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Who cares
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Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to codes
- Print number 5734a
- Amend (t) and recommit to codes
- Referred to codes
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to the conditional sealing of records
Purpose
To change the conditional sealing of drug offenders criminal records so as to allow certain employers to have access to prospective employees unsealed records.
Summary of provisions
Section 1 of the bill states that records that are conditionally sealed shall be made available to the defendant, or the defendant's designated agent. Further a prosecutor, law enforcement agency, or a court which has responsibility as it relates to the defendant shall have access to these records. This section also would allow any state or local office that issues gun licenses to have access to such records. Further this section would allow any prospective employer of a police officer or peace officer to have access to such conditionally sealed records. Importantly this section also would allow any person, public or private agency that is mandated by law to fingerprint individuals as part of a background check to have access to such records. This section continues on to allow prospective employers of caregivers to have access to these records as well. Also importantly this section allows the Parole Department when the individual is under supervision as well as the local probation department which is supervising the individual to have access as well. Further records sealed conditionally shall be made available if admissible for use before a jury, or judge if the individual is called before them as a witness.
Read the full memo (730 words)
Subdivision 6-a makes it a civil penalty of up to $1,000 to release any record or information that is sealed to any individual or agency that is not authorized to receive such information. This section allows the attorney general or the person who is subject to such record to bring action. Further when the individual is the prevailing plaintiff in such civil action the court shall include in the judgment an award of costs and attorneys fees.
Subdivision 8 is amended to allow for the unsealing of records should such individual be convicted of any misdemeanor or felony offense.
Section 2 is the effective date.
Justification
As part of the 2009-2010 budget a comprehensive Rockefeller Drug Law reform was enacted. Part of this reform allowed for the sealing of certain criminal records as it related to drug offenses once the individual completed their sentence as well as a court ordered treatment program. As certain state and local laws mandate that certain employers {child and elder care workers, elected officials, judges, school bus drivers, and public school teachers for example)to conduct criminal history checks this legislation would effectively make these background checks completely ineffective. This legislation seeks to allow any employer that is mandated by law to run a fingerprint check on a prospective employee to have the ability to be made aware when such prospective employee has been convicted of the appropriate offenses.
Further both Federal and State law expressly prohibit individuals with certain convictions from being employed in certain jobs, the conditional sealing of records now makes it possible for employers to hire individuals who violate these prohibitions without the employer being aware of their convictions. Some of the felony convictions that can now be concealed are sale and possession of unlimited amounts of cocaine and heroin, commercial burglary, forgery, credit card and auto theft, and extortion. Some of the misdemeanor convictions that can be concealed are possession of heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, or crack.
The bill also importantly allows an individual to take action. should such records be unsealed erroneously by allowing them to bring a civil action.
Subdivision 6-a is also important in that it relievers pressure on DCJS AND OCA as it pertains to sealing records. Under current law DCJS AND OCA would face an administrative nightmare with regard to the unsealing of records when an individual is arrested or charged with a crime, changing this provision is necessary to make the sealing/unsealing of records much more feasible, further this subdivision keeps our laws consistent with the concept of innocent until proven guilty.
Legislative history
New Bill.
Fiscal impact on the state
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately and shall be deemed to have been in full force and effect on the same date as section 3 of part AAA of chapter 56 of the laws of 2009.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.