 discipli-
nary trial of NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo, in which the NYPD was criti-
cized for not providing sufficient space for members of the public and
the media who wished to observe the proceedings. Beyond practical space
concerns, there would also be great symbolic value in allowing these
hearings to proceed in a neutral venue not under the direct control of
the agency whose employee is facing discipline.

Repeal of chapter 834 would not, by itself, automatically change police
disciplinary procedures currently in place throughout the state, nor
would it alter the ultimate authority of agency heads to decide on and
impose disciplinary outcomes. Repeal of chapter 834 would simply allow
localities and police chiefs the authority to designate independent and
impartial adjudicators to preside over police disciplinary hearings and
thereby increase public confidence in the integrity of these
proceedings.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New Bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

S7527 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf


                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  7527

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            January 23, 2020
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  MYRIE  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on Civil Service and Pensions

AN ACT to repeal chapter 834 of  the  laws  of  1940,  relating  to  the
  removal of certain policemen

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Chapter 834 of the laws of 1940, relating to the removal of
certain policemen, is REPEALED.
  § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.









 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD14510-01-9

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.

The New York State Senate

senate Bill S7527

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Civil Service And Pensions Committee

Your Voice

Actions

Co-Sponsors

S7527 (ACTIVE) - Details

S7527 (ACTIVE) - Summary

S7527 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

S7527 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

senate Bill S7527

Share this bill

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Civil Service And Pensions Committee

Your Voice

Actions

Co-Sponsors

S7527 (ACTIVE) - Details

S7527 (ACTIVE) - Summary

S7527 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

S7527 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments