Senate Bill S7698

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7698
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              April 30, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  CHAN  --  read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Ethics and Internal Gover-
   nance
 
 AN ACT to amend the public officers law and the administrative  code  of
   the  city  of  New York, in relation to defense and indemnification of
   officers and employees of public entities; and to repeal chapter 8  of
   title 8 of the administrative code of the city of New York relating to
   the right of security against unreasonable search and seizure
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 18 of the public officers law,  as
 added by chapter 277 of the laws of 1981, is amended to read as follows:
   2. The provisions of this section shall apply to [any public entity]:
   (a) A CITY WITH A POPULATION OF ONE MILLION OR MORE; AND
   (B) ANY OTHER PUBLIC ENTITY:
   (I)  whose  governing  body  has  agreed by the adoption of local law,
 by-law, resolution, rule or regulation [(i)] (1) to confer the  benefits
 of this section upon its employees, and [(ii)] (2) to be held liable for
 the costs incurred under these provisions; or
   [(b)] (II) where the governing body of a municipality, for whose bene-
 fit  the  public entity has been established, has agreed by the adoption
 of local law or resolution [(i)] (1) to  confer  the  benefits  of  this
 section  upon  the employees of such public entity, and [(ii)] (2) to be
 held liable for the costs incurred under these provisions.
   § 2. Chapter 8 of title 8 of the administrative code of  the  city  of
 New York is REPEALED.
   § 3. Section 7-114 of the administrative code of the city of New York,
 as  amended  by local law number 27 of the city of New York for the year
 2024, is amended to read as follows:
   § 7-114 Civil actions regarding the  police  department  [and  covered
 individuals].
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD11254-01-5
              

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   [a.  Definitions.  For  purposes  of this section, the following terms
 have the following meanings:
   Covered  action.  The term "covered action" means a civil action filed
 in local, state or federal court against  the  police  department  or  a
 covered  individual,  or  both,  resulting  from allegations of improper
 police conduct, including, but not limited to, claims involving the  use
 of  force,  assault  and battery, malicious prosecution, false arrest or
 imprisonment, or deprivation of a right pursuant to chapter 8  of  title
 8.
   Covered  individual.  The  term  "covered  individual" has the meaning
 ascribed to such term in section 8-801.
   b.] No later than January 31, 2025 and no later than each July 31  and
 January  31 thereafter, the law department shall post on its website [in
 a searchable and machine-readable format], and provide  notice  of  such
 posting  to  the  individual responsible for implementing the duties set
 forth in paragraph one of subdivision c of section 803 of  the  charter,
 the  comptroller,  the  police department, the civilian complaint review
 board, and the commission to combat  police  corruption,  the  following
 information  regarding  [covered] CIVIL actions FILED IN LOCAL, STATE OR
 FEDERAL COURT AGAINST THE POLICE DEPARTMENT RESULTING  FROM  ALLEGATIONS
 OF IMPROPER POLICE CONDUCT:
   1.  a list of [covered] CIVIL actions filed AGAINST THE POLICE DEPART-
 MENT OR A COVERED INDIVIDUAL,  OR  BOTH,  during  the  five-year  period
 preceding  each  January 1 or July 1 immediately preceding each report[,
 and each covered action filed prior to such five-year  period  that  has
 been  resolved during the six-month period preceding each such January 1
 or July 1];
   2. for each such [covered] action: (i) the [names] IDENTITIES  of  the
 plaintiffs and defendants; (ii) the court in which the action was filed;
 (iii) the name of the law firm representing the plaintiff; (iv) the name
 of  the law firm or agency representing each defendant; (v) the date the
 action was filed; and (vi) whether the plaintiff alleged improper police
 conduct[, including, but not limited to, claims involving use of  force,
 assault  and  battery,  malicious prosecution, false arrest or imprison-
 ment, or deprivation of a right pursuant to chapter 8 of title 8]; and
   3. [for any such covered] IF AN action [that] has been  resolved:  (i)
 the  date  on  which  it  was  resolved; (ii) the manner in which it was
 resolved; and (iii) whether the resolution included  a  payment  to  the
 plaintiff  by  the  city,  or  by a covered individual or an employer or
 other person paying on behalf of a covered individual, and, if  so,  the
 amount of such payment.
   [c.  No later than January 31, 2025, the law department shall post and
 maintain on its website, in a searchable and machine-readable format,  a
 report  on  covered  actions filed during each calendar year of the ten-
 year period preceding the January 1 immediately preceding  such  report,
 and  no later than January 31, 2030 and every five years thereafter, the
 law department shall post and maintain on its website, in  a  searchable
 and  machine-readable  format,  a report on covered actions filed during
 each calendar year of the five-year period preceding the January 1 imme-
 diately preceding each such report. Each such report shall include,  but
 need not be limited to, the following information for each calendar year
 of such ten-year period or five-year period:
   1. the number of covered actions filed during such calendar year;
   2.  the number of covered actions filed during such calendar year that
 remain unresolved as of January 1 of the year the report  is  submitted;
 and
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   3.  the number of covered actions filed during such calendar year that
 have been resolved as of January 1 of the year the report is  submitted,
 disaggregated by manner of resolution.]
   § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.