Relates to the appointment and reporting duties of the superintendent of the state police and to the appointment of employees of the state police; requires the approval of certain duties of the state police by the superintendent of the state police.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A2558
SPONSOR: Dinowitz TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the executive law, in relation to the appointment and
reporting duties of the superintendent of the state police, the appoint-
ment of employees of the state police and the approval of certain duties
of the state police
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To limit the ability of the State Police to be subject to political
influences and make the appointment of the superintendent of the State
police similar to that of the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investi-
gations
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one of the bill amends § 210 of the executive law to authorize
the superintendent of the New York state police to have control of all
staffing decisions, resource allocations, and unit assignments within
the state police. This section stipulates that any individual appointed
by the governor, with the advice and consent of the senate, to be limit-
ed to a single seven-year term. The first deputy superintendent shall
likewise be subject to senate confirmation but shall serve at the
discretion of the superintendent. The governor, with the support of
two-thirds of both hduses of the legislature, shall have the authority
to remove the superintendent from his or her position. The superinten-
dent shall also be removed from office in accordance with sections (e),
(f), and (g) of the public officers law. This section also declares that
in the event the superintendent resigns or is no longer able to perform
his or her duties before the end of the seven-year term, the first depu-
ty superintendent shall become superintendent. If the governor does not,
appoint a new superintendent within forty-five days of the superinten-
dent leaving his or her position, the first deputy superintendent shall
assume the position for the remainder of the previ ous superintendent's
term. After completing the remainder of the previous superintendent's
term, the first deputy superintendent shall be eligible to serve another
term in his or her own right.
Section two of the bill adds § 210-a to the executive law expanding the
responsibilities of the superintendent to include the submission of
annual reports to the legislature detailing the inter- and intra-govern-
mental activities of the state police in the most recent fiscal year.The
superintendent shall not be required to include in the report informa-
tion that is privileged or confidential.
The reports shall include:
* Information detailing any special requests from the Executive and the
Legislature for services of the state police beyond traditional services
provided by the state police;
*Any additional information provided by the state police to the gover-
nor, his or her staff and the legislature beyond the traditional report-
ing requirements of the state police and for what purposes, which would
be provided at the discretion of the superintendent;
*Any special disciplinary actions taken by the superintendent regarding
inter- or intra-governmental affairs involving state police personnel
based upon special requests made to the state police by the executive,
the legislature and the any other public or quasi-public entity;
*Requests for information of any kind other than the traditional infor-
mation provided by the state .police from any executive branch, legisla-
tive branch, public authority or local government entities;
*Descriptions of any transfers to or from the executive services unit or
any other unit associated with the protection of elected officials.
*The report shall include a certification signed by both the superinten-
dent and the administrator of the state police executive service unit
attesting that the information provided is-true to the best of his or
her knowledge. if such certification is found to be false, untrue or
fraudulent, the superintendent may be subject to removal by the legisla-
ture.
The senate majority leader and assembly speaker shall call for the
superintendent to testify every two years to review the personnel and
administrative activities of the State police along with future plans
and initiatives of the agency. The bill would also require a two-year
rotation of every civilian and sworn officer assigned to the state
police executive service unit or any state police unit involved in secu-
rity and/or protection of elected and/or public officials.
Section three of the bill amends § 211 of the executive law authorizing
any employee appointed to the executive services unit or unit associated
with security and/or protecting other elected and/or public officials to
serve in that capacity for a maximum of two years and to be reappointed
to the position he or she served prior to such appointment or to an
appointment as determined by the superintendent. This section also
prohibits any employee from providing services that constitute a
violation of the provisions of paragraph d of subdivision three of
section seventy-four of the public officers law related to using or
attempting to use his or her official position to secure unwarranted
privileges or exemptions for himself or herself or others. This section
further requires that such requests to be referred by the employee to
his or her superior who shall refer such request to the superintendent
who shall approve or disapprove such request.
Section four of the bill provides the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Recent news of actions taken by the former Governor, on top of previous
reports of Governors using the State Police to spy on other individuals,
has reinvigorated a conversation of the role of the State Police Super-
intendent and their relationship with the elected officials they
protect. These recent scandals have exposed how this law enforcement
agency is prone to dangerous levels of political influence. Such meddl-
ing between politics and policing, whether perceived or actual, under-
mines public confidence in the role of the police force, and what their
tax dollars are being used for. Therefore, it is imperative steps are
taken to shield the State police from political influences and to ensure
it is not swayed by them.
To achieve these goals, this legislation would make the appointment of
the Superintendent of the State Police similar to that of the Director
of the. Federal Bureau of Investigations, as outlined in the U.S. Omni-
bus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 and the Crime Control Act
of 1976. Under this legislation, the Superintendent would no longer
serve at the will of the Governor and instead be tenured to a single
seven-year term, thus limiting lawmakers' ability to intimidate the
Superintendent into engaging in activities that violate the rules of
conduct for the State Police.
