NY State Senate Bill 2023-S8480

Senate Bill S8480

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Authorizes the commissioner of corrections and community supervision to discipline certain employees for acts of serious misconduct

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Crime Victims, Crime And Correction 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
Feb 05, 2024	referred to crime victims, crime and correction

2023-S8480 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Crime Victims, Crime And Correction
Law Section:: Correction Law
Laws Affected:: Add §12, amd §112, Cor L; amd §§50 & 61, Civ Serv L

2023-S8480 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Authorizes the commissioner of corrections and community supervision to discipline certain employees for acts of serious misconduct; defines serious misconduct; establishes procedures for such disciplinary action; prohibits employees who have been removed for serious misconduct from being placed on the eligible list after such removal.

2023-S8480 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S8480

SPONSOR: SALAZAR
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the correction law and the civil service law, in
relation to discipline of certain persons for serious misconduct

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To establish a new and more accountable procedure for making determi-
nations regarding allegations of serious misconduct on the part of DOCCS
employees.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 adds a new section 12 to the correction law with the following
subsections:

Subsection 1 defines "serious misconduct" as: an act of excessive use of
force; an act of false reporting regarding one or more acts of excessive
use of force; an intentional failure to report an act of excessive use

of force; the introduction of a cellular device, a controlled substance,
marijuana or any other significantly incapacitating substance to an
institution of DOCCS; or an inappropriate sexual relationship or contact
with an incarcerated person or a person under community supervision.

Subsection 2 provides that when a DOCCS employee is alleged to have
committed an act of serious misconduct, the disciplinary procedure that
may be applied shall be the procedure established in this new section 12
of the correction law.

Subsection 3 establishes the categories of employee subject to the
procedure established in this section.

Subsection 4 establishes the disciplinary procedure to be followed when
a covered employee is alleged to have engaged in an act of serious
misconduct. Covered employees are afforded a reasonable period of time
to obtain representation, to be provided with a copy of the charge or
charges, to answer the charge(s) in writing, to have a hearing before a
hearing officer who shall make a recommendation to the commissioner who
would then make the final determination.

Subsection 5 states that an employee charged with serious misconduct may
be suspended without pay pending the hearing and determination.  This
subsection also lists the range of permissible penalties if an employee
is found to have engaged in an act or acts of serious misconduct.

Subsection 6 provides a right to appeal a finding via the procedure set
forth in Article 78 of the NY Civil Procedure Laws and Rules.

Subsection 7 provides that the commissioner may terminate the employment
of an employee who is convicted of a crime whenever the commissioner
determines the continued employment of such person would not be in the
best interest of the department.

Section 2 adds a new paragraph (i) to civil service law section 50 (4)
adding a new category to the list of individuals whom the state civil
service department or a municipal civil service commission may refuse to
examine, or after examination refuse to certify, specifically, an indi-
vidual who has been disciplined for an act of serious misconduct pursu-
ant to correction law section 12.

Section 3 makes a conforming change to civil service law section 61 (1).

Section 4 amends correction law section 112 (1) to add that the commis-
sioner has authority to place reasonable limits or restrictions on items
an employee may bring into a correctional facility or community super-
vision office that could pose a threat or be used as a weapon.

Section 5 provides for the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

This bill places final decision-making authority regarding discipline of
DOCCS staff for acts of serious misconduct in the hands of the DOCCS
Commissioner. Currently, pursuant to existing collective bargaining
agreements, such authority rests with outside arbitrators.  Under the
existing procedure, DOCCS has rarely been able to terminate a correction
officer DOCCS alleges using excessive and unjustified physical force
against an incarcerated person. That is, even when DOCCS has concluded
an employee has violated the law by using excessive and unlawful force,
they almost always fail to be able to terminate such an employee. This
is an untenable situation.

