S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
8067
I N S E N A T E
January 24, 2022
___________
Introduced by Sen. CLEARE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law, the civil rights law, and
the family court act to allow access to sealed and protected records
to civilian law enforcement oversight entities conducting investi-
gations and disciplinary proceedings for misconduct by police and
peace officers
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law is amended by
adding a new subdivision 46 to read as follows:
46. "CIVILIAN LAW ENFORCEMENT OVERSIGHT ENTITY" MEANS AN ENTITY WITH
RESPONSIBILITY FOR INVESTIGATING OR RECOMMENDING DISCIPLINE FOR A POLICE
OFFICER OR PEACE OFFICER FOR MISCONDUCT THAT DOES NOT EMPLOY ANY CURRENT
POLICE OFFICER OR PEACE OFFICER.
§ 2. Paragraph (d) of subdivision 1 of section 160.50 of the criminal
procedure law, as amended by chapter 449 of the laws of 2015, is amended
to read as follows:
(d) such records shall be made available to the person accused or to
such person's designated agent, and shall be made available to (i) a
prosecutor in any proceeding in which the accused has moved for an order
pursuant to section 170.56 or 210.46 of this chapter, or (ii) a law
enforcement agency upon ex parte motion in any superior court, or in any
district court, city court or the criminal court of the city of New York
provided that such court sealed the record, if such agency demonstrates
to the satisfaction of the court that justice requires that such records
be made available to it, or (iii) any state or local officer or agency
with responsibility for the issuance of licenses to possess guns, when
the accused has made application for such a license, or (iv) the New
York state department of corrections and community supervision when the
accused is on parole supervision as a result of conditional release or a
parole release granted by the New York state board of parole, and the
arrest which is the subject of the inquiry is one which occurred while
the accused was under such supervision, or (v) any prospective employer
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10908-01-1
S. 8067 2
of a police officer or peace officer as those terms are defined in
subdivisions thirty-three and thirty-four of section 1.20 of this chap-
ter, in relation to an application for employment as a police officer or
peace officer; provided, however, that every person who is an applicant
for the position of police officer or peace officer shall be furnished
with a copy of all records obtained under this paragraph and afforded an
opportunity to make an explanation thereto, or (vi) the probation
department responsible for supervision of the accused when the arrest
which is the subject of the inquiry is one which occurred while the
accused was under such supervision, OR (VII) ANY CIVILIAN LAW ENFORCE-
MENT OVERSIGHT ENTITY, PROVIDED THAT THE RECORDS AND PAPERS OBTAINED
UNDER THIS PARAGRAPH RELATE TO AN OPEN INVESTIGATION OR DISCIPLINARY
PROCEEDING AT THE CIVILIAN LAW ENFORCEMENT OVERSIGHT ENTITY AND ARE
BEING USED IN FURTHERANCE OF THAT OPEN INVESTIGATION OR DISCIPLINARY
PROCEEDING; and
§ 3. Paragraph (d) of subdivision 1 of section 160.55 of the criminal
procedure law, as amended by chapter 449 of the laws of 2015, is amended
to read as follows:
(d) the records referred to in paragraph (c) of this subdivision shall
be made available to the person accused or to such person's designated
agent, and shall be made available to (i) a prosecutor in any proceeding
in which the accused has moved for an order pursuant to section 170.56
or 210.46 of this chapter, or (ii) a law enforcement agency upon ex
parte motion in any superior court, or in any district court, city court
or the criminal court of the city of New York provided that such court
sealed the record, if such agency demonstrates to the satisfaction of
the court that justice requires that such records be made available to
it, or (iii) any state or local officer or agency with responsibility
for the issuance of licenses to possess guns, when the accused has made
application for such a license, or (iv) the New York state department of
corrections and community supervision when the accused is under parole
supervision as a result of conditional release or parole release granted
by the New York state board of parole and the arrest which is the
subject of the inquiry is one which occurred while the accused was under
such supervision, or (v) the probation department responsible for super-
vision of the accused when the arrest which is the subject of the
inquiry is one which occurred while the accused was under such super-
vision, or (vi) a police agency, probation department, sheriff's office,
district attorney's office, department of correction of any municipality
and parole department, for law enforcement purposes, upon arrest in
instances in which the individual stands convicted of harassment in the
second degree, as defined in section 240.26 of the penal law, committed
against a member of the same family or household as the defendant, as
defined in subdivision one of section 530.11 of this chapter, and deter-
mined pursuant to subdivision eight-a of section 170.10 of this title,
OR (VII) ANY CIVILIAN LAW ENFORCEMENT OVERSIGHT ENTITY, PROVIDED THAT
THE RECORDS AND PAPERS OBTAINED UNDER THIS PARAGRAPH RELATE TO AN OPEN
INVESTIGATION OR DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDING AT THE CIVILIAN LAW ENFORCEMENT
OVERSIGHT ENTITY AND ARE BEING USED IN FURTHERANCE OF THAT OPEN INVESTI-
GATION OR DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDING; and
§ 4. Paragraphs (c) and (d) of subdivision 6 of section 160.58 of the
criminal procedure law, as added by section 3 of part AAA of chapter 56
of the laws of 2009, are amended and a new paragraph (e) is added to
read as follows:
S. 8067 3
(c) any state or local officer or agency with responsibility for the
issuance of licenses to possess guns, when the person has made applica-
tion for such a license; [or]
(d) any prospective employer of a police officer or peace officer as
those terms are defined in subdivisions thirty-three and thirty-four of
section 1.20 of this chapter, in relation to an application for employ-
ment as a police officer or peace officer; provided, however, that every
person who is an applicant for the position of police officer or peace
officer shall be furnished with a copy of all records obtained under
this paragraph and afforded an opportunity to make an explanation there-
to[.]; OR
(E) ANY CIVILIAN LAW ENFORCEMENT OVERSIGHT ENTITY, PROVIDED THAT THE
RECORDS AND PAPERS OBTAINED UNDER THIS PARAGRAPH RELATE TO AN OPEN
INVESTIGATION OR DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDING AT THE CIVILIAN LAW ENFORCEMENT
OVERSIGHT ENTITY AND ARE BEING USED IN FURTHERANCE OF THAT OPEN INVESTI-
GATION OR DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDING.
