Senate Bill S4707

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4707
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 11, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. STAVISKY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Higher Education
 
 AN ACT to amend the education law, the criminal procedure  law  and  the
   retirement  and  social security law, in relation  to   the geographic
   area of employment of state university police officers, centralization
   of the state university police, and hiring of state university  police
   officers;  and  to repeal paragraph (d) of subdivision 34-a of section
   1.20 of the criminal procedure law relating thereto
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Legislative  intent.  The  legislature  hereby  finds and
 declares that maintaining a safe environment for individuals studying on
 the campuses of the state university of New York is of  critical  impor-
 tance, and that a well trained and well organized campus police force is
 vital to ensure that safety. The legislature also finds that the current
 structure  of the campus police force at the state university is ineffi-
 cient, subject to  an  excessive  and  unpredictable  management  salary
 structure, and does not ensure an equal level of security and protection
 at  the  many  campuses  across  the state. The intent of this act is to
 create a system of police organization  at  the  state  university  that
 borrows  the  lessons learned by other successful police forces, such as
 the New York state police, and creates a unified and clear rank and file
 and command structure that empowers  individuals  with  law  enforcement
 experience to make decisions based on current law enforcement best prac-
 tices  and  in  the  best  interest  of  public  safety. The legislature
 acknowledges the individual character and physical layout of each campus
 and finds that it is possible for a central  police  command  to  manage
 diverse campus needs.
   §  2.    Paragraph  l of subdivision 2 of section 355 of the education
 law, as amended by chapter 424 of the laws of 1998, is amended  to  read
 as follows:
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD03027-03-5
              

 S. 4707                             2
 
   l. To appoint A COMMISSIONER OF STATE UNIVERSITY POLICE WHO SHALL BE A
 SWORN MEMBER OF THE STATE university police [officers who shall have the
 powers  of  police  officers]  and  to remove such COMMISSIONER OF STATE
 UNIVERSITY police [officers] at pleasure; provided,  however,  that  any
 person  appointed  [a] AS COMMISSIONER OF STATE UNIVERSITY police [offi-
 cer] must have satisfactorily completed or complete within one  year  of
 the  date of [his] SUCH PERSON'S appointment a course of law enforcement
 training approved by the municipal police training council [in consulta-
 tion with the university.  It shall be the duty of such police  officers
 to  preserve  law  and  order  on the campuses and other property of the
 university, including any portion of a public highway which  crosses  or
 abuts such property].  THE COMMISSIONER OF STATE UNIVERSITY POLICE SHALL
 HAVE  THE  AUTHORITY  TO APPOINT UNIVERSITY POLICE OFFICERS. THE COMMIS-
 SIONER OF STATE UNIVERSITY POLICE SHALL HAVE SUPERVISORY AND ADMINISTRA-
 TIVE AUTHORITY OVER ALL UNIVERSITY POLICE OFFICERS IN THE STATE  OF  NEW
 YORK.  NOTWITHSTANDING  ANY  OTHER  PROVISION  OF LAW, THERE SHALL BE NO
 FURTHER APPOINTMENTS IN THE STATE UNIVERSITY POLICE TO CHIEF OF  POLICE,
 ASSISTANT  CHIEF  OF  POLICE,  DEPUTY CHIEF OF POLICE, INSPECTOR, OR ANY
 OTHER UNCLASSIFIED SERVICE OR PROFESSIONAL SERVICE POSITION.
   Subject to the approval of the  chancellor,  the  [president  of  each
 state-operated  campus  of the] COMMISSIONER OF state university [shall]
 POLICE MAY enter into a written agreement with adjoining law enforcement
 agencies establishing protocols for the exercise of  authority  by  such
 university  police  officer off-campus, including mutual aid and assist-
 ance. Such written protocols  shall  not  be  deemed  to  supersede  the
 authority  of  other police officers.   The provisions of this paragraph
 shall not apply to any of the state institutions and  property  referred
 to in section five thousand seven hundred nine of this chapter.
   §  3.  Paragraph (s) of subdivision 34 of section 1.20 of the criminal
 procedure law, as amended by section 13 of part BBB of chapter 59 of the
 laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
   (s) A [university police officer appointed  by  the  state  university
 pursuant  to  paragraph  1  of  subdivision two of section three hundred
 fifty-five of the education law where such department or force is certi-
 fied in accordance with paragraph (d)  of  subdivision  one  of  section
 eight  hundred  forty-six-h  of  the  executive law] SWORN MEMBER OF THE
 STATE UNIVERSITY POLICE;
   § 4. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 34-a of section 1.20 of the criminal
 procedure law, as amended by chapter 428 of the laws of 1999, is amended
 to read as follows:
   (a) [Except as provided in paragraph (d)  of  this  subdivision,]  New
 York  state  constitutes  the  "geographical  area of employment" of any
 police officer employed as such by an agency  of  the  state  or  by  an
 authority  which  functions  throughout  the  state, or a police officer
 designated by the superintendent of state police pursuant to section two
 hundred twenty-three of the executive law;
   § 5. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 34-a of section 1.20 of the criminal
 procedure law, as amended by chapter 424 of the laws of 1998, is amended
 to read as follows:
   (a) [Except as provided in paragraph (d),] New York state  constitutes
 the  "geographical area of employment" of any police officer employed as
 such by an agency of the  state  or  by  an  authority  which  functions
 throughout the state;
   § 6. Paragraph (d) of subdivision 34-a of section 1.20 of the criminal
 procedure law is REPEALED.
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   §  7.  Subparagraph 6 of paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 of section 211
 of the retirement and social security law, as amended by chapter 753  of
 the laws of 1976, is amended to read as follows:
   (6)  the  chancellor  of  state  university  if  such  person is to be
 employed in the unclassified service of  the  state  university  of  New
 York,  or  in the professional service at the state colleges of agricul-
 ture, home  economics,  veterinary  medicine  or  industrial  and  labor
 relations,  the  state  agricultural experiment station at Geneva or any
 other institution or agency under the management and control of  Cornell
 university as representative of the board of trustees of state universi-
 ty of New York, or at the state college of ceramics under the management
 and control of Alfred university as representative of the board of trus-
 tees of state university of New York or in the unclassified service of a
 community  college other than those in the city of New York, UNLESS SUCH
 PERSON IS TO BE EMPLOYED AS THE COMMISSIONER OF STATE UNIVERSITY  POLICE
 OR AS A UNIVERSITY POLICE OFFICER; or
   §  8. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
 ing the date on which it shall have become  a  law;  provided,  however,
 that the amendments to paragraph (a) of subdivision 34-a of section 1.20
 of  the criminal procedure law made by section four of this act shall be
 subject to the expiration and reversion of such  paragraph  pursuant  to
 section 3 of chapter 428 of the laws of 1999, as amended, when upon such
 date the provisions of section five this act shall take effect.