This bill was drafted in response to an in-depth investigation by the
Marshall Project regarding the existing disciplinary system for NY's
prison staff. In a series of reports first published in the New York
Times in May 2023 (1), a stark picture emerged of a staff disciplinary
system that is essentially completely broken and ineffective. The Mars-
hall Project found, for example, that over a twelve-year period, DOCCS
"tried to fire officers or supervisors the agency accused of physically
abusing prisoners or covering up their misconduct in 290 cases. But in
only 10* of those cases did the officers get fired." (2)

The existing arbitrator system provides that the union representing an
accused officer essentially has veto power over the selection of the
arbitrator for the case.

As shocking examples of the dysfunction of the existing system, the
Marshall Project reported:

An officer who broke his baton hitting a prisoner 35 times, even after
the man was handcuffed, was not fired. Neither were the guards who beat
a prisoner at Attica Correctional Facility so badly he needed 13 staples
to close gashes in his scalp. Nor were the officers who battered a
mentally ill man, injuring him from face to groin. The man hanged
himself the next day.(3)

The investigation also revealed numerous instances of significant
assaults by staff on incarcerated individuals where DOCCS did not even
charge any officers with misconduct.

This bill, by eliminating the arbitrator system in cases of allegations
of serious misconduct, directly addresses one of the reasons for the
extraordinarily low rate of successful disciplinary cases even when
DOCCS believes there was serious misconduct. This bill also addresses
the so-called a "blue wall" by which officers protect each other by
either providing false information or simply declining to report abuse
they have witnesses. This is accomplished by the definition in the bill
of "serious misconduct", which includes - in addition to acts of exces-
sive force - an act of false reporting regarding one or more acts of
excessive use of force and an intentional failure to report an act of
excessive use of force.

The failure of the existing staff disciplinary procedure to appropriate-
ly address acts of serious misconduct has far-reaching and devastating
consequences. First, people are injured by this serious misconduct, some
quite severely. Second, the ability of officers to use violence with
impunity has a ripple effect of encouraging more violence from staff and
violence from incarcerated individuals.  Third, the existing dysfunc-
tional system costs New York State large sums of money in settlements
and court verdicts against DOCCS for excessive and unlawful force by
staff against incarcerated individuals.

Enactment of this bill would be an important step forward in holding
staff accountable if they engage in serious misconduct, in making NY's
prisons safer, in ensuring that the human rights of individuals who are
incarcerated in NY are safeguarded and protected, in helping individuals
engage in positive rehabilitation and transformation while incarcerated,
and in saving the state significant sums of money.

 
SOCIAL JUSTICE IMPACT

A prison system that is unable to hold staff members who engage in seri-
ous misconduct accountable - including those who use excessive force or
fail to report the use of excessive force - is a system that, at least
tacitly, views excessive and unjustified violence by state employees
against individuals who are incarcerated as acceptable. This has a far-
reaching impact, causing immediate harm to individuals, as well as
establishing an atmosphere of lawlessness withing prisons, and subject-
ing individuals and their families to extended trauma. As people of
color continue to be significantly disproportionately represented in the
prison system, this type of governmental official abuse and lack of
accountability hits Black and brown people and communities the hardest.
Enacting this bill would ensure a measure of justice and dignity for
incarcerated individuals and their loved ones.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

Enactment of this bill will result in significant savings for the State
as the procedures established with this legislation will result in NY's
prisons being safer and in a reduction in the number of successful and
expensive lawsuits against the State based on instances of excessive and
unjustified force by staff against incarcerated individuals.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall become effective on the thirtieth day after it shall
become law, provided, however, that section 1 of the act shall take
effect upon the expiration of the current collective bargaining agree-
ment that governs impacted employees of the department.
1 Santo, Neff, and Meagher, "In N.Y. Prisons, Guards Who Brutalize Pris-
oners Rarely Get Fired",
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/19/nvregion/ny-prison-guards-brutality-
fired.html
Neff, Santo, and Meagher, "How a 'Blue Wall' Inside N.Y. State Prisons
Protects Abusive Guards",
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/22/nyregion/ny-state-prison-guards-
abuse.html
Santo and Neff, "A 'Crazy System': How Arbitration Puts Abusive Guards
Back in New York Prisons",
https://nysfocus.com/2023/12/14/arbitration-prison-abuse- corrections-
officers
Santo and Neff, "How We Investigated Abusive Prison Guards Getting Their
Jobs Back in New York",
httos://www.themarshallproject.2023/12/14/new-york-prison-guard- arbi-
tration-how-we-investigated
2 Santo and Neff, "We Spent Two Years Investigating Abuse by Prison
Guards in New York. Here are Five Takeaways.",
https://www.themarshaliprojectorg/2023/05/22/new-york-prison- correc-
tions-officer-disciplinefindings
3 Santo, Neff, and Meagher, "In N.Y. Prisons, Guards Who Brutalize Pris-
oners Rarely Get Fired",
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/19/nvregion/ny-Prison-guards- brutali-
ty-fired.html

