Bill Text: NY A02074 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Provides for the sealing of unfounded, unsubstantiated and exonerated claims made against law enforcement officers; requires such claims to be redacted from disciplinary records.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 13-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2025-02-03 - print number 2074a [A02074 Detail]
Download: New_York-2025-A02074-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 2074--A 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 15, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. BERGER, PHEFFER AMATO, WIEDER, WILLIAMS, BUTTENS- CHON, EICHENSTEIN, YEGER, WOERNER, STERN, P. CARROLL, SAYEGH, KASSAY, GRIFFIN -- read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Operations -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the executive law and the public officers law, in relation to the sealing of certain claims against law enforcement officers The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Legislative intent. The legislature finds and declares that 2 it is of critical importance that law enforcement officers who dutifully 3 serve our communities shall always have available to them the opportu- 4 nity to, among other things, secure loans for homeownership, pursue 5 further employment, and participate fully in the life of the community 6 in which they reside. The legislature further finds that the prospect of 7 their being able to do the aforementioned is dampened by the fact that 8 currently, an unfounded, unsubstantiated, or exonerated claim made 9 against a law enforcement officer remains in their respective personnel 10 record, and, absent language in their applicable collective bargaining 11 agreement, there exists no method of recourse for them to have such 12 claims removed from their record. Unfounded claims are those claims that 13 are made against law enforcement officers that, upon investigation, are 14 determined to lack factual basis and are dismissed without disciplinary 15 actions or criminal charges; unsubstantiated claims are claims that, 16 upon investigation, are shown not to have sufficient evidence to either 17 prove or disprove a complaint; exonerated claims are claims that are 18 made against a law enforcement officer where the alleged conduct 19 occurred but was determined to be lawful. It is, therefore, the intent 20 of the legislature to strike a delicate balance between maintaining 21 transparency regarding previous conduct of law enforcement officers, how EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD00907-04-5A. 2074--A 2 1 police departments investigate and adjudicate claims of misconduct, and 2 policing procedures more generally, and ensuring that unfounded, unsub- 3 stantiated, and exonerated claims made against law enforcement officers 4 do not unjustly cast a permanent shadow over an otherwise admirable 5 career in public service. 6 § 2. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 845-f to 7 read as follows: 8 § 845-f. Sealing of certain claims against law enforcement officers. 9 1. Definitions. For purposes of this section, the following terms shall 10 have the following meanings: 11 (a) "Unfounded claim" shall mean any complaint or allegation made 12 against a law enforcement officer that, upon investigation, is deter- 13 mined to lack factual basis and is dismissed without disciplinary action 14 or criminal charges. 15 (b) "Unsubstantiated claim" shall mean any complaint or allegation 16 made against a law enforcement officer that, upon investigation, does 17 not have sufficient evidence to either prove or disprove such complaint 18 or allegation. For purposes of this section, "unsubstantiated claim" 19 shall include complaints or allegations referred to by municipalities or 20 other entities as "undetermined" or any other designation indicating 21 insufficient evidence to either prove or disprove such complaint or 22 allegation. 23 (c) "Exonerated claim" shall mean any complaint or allegation made 24 against a law enforcement officer where the alleged conduct occurred but 25 was deemed lawful and proper. 26 (d) "Law enforcement officer" shall mean a police officer as defined 27 in subdivision thirty-four of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure 28 law. 29 (e) "Seal" or "sealing" shall mean the process by which records of 30 unfounded claims are rendered inaccessible to the public, with limited 31 exceptions as set forth in this section. 32 (f) "Technical infraction" shall mean a minor rule violation by a 33 police officer, as defined in subdivision thirty-four of section 1.20 of 34 the criminal procedure law, solely related to the enforcement of admin- 35 istrative departmental rules that (i) do not involve interactions with 36 members of the public, (ii) are not of public concern, and (iii) are not 37 otherwise connected to such person's investigative, enforcement, train- 38 ing, supervision, or reporting responsibilities. 39 2. Sealing of unfounded claims, unsubstantiated claims, and exonerated 40 claims. (a) Any unfounded claim made against a law enforcement officer 41 shall be automatically sealed upon final determination of unfounded 42 status. 43 (b) Any exonerated claim made against a law enforcement officer shall 44 be automatically sealed upon final determination of exonerated status. 45 (c) Any unsubstantiated claim made against a law enforcement officer 46 shall be automatically sealed three years after the final determination 47 of unsubstantiated status, provided that within those three years, no 48 founded claims or disciplinary actions have occurred. Notwithstanding 49 any other provision of law, a technical infraction, as defined in para- 50 graph (f) of subdivision one of this section, shall not constitute a 51 claim or disciplinary action that delays, suspends, or otherwise 52 precludes the sealing of claims against law enforcement officers as 53 provided in this section. 54 3. Exceptions and access to sealed records. (a) Sealed records of 55 unfounded claims shall remain accessible to:A. 2074--A 3 1 (i) law enforcement agencies for the purpose of internal investi- 2 gations or audits; 3 (ii) the New York state attorney general's office and district attor- 4 neys for prosecutorial purposes, if relevant to a criminal investi- 5 gation; and 6 (iii) the civilian complaint review board or other authorized over- 7 sight bodies during an active investigation involving an officer. 8 (b) Sealed records shall not be disclosed or made available to the 9 public, media, or any non-authorized entities. 10 4. Implementation and responsibilities. (a) The division shall be 11 responsible for overseeing the implementation of this section, including 12 but not limited to: 13 (i) ensuring that all eligible unfounded claims are sealed in accord- 14 ance with the timelines specified in this section; and 15 (ii) maintaining a secure and confidential system for storing and 16 accessing sealed records in accordance with this section. 17 (b) Law enforcement agencies shall be required to update their records 18 management systems to comply with the provisions of this section and to 19 report compliance to the division annually. 20 § 3. Paragraphs (c) and (d) of subdivision 2-b of section 89 of the 21 public officers law, as added by chapter 96 of the laws of 2020, are 22 amended and three new paragraphs (e), (f) and (g) are added to read as 23 follows: 24 (c) any social security numbers; [or] 25 (d) disclosure of the use of an employee assistance program, mental 26 health service, or substance abuse assistance service by a person 27 employed by a law enforcement agency as defined in section eighty-six of 28 this article as a police officer, peace officer, or firefighter or 29 firefighter/paramedic, unless such use is mandated by a law enforcement 30 disciplinary proceeding that may otherwise be disclosed pursuant to this 31 article[.]; 32 (e) unfounded claims, as defined in paragraph (a) of subdivision one 33 of section eight hundred forty-five-f of the executive law, made against 34 a police officer, as defined in subdivision thirty-four of section 1.20 35 of the criminal procedure law; 36 (f) exonerated claims, as defined in paragraph (c) of subdivision one 37 of section eight hundred forty-five-f of the executive law, made against 38 a police officer, as defined in subdivision thirty-four of section 1.20 39 of the criminal procedure law; or 40 (g) unsubstantiated claims, as defined in paragraph (b) of subdivision 41 one of section eight hundred forty-five-f of the executive law, made 42 against a police officer, as defined in subdivision thirty-four of 43 section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law, three years after determi- 44 nation of unsubstantiated status, provided that within those three 45 years, no founded claims or disciplinary actions have occurred. 46 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a technical infraction, as 47 defined in paragraph (f) of subdivision one of section eight hundred 48 forty-five-f of the executive law, shall not constitute a claim or 49 disciplinary action that delays, suspends, or otherwise precludes the 50 sealing of claims against law enforcement officers as provided in this 51 section. 52 § 4. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 53 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment, 54 and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation 55 of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and 56 completed on or before such effective date.
