S 7593: Allows access to sealed and protected records to civilian law enforcement oversight entities conducting investigations and disciplinary proceedings for misconduct by police and peace officers.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7593 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE April 23, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. CLEARE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law, the civil rights law and the family court act, in relation to allowing access to sealed and protected records to civilian law enforcement oversight entities conducting investigations and disciplinary proceedings for misconduct by police and peace officers The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law is amended by 2 adding a new subdivision 46 to read as follows: 3 46. "Civilian law enforcement oversight entity" means an entity with 4 responsibility for investigating or recommending discipline for a police 5 officer or peace officer for misconduct that does not employ any current 6 police officer or peace officer. 7 § 2. Paragraph (d) of subdivision 1 of section 160.50 of the criminal 8 procedure law, as amended by chapter 449 of the laws of 2015, is amended 9 to read as follows: 10 (d) such records shall be made available to the person accused or to 11 such person's designated agent, and shall be made available to (i) a 12 prosecutor in any proceeding in which the accused has moved for an order 13 pursuant to section 170.56 or 210.46 of this chapter, or (ii) a law 14 enforcement agency upon ex parte motion in any superior court, or in any 15 district court, city court or the criminal court of the city of New York 16 provided that such court sealed the record, if such agency demonstrates 17 to the satisfaction of the court that justice requires that such records 18 be made available to it, or (iii) any state or local officer or agency 19 with responsibility for the issuance of licenses to possess guns, when 20 the accused has made application for such a license, or (iv) the New 21 York state department of corrections and community supervision when the 22 accused is on parole supervision as a result of conditional release or a EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD11751-01-5 
 S. 7593 2 1 parole release granted by the New York state board of parole, and the 2 arrest which is the subject of the inquiry is one which occurred while 3 the accused was under such supervision, or (v) any prospective employer 4 of a police officer or peace officer as those terms are defined in 5 subdivisions thirty-three and thirty-four of section 1.20 of this chap- 6 ter, in relation to an application for employment as a police officer or 7 peace officer; provided, however, that every person who is an applicant 8 for the position of police officer or peace officer shall be furnished 9 with a copy of all records obtained under this paragraph and afforded an 10 opportunity to make an explanation thereto, or (vi) the probation 11 department responsible for supervision of the accused when the arrest 12 which is the subject of the inquiry is one which occurred while the 13 accused was under such supervision, or (vii) any civilian law enforce- 14 ment oversight entity, provided that the records and papers obtained 15 under this paragraph relate to an open investigation or disciplinary 16 proceeding at the civilian law enforcement oversight entity and are 17 being used in furtherance of that open investigation or disciplinary 18 proceeding; and 19 § 3. Paragraph (d) of subdivision 1 of section 160.55 of the criminal 20 procedure law, as amended by chapter 449 of the laws of 2015, is amended 21 to read as follows: 22 (d) the records referred to in paragraph (c) of this subdivision shall 23 be made available to the person accused or to such person's designated 24 agent, and shall be made available to (i) a prosecutor in any proceeding 25 in which the accused has moved for an order pursuant to section 170.56 26 or 210.46 of this chapter, or (ii) a law enforcement agency upon ex 27 parte motion in any superior court, or in any district court, city court 28 or the criminal court of the city of New York provided that such court 29 sealed the record, if such agency demonstrates to the satisfaction of 30 the court that justice requires that such records be made available to 31 it, or (iii) any state or local officer or agency with responsibility 32 for the issuance of licenses to possess guns, when the accused has made 33 application for such a license, or (iv) the New York state department of 34 corrections and community supervision when the accused is under parole 35 supervision as a result of conditional release or parole release granted 36 by the New York state board of parole and the arrest which is the 37 subject of the inquiry is one which occurred while the accused was under 38 such supervision, or (v) the probation department responsible for super- 39 vision of the accused when the arrest which is the subject of the 40 inquiry is one which occurred while the accused was under such super- 41 vision, or (vi) a police agency, probation department, sheriff's office, 42 district attorney's office, department of correction of any municipality 43 and parole department, for law enforcement purposes, upon arrest in 44 instances in which the individual stands convicted of harassment in the 45 second degree, as defined in section 240.26 of the penal law, committed 46 against a member of the same family or household as the defendant, as 47 defined in subdivision one of section 530.11 of this chapter, and deter- 48 mined pursuant to subdivision eight-a of section 170.10 of this title, 49 or (vii) any civilian law enforcement oversight entity, provided that 50 the records and papers obtained under this paragraph relate to an open 51 investigation or disciplinary proceeding at the civilian law enforcement 52 oversight entity and are being used in furtherance of that open investi- 53 gation or disciplinary proceeding; and 54 § 4. Paragraphs (c) and (d) of subdivision 6 of section 160.58 of the 55 criminal procedure law, as added by section 3 of part AAA of chapter 56 