2023-S8480 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8480
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 5, 2024
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. SALAZAR -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Crime Victims,  Crime  and
   Correction
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend  the  correction  law  and  the civil service law, in
   relation to discipline of certain persons for serious misconduct
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. The correction law is amended by adding a new section 12 to
 read as follows:
   § 12. DISCIPLINE OF CERTAIN SERIOUS MISCONDUCT. 1. DEFINITION. FOR THE
 PURPOSES  OF  THIS SECTION, THE TERM "SERIOUS MISCONDUCT" SHALL MEAN: AN
 ACT OF EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE; AN ACT OF FALSE REPORTING  REGARDING  ONE
 OR MORE ACTS OF EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE; AN INTENTIONAL FAILURE TO REPORT
 AN ACT OF EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE; THE INTRODUCTION OF A CELLULAR DEVICE,
 CONTROLLED  SUBSTANCE,  MARIHUANA  OR OTHER SIGNIFICANTLY INCAPACITATING
 SUBSTANCE TO AN INSTITUTION OF THE DEPARTMENT; OR AN INAPPROPRIATE SEXU-
 AL RELATIONSHIP OR CONTACT WITH AN INCARCERATED PERSON OR  PERSON  UNDER
 COMMUNITY SUPERVISION.
   2.  ACTS  OF  MISCONDUCT.  NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF LAW,
 WHEN AN EMPLOYEE IS ALLEGED TO HAVE COMMITTED AN ACT OF SERIOUS  MISCON-
 DUCT  THEN THE DISCIPLINARY PROCESS THAT MAY BE APPLIED TO SUCH EMPLOYEE
 SHALL NOT BE GOVERNED BY  ANY  COLLECTIVE  BARGAINING  AGREEMENT  OR  BY
 SECTION  SEVENTY-FIVE  OF THE CIVIL SERVICE LAW BUT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY
 THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION.
   3. DISCIPLINARY ACTION. A PERSON HOLDING A POSITION  AS  DESCRIBED  IN
 PARAGRAPH  (A), (B) OR (C) OF THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL NOT BE REMOVED FROM
 THEIR POSITION  OR  OTHERWISE  SUBJECTED  TO  ANY  DISCIPLINARY  PENALTY
 AUTHORIZED PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT SUCH PERSON
 MAY  BE REMOVED OR OTHERWISE SUBJECTED TO A DISCIPLINARY PENALTY AUTHOR-
 IZED PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION FOR SERIOUS  MISCONDUCT  AFTER  A  HEARING
 UPON  STATED  CHARGES  PURSUANT  TO THIS SECTION. THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL
 APPLY TO:
   (A) A PERSON HOLDING  A  POSITION  BY  PERMANENT  APPOINTMENT  IN  THE
 COMPETITIVE CLASS OF THE CLASSIFIED CIVIL SERVICE; OR
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD14330-02-4
 S. 8480                             2
 