To ensure the State Police has not acted in response to or for the sake
of political motives, the Superintendent shall be required to brief the
Legislature on the inter- and intra-governmental activities of the agen-
cy in annual reports and at biennial hearings. These reports would give
the Legislature and the public a better look at what sort of requests
are being made of the Superintendent of State Police, and disclose any
political influence that is driving the decision making of the Super-
intendent.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023-24: A.1750 - Governmental Operations / S.1145 - Finance
2021-22: A.8508 - Governmental Operations / S.1332-B - Finance
FISCAL IMPACTS:
None. The existing staff will be expected to compile the annual reports
required by this bill.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the first January next succeeding the date
upon which it shall have become a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
2558
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 17, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. DINOWITZ -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Governmental Operations
AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to the appointment and
reporting duties of the superintendent of the state police, the
appointment of employees of the state police and the approval of
certain duties of the state police
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 210 of the executive law, as amended by chapter 169
2 of the laws of 1994, is amended to read as follows:
3 § 210. Division of state police. (a) The division of state police in
4 the executive department shall be known as the "New York State Police."
5 (b) (1) The head of the New York state police shall be the superinten-
6 dent of state police who shall be appointed by the governor by and with
7 the advice and consent of the senate, and hold office during [his or
8 her] the governor's pleasure. The superintendent shall be a member of
9 the state police, shall receive as salary such sum as may be appropri-
10 ated by law, and shall accrue such leave credits and be eligible for the
11 same retirement benefits, service credits and other benefits as any
12 other member of the state police. The superintendent of state police
13 shall have control of all staffing decisions, resource allocation and
14 unit assignments within the state police. If, prior to appointment, the
15 superintendent served as a member of the state police, [he or she] the
16 superintendent, upon appointment, shall be entitled to continue to
17 accrue and receive such credits and benefits as [he or she] the super-
18 intendent would have been entitled to accrue and receive prior to
19 appointment.
20 (2) If, prior to [his or her] the superintendent's appointment, the
21 superintendent shall have served as a member of the State Police for a
22 period of ten years or more, [he or she] the superintendent shall,
23 provided [he or she] the superintendent is not eligible for retirement,
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02489-01-5
A. 2558 2
1 upon termination of service as superintendent, be reappointed, without
2 examination, as a member of the state police in the grade held by [him
3 or her] the superintendent prior to appointment as superintendent,
4 notwithstanding the absence of any vacancy in such grade. For the
5 purpose of determining the annual salary to be paid upon such reappoint-
6 ment, the period of service as superintendent shall be counted as
7 service in the grade to which reappointed.
8 (3) Effective with respect to any individual appointment by the gover-
9 nor, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, after January
10 first, two thousand twenty-six, the term of service of the superinten-
11 dent of the state police shall be seven years. A superintendent may not
12 serve more than one seven-year term. The appointment of the first depu-
13 ty superintendent shall also be subject to senate confirmation.
14 (4) Notwithstanding sections thirty-three and thirty-three-a of the
15 public officers law, a superintendent shall be removed from office for
16 failure to fulfill the duties of the office by the governor and with a
17 two-thirds vote of the whole number of members of each house of the
18 legislature or in accordance with the provisions of paragraphs e, f or g
19 of subdivision one of section thirty of the public officers law.
20 (5) In the event the superintendent resigns from office, is removed
21 from office or is incapable of continuing in office due to physical
22 illness, mental illness or death the first deputy superintendent shall
23 assume the superintendent position. If after forty-five days the gover-
24 nor has not appointed a new superintendent to a full term, the first
25 deputy superintendent shall complete the remainder of the previous
26 superintendent's term. Upon assumption of the duties of superintendent,
27 the first deputy superintendent shall be subject to all requirements and
28 provisions associated with the superintendent's position. If the first
29 deputy superintendent completes the term of a previously appointed
30 superintendent, the first deputy is eligible for appointment to a full
31 term as superintendent in the first deputy's own right. All other poten-
32 tial replacements within the ranks of the state police or from outside
33 its ranks for superintendent, in the event the first deputy is unable to
34 complete the previous superintendent's position, shall have the same
35 rights and eligibilities as the first deputy superintendent and shall be
36 subject to all the requirements and provisions associated with the
37 superintendent.
38 § 2. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 210-a to
39 read as follows:
40 § 210-a. Superintendent's annual reports and biennial testimony. (a)
41 The superintendent shall submit an annual report to the governor, the
42 temporary president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, the
43 minority leader of the senate and the minority leader of the assembly no
44 later than September first of each year.
