NEW YORK STATE LEGISLATURE VICTORY ON CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM
Dear Neighbors,
This week was monumental for the New York State legislature. The Senate and the Assembly voted overwhelmingly in favor of key criminal justice reform bills. Thank you to the thousands of constituents and advocates who wrote in support of these landmark bills. Together, we made history. Friday morning, Governor Andrew Cuomo concluded the historic week by signing four of the criminal justice reform package bills into law:
Bill Description
A10611 O’Donnell / S8496 Bailey
Chap.96
(50a Repeal Bill) Amends the civil rights law and the public officers law, in relation to the disclosure of law enforcement disciplinary records; and to repeal section 50-a of the civil rights law.
A6144 Mosely / S6670 Benjamin
Chap.94
(Anti Chokehold Bill) Prohibits the use of chokeholds by law enforcement and establishes the crime of aggravated strangulation as a class-C Felony.
A1601C Perry / S2574C Bailey
Chap.95
(Special Prosecutor Bill) Codifies Governor Cuomo’s Executive Order making the State Attorney General a special prosecutor in situations that result in the death of unarmed people at the hands of law enforcement officers.
A1531 Richardson / S8492 Parker
Chap.93
(911 Bill) Establishes a civil right of action for people when another person calls a police or peace officer on them without any reason to suspect a crime threat to them or property has occurred.
In addition, the legislature overwhelmingly passed the following bills that are now awaiting action from the Governor:
Bill Description
A10608 Perry/S2575B Bailey
(Discharge Notification Bill) Requires a law enforcement officer or peace officer who discharges his or her weapon under circumstances where a person could be struck by a bullet to immediately report the incident within 6 hours whether they are on or off-duty.
A10609 Lentol / S1830C Hoylman
(Police STAT Act) Requires New York State to capture and report the race, ethnicity and sex of anyone arrested and charged with a misdemeanor or violation, as well as of anyone who dies while in police custody or an attempt to establish custody. This bill creates new reporting requirements to shine a light on policing practices in New York.
A1360A Perry /S3253 Parker
(Right to record Bill) Unambiguously affirms, by statutory enactment, the right of New Yorkers to record, with expressed exceptions, the actions of persons acting under the color of law.
A8226B Fernandez / S6601B Bailey
(Law Enforcement Medical Attention Bill) Affirms the duty of police officers, peace officers, and other law enforcement representatives and entities to provide attention to medical and mental health needs of persons in custody.
A8674 Walker/S8493 Parker
(Body Camera Bill) Mandates the New York State Police’s Troopers to use body-worn cameras while on patrol to promote accountability, and keep video records of all interactions that Troopers have with individuals who are stopped on suspicion of a crime, or a traffic violation.
A10002B Taylor / S3595C Parker
(Law Enforcement Misconduct Investigative Office Bill) Establish the Law Enforcement Misconduct Investigative Office within the Department of Law to review, study, audit and make recommendations relating to the operations, policies, programs and practices, including ongoing partnerships with other law enforcement agencies to increasing the public’s confidence in law enforcement.
Governor Cuomo also issued an executive order to require all local governments to create a plan to “reinvent and modernize” their police departments in response to massive protests over police brutality.
Governor’s Action Description
Executive Order
“NYS Police Reform & Reinvention Collaborative” Requires local governments and police departments to formulate a plan addressing use of force by police officers, crown management, community policing, implicit bias awareness training, restorative justice practices, and community based outreach, a transparent citizen complaint disposition procedure, and other issues raised by the community. If the local governments and police agencies can do this by April 1st, 2020, they qualify for state funding.