   (B) A PERSON HOLDING A POSITION BY PERMANENT APPOINTMENT OR EMPLOYMENT
 IN  THE CLASSIFIED SERVICE OF THE STATE, WHO WAS HONORABLY DISCHARGED OR
 RELEASED UNDER HONORABLE CIRCUMSTANCES FROM  THE  ARMED  FORCES  OF  THE
 UNITED STATES, INCLUDING (I) HAVING A QUALIFYING CONDITION AS DEFINED IN
 SECTION  ONE  OF  THE  VETERANS' SERVICES LAW, AND RECEIVING A DISCHARGE
 OTHER THAN BAD CONDUCT OR DISHONORABLE FROM SUCH SERVICE, OR (II)  BEING
 A  DISCHARGED  LGBT  VETERAN, AS DEFINED IN SECTION ONE OF THE VETERANS'
 SERVICES LAW, AND RECEIVING A DISCHARGE  OTHER  THAN  BAD  CONDUCT    OR
 DISHONORABLE    FROM SUCH  SERVICE, HAVING SERVED THEREIN AS SUCH MEMBER
 IN TIME OF WAR AS DEFINED IN SECTION EIGHTY-FIVE OF  THE  CIVIL  SERVICE
 LAW, OR WHO IS AN EXEMPT VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER AS DEFINED IN THE GENERAL
 MUNICIPAL  LAW,  EXCEPT  WHEN  SUCH PERSON HOLDS THE POSITION OF PRIVATE
 SECRETARY, CASHIER OR DEPUTY OF ANY OFFICIAL OR DEPARTMENT; OR
   (C) AN EMPLOYEE HOLDING A POSITION IN THE NON-COMPETITIVE CLASS  OTHER
 THAN  A  POSITION  DESIGNATED  IN  THE  RULES OF THE STATE CIVIL SERVICE
 COMMISSION AS CONFIDENTIAL OR REQUIRING  THE  PERFORMANCE  OF  FUNCTIONS
 INFLUENCING  POLICY,  WHO  SINCE  HIS OR HER LAST ENTRY INTO SERVICE HAS
 COMPLETED AT LEAST FIVE YEARS OF CONTINUOUS SERVICE IN THE  NON-COMPETI-
 TIVE  CLASS IN A POSITION OR POSITIONS NOT SO DESIGNATED IN THE RULES AS
 CONFIDENTIAL OR REQUIRING THE PERFORMANCE OF FUNCTIONS INFLUENCING POLI-
 CY.
   4. PROCEDURE. AN EMPLOYEE HOLDING A POSITION AS DESCRIBED IN PARAGRAPH
 (A), (B) OR (C) OF SUBDIVISION THREE OF THIS SECTION WHO AT THE TIME  OF
 QUESTIONING APPEARS TO BE A POTENTIAL SUBJECT OF DISCIPLINARY ACTION FOR
 AN  ACT OR ACTS OF SERIOUS MISCONDUCT SHALL HAVE RIGHT TO REPRESENTATION
 BY HIS OR HER CERTIFIED OR RECOGNIZED EMPLOYEE ORGANIZATION UNDER  ARTI-
 CLE  FOURTEEN OF THE CIVIL SERVICE LAW AND SHALL BE NOTIFIED IN ADVANCE,
 IN WRITING, OF SUCH RIGHT. AN EMPLOYEE HOLDING A POSITION  AS  DESCRIBED
 IN PARAGRAPH (A), (B) OR (C) OF SUBDIVISION THREE OF THIS SECTION WHO IS
