Senate Bill S4336

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  4336--A
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 7, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sen. SEPULVEDA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed  to  be  committed  to  the  Committee on Cities 1 -- reported
   favorably from said  committee  and  committed  to  the  Committee  on
   Finance  --  committee  discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
   amended and recommitted to said committee

 AN ACT to amend the New York city charter, in relation to establishing a
   process for neutral arbitrators to review certain  disciplinary  deci-
   sions  and  penalties  imposed  on members of the New York city police
   department
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Paragraph  3 of subdivision (d) of section 440 of the New
 York city charter, as amended by section 4 of question 2  of  local  law
 number 215 of the city of New York for the year 2019, is amended to read
 as follows:
   3. The police commissioner shall report to the board in writing on any
 action taken, including the level of discipline and any penalty imposed,
 in all cases in which the board submitted a finding or recommendation to
 the police commissioner with respect to a matter within its jurisdiction
 pursuant  to  this  section.  In  any case substantiated by the board in
 which the police commissioner intends to impose or has imposed a differ-
 ent penalty or level of discipline than that recommended by the board or
 by the deputy commissioner responsible for making disciplinary recommen-
 dations, the police commissioner shall provide such written report, with
 notice to the subject officer, no later than 45 days after  the  imposi-
 tion of such discipline or in such shorter time frame as may be required
 pursuant  to an agreement between the police commissioner and the board.
 Such report shall include a detailed  explanation  of  the  reasons  for
 deviating  from  the board's recommendation or the recommendation of the
 deputy commissioner responsible for making disciplinary  recommendations
 [and,  in].  IN cases in which the police commissioner intends to impose
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD08793-02-3
              

 S. 4336--A                          2
 
 [or has imposed] a penalty or level of discipline  that  is  lower  than
 that  recommended  by  the board or such deputy commissioner, THE POLICE
 COMMISSIONER shall also include an explanation of how [the  final]  SUCH
 disciplinary  outcome  was  determined, including each factor the police
 commissioner considered in making his or her  [decision]  DETERMINATION,
 AND  SUCH  DISCIPLINARY  MATTER  SHALL THEN BE IMMEDIATELY REFERRED TO A
 NEUTRAL ARBITRATOR ASSIGNED FROM A PANEL  OF  FIVE  NEUTRAL  ARBITRATORS
 APPOINTED  BY  THE  PUBLIC  ADVOCATE  FOR  A HEARING AND DECISION.   THE
 ARBITRATOR'S DECISION SHALL BE FINAL BUT DISCIPLINARY ARBITRATORS  SHALL
 CONFINE  THEMSELVES  TO  DETERMINATIONS  OF  GUILT  OR INNOCENCE AND THE
 APPROPRIATENESS OF THE PROPOSED PENALTIES, AND MAY NOT EXCEED THE PENAL-
 TY RECOMMENDED BY THE BOARD.
   § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
 it shall have become a law.