Bill Text: NY S03570 | 2011-2012 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Creates a state commission to investigate patterns and practices of unlawful or inappropriate conduct on the part of members of law enforcement personnel in NYS; provides that the commission shall consist of 9 members including 5 members appointed by chief judge of the court of appeals and 4 members appointed by legislative leaders.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-01-04 - REFERRED TO FINANCE [S03570 Detail]

Download: New_York-2011-S03570-Introduced.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         3570
                              2011-2012 Regular Sessions
                                   I N  S E N A T E
                                   February 25, 2011
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by  Sen.  ADAMS  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
         printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance
       AN ACT creating a state commission to investigate patterns and practices
         of unlawful or inappropriate conduct on the part of members of the New
         York state police; and providing for the  repeal  of  such  provisions
         upon expiration thereof
         THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section 1. The legislature hereby finds and declares as follows:
    2    The legislation is necessitated by a troubling  pattern  and  practice
    3  throughout  at  least  three  different gubernatorial administrations of
    4  inappropriate and possibly unlawful  behavior  by  elements  within  the
    5  state police, largely emanating from the Executive Services Detail. Most
    6  recently,  this  behavior  took  the  form of possible intimidation of a
    7  female victim involved in a domestic violence dispute with a high  rank-
    8  ing  member of the Paterson administration. While this specific incident
    9  is being investigated, under the administrations  of  the  two  previous
   10  governors,  there were several documented instances where state troopers
   11  were also subject to improper political influence and used in ways  that
   12  undermine the very fabric of our democracy.
   13    By  way of example, in 2007, a scandal erupted involving former Gover-
   14  nor Eliot Spitzer's use of state troopers to monitor and  gather  travel
   15  information  about  former  Senate  Majority  Leader  Joseph  Bruno  for
   16  purposes of trying to discredit a political adversary. Under the  Pataki
   17  administration,  the  state  police  were  found  to have electronically
   18  cleansed a domestic dispute complaint involving  a  political  ally  and
   19  former  Congressmember  John Sweeney, in order to shield him from public
   20  scrutiny and embarrassment. These are just two  of  several  occurrences
   21  that  have  already  been documented by the Office of the New York State
   22  Attorney General. It is the intent of this legislation  to  provide  for
   23  the  independent  and  comprehensive  investigation  of this pattern and
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD04652-01-1
       S. 3570                             2
    1  practice, and recommend steps the legislature can  implement  to  reform
    2  the institution of the state police.
    3    S  2.    A temporary state commission is hereby created to investigate
    4  certain patterns and practices of unlawful or inappropriate  conduct  on
    5  the  part  of  members  of  the New York state police including, but not
    6  limited to the Executive Services Detail, that result from inappropriate
    7  or coercive political interference.
    8    S 3. The commission shall consist of nine members to be  appointed  as
    9  follows:  Five  members,  including the chair, shall be appointed by the
   10  chief judge of the New York state court  of  appeals;  one  member  each
   11  shall be appointed by the temporary president of the senate, the speaker
   12  of  the  assembly,  the  minority  leader of the senate and the minority
   13  leader of the assembly.  The members of the commission shall  be  either
   14  former  judges  or  distinguished  professionals  with  significant  law
   15  enforcement experience.   Substantial consideration shall  be  given  to
   16  individuals who are experienced former members of the state police.  The
   17  members  of  the  commission shall be appointed within thirty days after
   18  the effective date of this act.
   19    S 4. The members of the commission shall receive no  compensation  for
   20  their services, but shall be allowed their actual and necessary expenses
   21  incurred in the performance of their duties hereunder.
   22    S  5.  The commission may employ and at pleasure remove such personnel
   23  as it may deem necessary for the performance of its  functions  and  fix
   24  their  compensation  within  the amounts made available by appropriation
   25  therefor. Such commission may meet and hold public and/or private  hear-
   26  ings  within  or  without  the state, and shall have all the powers of a
   27  legislative committee pursuant to the  legislative  law,  including  the
   28  power to issue subpoenas.
   29    S  6.  For the accomplishment of its purposes, the commission shall be
   30  authorized and empowered to undertake any studies, inquiries, surveys or
   31  analyses it may deem relevant through its own personnel  or  in  cooper-
   32  ation with or by agreement with any other public or private agency.
   33    S  7.  The  commission may request and shall receive from any court in
   34  the state and from any subdivision, department, board,  bureau,  commis-
   35  sion,  office,  agency  or  other instrumentality of the state or of any
   36  political subdivision thereof such facilities, assistance and data as it
   37  deems necessary or desirable for the proper execution of its powers  and
   38  duties and to effectuate the purposes set forth in this act.
   39    S 8.  To the extent that evidence of criminal behavior is uncovered by
   40  the  investigation  undertaken  by  the commission, the commission shall
   41  refer such matters to the appropriate prosecutorial authority.
   42    S 9. The commission shall make a report of its findings, including any
   43  recommendations for systematic changes, as it  may  deem  necessary  and
   44  appropriate,  to the governor, the temporary president of the senate and
   45  the speaker of the assembly no later than one hundred eighty days  after
   46  this act shall have become a law.
   47    S  10.  This  act  shall take effect immediately and shall continue in
   48  full force and effect until the thirty-first of  December  in  the  year
   49  next  succeeding  the year in which it shall have become a law when upon
   50  such date the provisions of this act shall be deemed repealed.