45 (1) Such report shall contain the following information:
46 (A) a detailed description of any special requests made by or on
47 behalf of the governor or any member of the legislature for services of
48 the state police beyond traditional services provided by the state
49 police. Such description shall include whether the request was approved
50 or denied by the superintendent of state police;
51 (B) a detailed description of any information, unless it is privileged
52 or requires confidentiality, provided by the state police to the gover-
53 nor, and/or the governor's staff, and/or to any member of the legisla-
54 ture, and/or such member's staff, beyond the general programmatic and
55 budgetary reporting requirements of the state police and a description
56 of the purpose for which such information was provided;
A. 2558 3
1 (C) a description of any special disciplinary actions taken by the
2 superintendent regarding inter- or intra-governmental affairs involving
3 state police personnel, based upon special requests made to the state
4 police by or on behalf of the governor, any member of the legislature
5 and/or any other public or quasi-public entity;
6 (D) a description of each request made by or on behalf of the governor
7 and/or the governor's staff, and/or any member of the legislature and/or
8 such member's staff, for information of any kind other than the general
9 information provided by the state police to the executive branch, the
10 legislative branch, public authorities or local government entities; and
11 (E) a description of all officer transfers to or from the executive
12 services unit or any other unit associated with security and/or protect-
13 ing other elected officials, and reason for the change. For transfers
14 from the executive services unit the superintendent of state police
15 shall include a description of what unit the officer transferred to. All
16 officer transfers to or from the executive services unit shall require
17 the approval of the superintendent of state police.
18 (2) The superintendent shall include a signed certification with the
19 report that the information provided is true to the best of the super-
20 intendent's knowledge. If such certification is found to be false, the
21 superintendent may be subject to removal by the legislature.
22 (b) Every two years, commencing in two thousand twenty-six, the super-
23 intendent shall attend a proceeding to testify before the senate finance
24 committee, the assembly ways and means committee, the senate investi-
25 gations and government operations committee and the assembly oversight,
26 analysis and investigation committee to review the personnel and admin-
27 istrative activities of the state police and the future plans and initi-
28 ative of the state police. Such proceeding shall be conducted jointly at
29 the direction of the temporary president of the senate and the speaker
30 of the assembly and shall take place no later than November first of
31 every other year during which the proceeding is conducted.
32 (c) The reporting requirements described in this section shall be in
33 addition to, and not in lieu of, any other reporting requirements
34 provided by law.
35 (d) As used in this section, "traditional services" means services
36 rendered by the state police to:
37 (1) protect people and property;
38 (2) prevent and detect crime and other violations of law and pursue
39 criminal investigations and arrest criminals; and make roads safe for
40 all users;
41 (3) reduce the deaths, injuries and property damage caused by motor
42 vehicle accidents through vehicle and traffic enforcement and
43 education;
44 (4) provide disorder control and security in all types of natural
45 and human-made emergencies; and provide for the safety and security of
46 individuals and groups of citizens in furtherance of their rights,
47 duties and responsibilities; and
48 (5) support other entities by creating partnerships for safety and
49 security with individuals, groups and communities throughout the
50 state.
51 § 3. Section 211 of the executive law, as amended by chapter 331 of
52 the laws of 1993, is amended to read as follows:
53 § 211. Employees. (a) The superintendent may appoint such employees as
54 may be necessary and fix their compensation within such sum as may be
55 appropriated by law. Persons appointed to competitive positions within
56 the division who meet the definition of veteran or disabled veteran as
A. 2558 4
1 defined in section eighty-five of the civil service law shall be enti-
2 tled to additional credit and preference as conferred by that law and in
3 the same manner, except that, notwithstanding any law to the contrary,
4 with respect to any candidate applying for credit in a competitive exam-
5 ination for original appointment as a disabled or non-disabled veteran,
6 such candidate may apply provisionally for such credit while still an
7 active member of the armed forces. The application for provisional cred-
8 it may be made at any time between the date of [his or her] the candi-
9 date's application for the competitive examination and the date the
10 eligible list is established. In cases where there has been a provi-
11 sional application, the superintendent shall grant final credit only if
12 the candidate renews [his or her] the application within ninety days
13 following termination of the candidate's military duty, and the candi-
14 date's period of eligibility on the list has not expired, and the candi-
15 date satisfies the appropriate statutory requirements for eligibility.
16 Pending the granting of final credit, the candidate's ranking on any
17 eligible list shall reflect the provisional credit.
18 (b) (1) Any employee appointed to the executive services unit or any
19 other unit associated with security and/or protecting other elected
20 and/or public officials shall hold such appointment for no more than two
21 years after which period, the employee shall be reappointed to the posi-
22 tion such employee held prior to the appointment to the executive
23 services unit or any other unit associated with security and/or protect-
24 ing other elected and/or public officials or to such other position and
25 duties as are determined by the superintendent.
26 (2) No employee appointed as provided in paragraph one of this subdi-
27 vision shall provide services that constitute a violation of the
28 provisions of paragraph d of subdivision three of section seventy-four
29 of the public officers law. Any requests for such services shall be
30 referred by the employee to the employee's superior who shall refer the
31 request to the superintendent. The superintendent shall approve or
32 disapprove all such requests.
33 § 4. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
34 ing the date upon which it shall have become a law.