 DESIGNATED  MANAGERIAL  OR  CONFIDENTIAL  UNDER  ARTICLE FOURTEEN OF THE
 CIVIL SERVICE LAW, SHALL HAVE, AT THE  TIME  OF  QUESTIONING,  WHERE  IT
 APPEARS THAT SUCH EMPLOYEE IS A POTENTIAL SUBJECT OF DISCIPLINARY ACTION
 FOR AN ACT OF SERIOUS MISCONDUCT, A RIGHT TO REPRESENTATION AND SHALL BE
 NOTIFIED  IN  ADVANCE,  IN  WRITING, OF SUCH RIGHT. IF REPRESENTATION IS
 REQUESTED, A REASONABLE PERIOD OF TIME SHALL BE AFFORDED TO OBTAIN  SUCH
 REPRESENTATION. IF THE EMPLOYEE IS UNABLE TO OBTAIN REPRESENTATION WITH-
 IN  A  REASONABLE  PERIOD  OF TIME, THEN THE DEPARTMENT MAY PROCEED WITH
 QUESTIONING THE EMPLOYEE. A HEARING OFFICER APPOINTED FOR  THE  PURPOSES
 OF  THIS  SECTION  SHALL DETERMINE IF A REASONABLE PERIOD OF TIME WAS OR
 WAS NOT AFFORDED. IN THE EVENT THE HEARING OFFICER FINDS THAT A  REASON-
 ABLE  PERIOD  OF  TIME  WAS  NOT  AFFORDED  THEN  ANY AND ALL STATEMENTS
 OBTAINED FROM SUCH QUESTIONING, AS WELL AS ANY EVIDENCE  OR  INFORMATION
 OBTAINED  AS  A  RESULT  OF SUCH QUESTIONING SHALL BE EXCLUDED. A PERSON
 AGAINST WHOM REMOVAL OR OTHER DISCIPLINARY ACTION IS PROPOSED  SHALL  BE
 PROVIDED  WRITTEN  NOTICE AND SHALL BE FURNISHED A COPY OF THE CHARGE OR
 CHARGES PROFFERED AGAINST HIM OR HER AND SHALL BE ALLOWED AT LEAST EIGHT
 DAYS FOR ANSWERING SUCH CHARGES IN WRITING. THE HEARING UPON SUCH CHARG-
 ES SHALL BE HELD BY A HEARING OFFICER, SELECTED BY THE  COMMISSIONER  OR
 HIS  OR  HER  DESIGNEE. THE HEARING OFFICER SHALL BE VESTED WITH ALL THE
 POWERS OF THE COMMISSIONER AND SHALL MAKE  A  RECORD  OF  SUCH  HEARING,
 WHICH  SHALL,  ALONG  WITH HIS OR HER RECOMMENDATION, BE REFERRED TO THE
 COMMISSIONER FOR REVIEW AND FINAL  DETERMINATION.  THE  HEARING  OFFICER
 SHALL,  UPON  THE REQUEST OF THE EMPLOYEE AGAINST WHOM CHARGES ARE PROF-
 FERED, PERMIT SUCH EMPLOYEE TO BE REPRESENTED BY COUNSEL, OR BY A REPRE-
 SENTATIVE OF A RECOGNIZED OR CERTIFIED EMPLOYEE ORGANIZATION, AND  SHALL
 ALLOW HIM OR HER TO SUMMON WITNESSES ON HIS OR HER BEHALF. THE BURDEN OF
 S. 8480                             3
 
