Bill > S00147

This bill modifies New York's public officers law to require law enforcement agencies to redact certain types of complaints and allegations from disciplinary records when responding to public records requests. Specifically, the bill defines two new categories of complaints: "unsubstantiated" (where there is insufficient evidence to determine if misconduct occurred) and "unfounded" (where credible evidence suggests the alleged act did not happen). The bill changes existing language from "may" to "shall" redact these types of complaints, making it mandatory for law enforcement agencies to remove unsubstantiated and unfounded allegations from disciplinary records before releasing them. This means that complaints against police officers, peace officers, firefighters, and firefighter/paramedics that cannot be proven or are clearly false will be automatically removed from public disclosure. The goal appears to be protecting law enforcement personnel from having unproven or false accusations permanently attached to their professional records, while still maintaining transparency in disciplinary processes.

Government Affairs

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S147