 S. 7593 3 1 of the laws of 2009, are amended and a new paragraph (e) is added to 2 read as follows: 3 (c) any state or local officer or agency with responsibility for the 4 issuance of licenses to possess guns, when the person has made applica- 5 tion for such a license; [or] 6 (d) any prospective employer of a police officer or peace officer as 7 those terms are defined in subdivisions thirty-three and thirty-four of 8 section 1.20 of this chapter, in relation to an application for employ- 9 ment as a police officer or peace officer; provided, however, that every 10 person who is an applicant for the position of police officer or peace 11 officer shall be furnished with a copy of all records obtained under 12 this paragraph and afforded an opportunity to make an explanation there- 13 to[.]; or 14 (e) any civilian law enforcement oversight entity, provided that the 15 records and papers obtained under this paragraph relate to an open 16 investigation or disciplinary proceeding at the civilian law enforcement 17 oversight entity and are being used in furtherance of that open investi- 18 gation or disciplinary proceeding. 19 § 5. Paragraphs (d) and (e) of subdivision 9 of section 160.59 of the 20 criminal procedure law, as added by section 48 of part WWW of chapter 59 21 of the laws of 2017, are amended and a new paragraph (f) is added to 22 read as follows: 23 (d) any prospective employer of a police officer or peace officer as 24 those terms are defined in subdivisions thirty-three and thirty-four of 25 section 1.20 of this chapter, in relation to an application for employ- 26 ment as a police officer or peace officer; provided, however, that every 27 person who is an applicant for the position of police officer or peace 28 officer shall be furnished with a copy of all records obtained under 29 this paragraph and afforded an opportunity to make an explanation there- 30 to; [or] 31 (e) the criminal justice information services division of the federal 32 bureau of investigation, for the purposes of responding to queries to 33 the national instant criminal background check system regarding attempts 34 to purchase or otherwise take possession of firearms, as defined in 18 35 USC 921 (a) (3)[.]; or 36 (f) any civilian law enforcement oversight entity, provided that the 37 records and papers obtained under this paragraph relate to an open 38 investigation or disciplinary proceeding at the civilian law enforcement 39 oversight entity and are being used in furtherance of such open investi- 40 gation or disciplinary proceeding. 41 § 6. Paragraph a of subdivision 2 of section 50-b of the civil rights 42 law, as amended by chapter 643 of the laws of 1999, is amended to read 43 as follows: 44 a. Any person charged with the commission of an offense, as defined in 45 subdivision one of this section, against the same victim; the counsel or 46 guardian of such person; the public officers and employees, including 47 the employees of civilian law enforcement oversight entities as defined 48 in section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law, charged with the duty of 49 investigating, prosecuting, keeping records relating to the offense, or 50 any other act when done pursuant to the lawful discharge of their 51 duties; and any necessary witnesses for either party; or 52 § 7. Section 166 of the family court act is amended to read as 53 follows: 54 § 166. Privacy of records. The records of any proceeding in the family 55 court shall not be open to indiscriminate public inspection. However, 56 the court in its discretion in any case may permit the inspection of any 
 S. 7593 4 1 papers or records. Any duly authorized agency, association, society or 2 institution to which a child is committed may cause an inspection of the 3 record of investigation to be had and may in the discretion of the court 4 obtain a copy of the whole or part of such record. The provisions of 5 this section shall only apply to records within the possession of the 6 family court. 7 § 8. Subdivision 3 of section 375.1 of the family court act, as 8 amended by chapter 398 of the laws of 1983, is amended to read as 9 follows: 10 3. Records sealed pursuant to subdivision one shall be made available 11 to the respondent or [his] their designated agent, to civilian law 12 enforcement oversight entity as defined in section 1.20 of the criminal 13 procedure law; provided that the records and papers made available under 14 this subdivision relate to an open investigation or disciplinary 15 proceeding at the civilian law enforcement oversight entity and are 16 being used in furtherance of such open investigation or disciplinary 17 proceeding, and the records and papers of a probation service shall be 18 available to any probation service for the purpose of complying with 19 subdivision four of section 308.1. 20 § 9. Subdivision 2 of section 381.3 of the family court act, as added 21 by chapter 920 of the laws of 1982, paragraph (b) as amended by chapter 22 926 of the laws of 1982, is amended to read as follows: 23 2. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision one, the family court 24 in the county in which the petition was adjudicated may, upon motion and 25 for good cause shown, order such records open: 26 (a) to the respondent or [his] their parent or person responsible for 27 [his] their care; [or] 28 (b) if the respondent is subsequently convicted of a crime, to a judge 29 of the court in which [he] such respondent was convicted, unless such 30 record has been sealed pursuant to section 375.1; or 31 (c) to any civilian law enforcement oversight entity as defined in 32 section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law; provided that the records 33 and papers made available under this subdivision relate to an open 34 investigation or disciplinary proceeding at the civilian law enforcement 35 oversight entity and are being used in furtherance of such open investi- 36 gation or disciplinary proceeding. 37 § 10. This act shall take effect immediately.