 PROVING SERIOUS MISCONDUCT SHALL BE UPON THE DEPARTMENT. COMPLIANCE WITH
 TECHNICAL RULES OF EVIDENCE SHALL NOT BE REQUIRED.
   5. SUSPENSION PENDING DETERMINATION OF CHARGES; PENALTIES. (A) PENDING
 THE  HEARING  AND  DETERMINATION  OF  CHARGES OF SERIOUS MISCONDUCT, THE
 EMPLOYEE AGAINST WHOM SUCH CHARGES HAVE BEEN PROFFERED MAY BE  SUSPENDED
 WITHOUT  PAY.  IF THE EMPLOYEE IS FOUND GUILTY OF A CHARGE OR CHARGES OF
 SERIOUS MISCONDUCT, THE RECOMMENDED PENALTY OR PUNISHMENT MAY CONSIST OF
 ANY COMBINATION OF THE FOLLOWING:
   (I) A LETTER OF REPRIMAND;
   (II) REMOVAL FROM WORK LOCATION AND TRANSFER;
   (III) A FINE TO BE DEDUCTED FROM THE SALARY OR WAGES OF SUCH EMPLOYEE;
   (IV) PROBATION FOR A SPECIFIED PERIOD, PROVIDED ANY FURTHER  VIOLATION
 CAN LEAD TO TERMINATION;
   (V) SUSPENSION WITHOUT PAY;
   (VI) DEMOTION IN GRADE AND TITLE; OR
   (VII)  DISMISSAL  FROM THE SERVICE AND LOSS OF ACCUMULATED LEAVE CRED-
 ITS.
   (B) PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT THE TIME DURING THE PENDENCY OF THE  HEAR-
 ING, IN WHICH AN EMPLOYEE IS SUSPENDED WITHOUT PAY, MAY BE CONSIDERED AS
 PART OF THE PENALTY.  THE FINAL DETERMINATION OF THE COMMISSIONER ON THE
 RECOMMENDATION  FROM  THE HEARING OFFICER SHALL BE MADE WITHIN TEN BUSI-
 NESS DAYS OF RECEIPT OF SUCH RECOMMENDATION. IF THE EMPLOYEE IS  ACQUIT-
 TED  OF  ALL CHARGES, HE OR SHE SHALL BE RESTORED TO HIS OR HER POSITION
 WITH FULL PAY FOR THE PERIOD OF SUSPENSION LESS THE AMOUNT OF ANY  UNEM-
 PLOYMENT INSURANCE BENEFITS THAT MAY HAVE BEEN RECEIVED. IF SUCH EMPLOY-
 EE IS FOUND GUILTY OF ONE OR MORE OF THE CHARGES, A COPY OF THE CHARGES,
 HIS  OR  HER  WRITTEN ANSWER, A TRANSCRIPT OF THE HEARING, AND THE FINAL
 DETERMINATION OF THE COMMISSIONER SHALL BE FILED IN THE BUREAU OF  LABOR
 RELATIONS AND THE EMPLOYEE'S PERSONNEL FILE. A COPY OF THE TRANSCRIPT OF
 THE  HEARING  SHALL, UPON REQUEST OF THE AFFECTED EMPLOYEE, BE FURNISHED
 TO HIM OR HER WITHOUT CHARGE.
   6. APPEAL. WHEN AN EMPLOYEE BELIEVES HE  OR  SHE  IS  AGGRIEVED  BY  A
 PENALTY  OF  FINE,  PROBATION,  SUSPENSION,  DEMOTION  OR DISMISSAL FROM
 SERVICE IMPOSED PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION, HE OR SHE MAY MAKE AN APPLICA-
 TION TO THE APPROPRIATE COURT IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF ARTI-
 CLE SEVENTY-EIGHT OF THE CIVIL PRACTICE LAW AND RULES.
   7. TERMINATION.  NOTWITHSTANDING  ANY  OTHER  PROVISION  OF  LAW,  THE
 COMMISSIONER,  IN HIS OR HER DISCRETION, MAY TERMINATE THE EMPLOYMENT OF
 ANY EMPLOYEE WHO IS CONVICTED  OF  A  CRIME  WHENEVER  THE  COMMISSIONER
 DETERMINES  THAT THE CONTINUED EMPLOYMENT OF SUCH PERSON WOULD NOT BE IN
 THE BEST INTEREST OF THE DEPARTMENT. NOTWITHSTANDING THE  FOREGOING,  NO
 EMPLOYEE  SHALL  BE TERMINATED PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION UNLESS HE OR SHE
 SHALL FIRST HAVE BEEN FURNISHED WITH A WRITTEN STATEMENT OF THE  REASONS
 FOR  SUCH DETERMINATION AND AFFORDED AN OPPORTUNITY BY THE COMMISSIONER,
 OR HIS OR HER DESIGNEE, TO MAKE AN EXPLANATION AND TO  SUBMIT  FACTS  IN
 OPPOSITION THERETO.
   § 2. Paragraph (h) of subdivision 4 of section 50 of the civil service
 law,  as  added by chapter 790 of the laws of 1958, is amended and a new
 paragraph (i) is added to read as follows:
   (h) who has been dismissed from private employments because of habitu-
 ally poor performance[.]; OR
   (I) WHO HAS BEEN DISCIPLINED FOR AN ACT OF SERIOUS MISCONDUCT  AS  SET
 FORTH IN SUBDIVISION ONE OF SECTION TWELVE OF THE CORRECTION LAW.
   § 3. Subdivision 1 of section 61 of the civil service law, as added by
 chapter 790 of the laws of 1958, is amended to read as follows:
 S. 8480                             4
 