§ 5. Paragraphs (d) and (e) of subdivision 9 of section 160.59 of the
criminal procedure law, as added by section 48 of part WWW of chapter 59
of the laws of 2017, are amended and a new paragraph (f) is added to
read as follows:
(d) any prospective employer of a police officer or peace officer as
those terms are defined in subdivisions thirty-three and thirty-four of
section 1.20 of this chapter, in relation to an application for employ-
ment as a police officer or peace officer; provided, however, that every
person who is an applicant for the position of police officer or peace
officer shall be furnished with a copy of all records obtained under
this paragraph and afforded an opportunity to make an explanation there-
to; [or]
(e) the criminal justice information services division of the federal
bureau of investigation, for the purposes of responding to queries to
the national instant criminal background check system regarding attempts
to purchase or otherwise take possession of firearms, as defined in 18
USC 921 (a) (3)[.]; OR
(F) ANY CIVILIAN LAW ENFORCEMENT OVERSIGHT ENTITY, PROVIDED THAT THE
RECORDS AND PAPERS OBTAINED UNDER THIS PARAGRAPH RELATE TO AN OPEN
INVESTIGATION OR DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDING AT THE CIVILIAN LAW ENFORCEMENT
OVERSIGHT ENTITY AND ARE BEING USED IN FURTHERANCE OF SUCH OPEN INVESTI-
GATION OR DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDING.
§ 6. Paragraph a of subdivision 2 of section 50-b of the civil rights
law, as amended by chapter 643 of the laws of 1999, is amended to read
as follows:
a. Any person charged with the commission of an offense, as defined in
subdivision one of this section, against the same victim; the counsel or
guardian of such person; the public officers and employees, INCLUDING
THE EMPLOYEES OF CIVILIAN LAW ENFORCEMENT OVERSIGHT ENTITIES AS DEFINED
IN SECTION 1.20 OF THE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE LAW, charged with the duty of
investigating, prosecuting, keeping records relating to the offense, or
any other act when done pursuant to the lawful discharge of their
duties; and any necessary witnesses for either party; or
§ 7. Section 166 of the family court act, is amended to read as
follows:
§ 166. Privacy of records. The records of any proceeding in the family
court shall not be open to indiscriminate public inspection. However,
the court in its discretion in any case may permit the inspection of any
papers or records. Any duly authorized agency, association, society or
institution to which a child is committed may cause an inspection of the
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record of investigation to be had and may in the discretion of the court
obtain a copy of the whole or part of such record. THE PROVISIONS OF
THIS SECTION SHALL ONLY APPLY TO RECORDS WITHIN THE POSSESSION OF THE
FAMILY COURT.
§ 8. Subdivision 3 of section 375.1 of the family court act, as
amended by chapter 398 of the laws of 1983, is amended to read as
follows:
3. Records sealed pursuant to subdivision one shall be made available
to the respondent or his designated agent, TO CIVILIAN LAW ENFORCEMENT
OVERSIGHT ENTITY AS DEFINED IN SECTION 1.20 OF THE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
LAW; PROVIDED THAT THE RECORDS AND PAPERS MADE AVAILABLE UNDER THIS
SUBDIVISION RELATE TO AN OPEN INVESTIGATION OR DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDING
AT THE CIVILIAN LAW ENFORCEMENT OVERSIGHT ENTITY AND ARE BEING USED IN
FURTHERANCE OF SUCH OPEN INVESTIGATION OR DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDING, and
the records and papers of a probation service shall be available to any
probation service for the purpose of complying with subdivision four of
section 308.1.
§ 9. Subdivision 2 of section 381.3 of the family court act, as added
by chapter 920 of the laws of 1982, paragraph (b) as amended by chapter
926 of the laws of 1982, is amended to read as follows:
2. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision one, the family court
in the county in which the petition was adjudicated may, upon motion and
for good cause shown, order such records open:
(a) to the respondent or his parent or person responsible for his
care; [or]
(b) if the respondent is subsequently convicted of a crime, to a judge
of the court in which he was convicted, unless such record has been
sealed pursuant to section 375.1; OR
(C) TO ANY CIVILIAN LAW ENFORCEMENT OVERSIGHT ENTITY AS DEFINED IN
SECTION 1.20 OF THE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE LAW; PROVIDED THAT THE RECORDS
AND PAPERS MADE AVAILABLE UNDER THIS SUBDIVISION RELATE TO AN OPEN
INVESTIGATION OR DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDING AT THE CIVILIAN LAW ENFORCEMENT
OVERSIGHT ENTITY AND ARE BEING USED IN FURTHERANCE OF SUCH OPEN INVESTI-
GATION OR DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDING.
§ 10. This act shall take effect immediately.