   1. Appointment  or  promotion  from  eligible  lists.  Appointment  or
 promotion from an eligible list to a position in the  competitive  class
 shall  be made by the selection of one of the three persons certified by
 the appropriate civil service commission as  standing  highest  on  such
 eligible  list  who are willing to accept such appointment or promotion;
 provided, however, that the state or a municipal commission may provide,
 by rule, that where it is necessary to break ties among eligibles having
 the same final examination ratings in order to determine  their  respec-
 tive  standings  on  the  eligible list, appointment or promotion may be
 made by the selection of any eligible whose final examination rating  is
 equal  to or higher than the final examination rating of the third high-
 est standing eligible willing to accept such appointment  or  promotion;
 PROVIDED  FURTHER, HOWEVER, THAT AN INDIVIDUAL'S NAME SHALL BE SUSPENDED
 FROM THE ELIGIBLE LIST PENDING THE OUTCOME OF THE REVIEW OF  THE  APPLI-
 CANT'S  QUALIFICATIONS  PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION FOUR OF SECTION FIFTY OF
 THIS ARTICLE. Appointments and promotions shall be made from the  eligi-
 ble list most nearly appropriate for the position to be filled.
   § 4. Subdivision 1 of section 112 of the correction law, as amended by
 chapter 322 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
   1.  The  commissioner [of corrections and community supervision] shall
 have the superintendence, management and  control  of  the  correctional
 facilities  in  the  department  and  of  the  incarcerated  individuals
 confined therein, and of all matters relating to the government,  disci-
 pline,  policing, contracts and fiscal concerns thereof. He or she shall
 have the power and it shall be his or  her  duty  to  inquire  into  all
 matters  connected  with  said correctional facilities.  He or she shall
 make such rules and regulations, not in conflict with  the  statutes  of
 this  state,  for  the government of the officers and other employees of
 the department assigned to said facilities, and in regard to the  duties
 to  be  performed by them, and for the government and discipline of each
 correctional facility, as he or she may deem  proper,  and  shall  cause
 such  rules  and regulations to be recorded by the superintendent of the
 facility, and a copy thereof to be furnished to each  employee  assigned
 to  the facility.  WITH DUE CONSIDERATION FOR OVERALL SAFETY AND SECURI-
 TY, HE OR SHE SHALL ALSO HAVE THE POWER TO PLACE  REASONABLE  LIMITS  OR
 RESTRICTIONS  ON  THE  ITEMS  AN  EMPLOYEE MAY BRING INTO A CORRECTIONAL
 FACILITY OR COMMUNITY SUPERVISION OFFICE WHEN REPORTING FOR  DUTY,  THAT
 CAN POSE A THREAT OR BE USED AS A WEAPON. He or she shall also prescribe
 a system of accounts and records to be kept at each correctional facili-
 ty,  which  system shall be uniform at all of said facilities, and he or
 she shall also make rules and regulations for a  record  of  photographs
 and  other  means  of  identifying each incarcerated individual received
 into said facilities. He or she shall appoint and remove, subject to the
 civil service law, subordinate  officers  and  other  employees  of  the
 department who are assigned to correctional facilities.
   §  5.  This  act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
 have become a law; provided, however, that section one of this act shall
 take effect upon the expiration of  the  current  collective  bargaining
 agreement   that   governs  impacted  employees  of  the  department  of
 corrections and community supervision; provided further,  however,  that
 the  commissioner  of corrections and community supervision shall notify
 the legislative bill drafting commission  upon  the  expiration  of  the
 current  collective bargaining agreement that governs impacted employees
 of the department of corrections and community supervision in order that
 the commission may maintain an accurate and timely effective  data  base
 of the official text of the laws of the state of New York in furtherance
 S. 8480                             5
 
 of  effectuating the provisions of section 44 of the legislative law and
 section 70-b of the public officers law; provided further, however, that
 notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary,  once  these
 provisions  take  effect  they cannot be abrogated, amended, enhanced or
 modified in any way by future collective bargaining.

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bwaite716

2 months ago

Protect our officers.

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